Abstract
Tailings are one of the most severe environmental problems during mining production and cemented paste backfill (CPB) is considered an effective method for the disposal of tailings. The present work deals with illite-containing tailings (IT) and the properties modification during calcination to use the calcined IT as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to prepare a binder for CPB. This is very meaningful considering the restriction of the high cost of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) on CPB. The results suggested that calcination strongly modified the IT structures, contributing to the reactivity when used as SCMs. The presence of dolomite (DL) decreased the calcination temperature without sacrificing the reactivity. Co-calcined IT/DL under 800 °C (DT800) presented the highest reactivity due to higher BET surface area, porous structure, and reduced crystalline degree. Sample CPB-DT800 showed comparable compressive strength to OPC-based CPB sample after curing for 28d. Thus, IT could be successfully used as SCMs after thermal treatment in the presence of DL to prepare binders for CPB.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
