Abstract
This present research work is on the characterization of bauxite red mud (waste material) from Ngaoundal for the manufacture of ceramic products. After the extraction process, the raw material was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Morphology, mineral phases and chemical composition were determined by using energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (DSC-TGA), Infra-Red (IR), Particle size (PS) were also used. Results of red mud analysis show that major oxides were Fe2O3 (37.21%), Al2O3 (19.6%), SiO2 (7.68%), TiO2 (1.07%), Na2O (4.71%), and CaO (2.75%). These last oxides require low temperature to melt and act as binders which link particles of red mud during the sintering process. Presence of alkaline oxides is an appeal to reduce energy consumption during ceramic manufacture process and to protect our environment for sustainable development. Physical and mechanical properties of fired red mud showed that the firing shrinkage, bulk density, and flexural strength increase with firing temperature. Porosity and water absorption had the same pattern and they decreased with the increase of temperature. Chemical stability reveals that 10% material loss is obtained after 7 days of treatment under acid-base conditions.
Highlights
Red mud is a highly alkaline solid waste produced from the alumina refinery plants
Red mud has 20.26% of loss on ignition. This lost can be justify by organic matter present in the material and some chemical reaction that occur during the processing
Results of this work point out the possibility of using red mud as raw material for roof tile
Summary
Red mud is a highly alkaline solid waste produced from the alumina refinery plants. Generally, red mud comes out from the Bayer process or sintering process of alumina production. Because of the environmental impact of bauxite residue and its enormous volume through the environment, its treatment to change the alkalinity is an extremely urgent issue with the aim of converting the harmful red mud to useful products for different applications [13]. This will produce significant benefits in terms of environment and economics by reducing land fill volume, contamination of soil and ground water, and release of land for alternative uses. Mechanical Properties related to the sintering process such as the apparent density, water absorption, linear shrinkage, flexural strength were characterized and the chemical resistance test were evaluated
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