Incorporation of gold and limestone mining waste materials for carbon capture and storage in bricks

Abstract

The industrial sector is the main contributor of carbon dioxide emissions which have an enormous impact on the planet’s weather. One of the approaches to sequester carbon dioxide permanently is through the utilization of potential mining waste to produce commercial materials such as bricks. This research emphasizes the use of gold and limestone mining waste as raw materials for carbon capture and storage in the manufacturing of bricks and to determine their physical and mechanical characteristics for construction purposes. The dimensions of the sand bricks in this research were 215×103×65 mm. Gold and limestone mining waste was used as a partial cement replacement in sand bricks. Findings showed that the gold mine waste bricks have an average of 1.8% higher water absorption value and hence are more permeable, compared to the average of 1.05% in limestone mine waste bricks. Compressive strength measurements indicated that bricks made up of limestone mine waste have an average of 34.72 N/mm2, which is greater than the average of 24.09 N/mm2 for gold mine waste bricks. Limestone mine waste bricks exhibit good durability of the bricks as compared to gold mine waste bricks, because of their low water absorption. Thus, they have greater strength for construction purposes. Limestone mine waste bricks are more appropriate for buildings because they are less permeable and have greater brick power than gold mine waste bricks. Thus, utilization of mining waste as a raw material for bricks production might increase the physical and mechanical properties of bricks and provide potential solutions for permanent carbon dioxide storage.