Response to the discussion by Hongyan Ma and Ying Li of the paper “Characterization of magnesium potassium phosphate cement blended with fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag”

We recently reported the first comprehensive investigation of magnesium potassium phosphate cements (MKPCs) blended with supplementary cementitious materials (pulverized fuel ash and granulated blast furnace slag) for the encapsulation of radioactive wastes [Gardner et al., Cem. Concr. Res. 74 (2015) 78-87]. Using a combination of characterization techniques, we demonstrated the important role of the reaction of the supplementary cementitious materials in contributing to the development of the microstructure and strength of MKPC composites. Here, we clarify aspects of our experimental design, and elaborate on the interpretation of our data, following discussion by Ma and Li.