Reuse of Pretreated Red Mud and Phosphogypsum as Supplementary Cementitious Material

Abstract

The combination of red mud (RM) and phosphogypsum (PG) can exert the alkalinity of RM and the acidity of PG as a calcium source to promote the gel hardening of composite cementitious material, which effectively improves the reutilization efficiency of RM and. In this study, the effects of the ratio and content of pretreated RM and PG on the non-evaporated water, porosity, hydration products, mechanical properties, pore size distribution, and microstructure of composite cementitious materials were investigated. The results show that, with the incorporation of PG, RM, PG, and RM, the non-evaporable water content, reaction degree, compressive strength, and flexural strength show a downward trend after rising first, and their values reach the maximum with 10% PG and 10% RM, which are higher than a pure cement system, while 70% PG, 70% RM, 70% RM + 10% PG, and 70% PG + 10% RM have the reverse effect. The results of hydration products, pore size distributions, and microstructure indicate that adding an appropriate dosage of RM and PG can efficaciously improve the compactness of cement systems. Nevertheless, the research results can contribute to using the combination of PG and RM to manufacture sustainable cementitious materials with good performance, and achieve the purpose of environmental protection and industrial solid waste resource recycling.