The use of environmentally friendly inorganic binders and new technologies for cores production is widely discussed topic in recent years. This paper contains information about new hot curing process for core making with alumina-silicate based inorganic binders – geopolymers. Main differences between hot cured geopolymers and hot cured alkali silicate based inorganic binders are discussed. The main objective of this research paper was to investigate basic technological properties of geopolymer binder system such as strength, compaction, storage ability and knock-out properties. For this purpose, three mixtures with different powder additives were prepared and tested in laboratory conditions using specific methods. Strength properties evaluation showed sufficient levels as well as knock-out properties measurement, even with additives B and C originally designed for the use with alkali silicate based two component binder systems. Additives B and C were considered compatible with geopolymer binders after casting production trial results. Storage ability of geopolymers seems to be more sensitive than of alkali silicate based binders in the same tested conditions. Mixtures with geopolymer binder showed 20% more decrease of strength compared to alkali silicate binders after 24 hours in conditions of 25 °C and 65 %RH.

The heat-cured core-making process has been applied for over 60 years to produce molds and cores for different types of castings. The following technologies can be classified into the terminology of “heat-cured coremaking process”: croning-, hot-box -, and warm-box process. The latest technology provides good workability of core mixture, good strength properties, dimensional stability, and good knockout performance of the sand cores. Despite all its advantages, the warm-box technology is less widespread in foundries due to the cost of the high quality thermosetting resin and the maintenance cost of the core box. In this study, the influence of the acid hardener content on the hardening characteristics (bending strength), collapsibility, and the benchlife of the warm-box sand cores were investigated. From the results, it can be said, that within the investigated composition range, increasing the acid hardener content will improve the bending strength of the sand cores. The increased acid hardener content results in higher thermal stability at the beginning of the thermal exposure, and smaller residual bending strength after 15 minutes of thermal loading. The acid hardener level has little effect on the benchlife of the warm-box sand cores, although the sand core mixture is very sensitive to the combined effect of the sand temperature and dwelling time.