Strength of geopolymer cured in saline water in ambient conditions

► Oil well cements have durability issues in CO2 geo-sequestration in saline aquifer. ► Curing of a new cement, geopolymer, was examined in saline and normal water. ► Saline water cured geopolymers showed better properties than normal water samples. ► The reason for this behaviour is investigated by microstructural and other tests. ► It is found that leaching to curing media rather than ingress caused these results.