Content Of Tailings Research Articles

Geochemical Characteristics of Tailings from Typical Metal Mining Areas in Tibet Autonomous Region

With the exploring and developing of mineral resources in the Tibet Autonomous Region for many years, a large number of tailings have been produced. A total of 17 tailings samples from borehole cores were collected from different tailings ponds in different regions of Tibet. The results showed that the mineral composition and content of tailings in each research area were different. Among them, quartz was the most abundant mineral in most tailings. The major elements of tailings mainly included Si, Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, Na, K and so on. S existed in different types of tailings. In the analysis of trace element composition, it was found that the content of some elements had approached the lowest industrial grade, which has potential recycling value, such as Mn, Zn, Pb and P. Through the detection of radioactive elements (Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40), it was shown that there were great differences among different types of tailings, and their different contents would bring potential hazards to the safety of the surrounding environment and human health. Similar results were found in the analysis of particle size characteristics of tailings. These results are of great significance for the future utilization and resource utilization of tailings pond.

Strength Model of Cemented Filling Body Based on a Neural Network Algorithm

As one of the key measures for comprehensive management of goaf in various mines, filling mining has been recognized by practitioners in recent years due to its functions (e.g., resource utilization of solid waste and thorough goaf treatment). The performance of the filling material is the core challenge of filling mining, and it is influenced by the settling speed, conveying characteristics, and filling body strength. To understand the strength characteristics of a cemented filling body composed of medium-fine tailings, in this study, filling material ratio tests under different content of cement, tailings, and water were conducted. A backpropagation (BP) neural network topology structure was established in this study. The strength after different curing times was used as the output variable to analyze the impact of the cement, tailings, and water content on the filling body. A 3-Hn-3 structural model was employed. When the number of hidden layers Hn was 7, the model achieved the best learning and training effect. The results show that the predicted value, which is close to the measured value (fitting accuracy of 92.43–99.92%; average error of 0.0792–7.5682%), satisfies the engineering requirements. The neural network model can be employed to predict the filling body’s strength and provide a good reference to analyze the change law in the filling body’s strength.

Graphite Tailings’ Effects on Mechanical and Physical Properties of Eco-Efficient Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

As impacted by environmental concerns and the demand for high-strength concrete, novel ideas of the development of eco-efficient, steel fiber-reinforced concrete have been proposed. In this study, the aim is to develop a type of eco-efficient steel fiber-reinforced concrete with graphite tailings and steel fiber. Steel fibers act as a type of concrete toughening material, and graphite tailings serve as a partially alternated aggregate to sand. Mechanical properties exhibited by the concrete are assessed based on different volume fractions of graphite tailings (i.e., 0%, 10% and 20%). The concrete mixture proportion is determined in accordance with the theory of particle densely packing, and the concrete mechanical properties are more specifically studied by performing compressive and flexural tests. As indicated by the results, the maximal mixed bulk density of graphite tailings at different grades is greater than that of sand, so concrete with graphite tailings exhibits higher compressive strength. For the content of graphite tailings, the addition of graphite tailings impacts the interfacial adhesion between aggregates and cementing matrix, thereby inhibiting bifurcation and convergence of cracks. However, excessive mixing of graphite tailings would decrease the specimen’s effective water-to-binder ratio (W/B), thereby adversely affecting the internal structure of the concrete. The amount of graphite tailings impacts the distribution of steel fibers at the concrete interface, which could be the most conducive to the distribution of steel fibers under the graphite tailings’ content of 10%. This study demonstrates that graphite tailings and steel fibers are feasible to prepare eco-efficient, steel fiber-reinforced concrete.

Preparation and characterization of glass-ceramics with granite tailings and titanium-bearing blast furnace slags

The resource utilization of granite tailings and titanium-bearing blast furnace slags is an emphasis of current research and is widely considered. In this work, by adopting these two slags as raw materials, diopside-based glass-ceramics were synthesized by melting-cooling-monolithic crystallization. The influence of the content of granite tailings, namely, the ratio of (SiO2+Al2O3/CaO+TiO2) on the structure and properties of glass-ceramics was characterized with differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, volume density and microhardness. The results suggest that the introduction of granite tailings makes the melting quality of glass deteriorate and the crystallization tendency decrease, the number of microcrystalline in glass-ceramics decreases and the glass phase increases. Moreover, the increase of Si/O ratio is advantageous to the precipitation of wollastonite but not diopside, and the volume density and microhardness of glass-ceramics decrease with the increase of granite tailings. When the content of granite tailings is 40 wt%, the crystal structure of glass-ceramics is moderate, the volume density and microhardness are 3.0207 g/cm3 and 8.6 GPa, respectively, which are excellent for architectural decoration.

Mechanical Performance and Microscopic Mechanism of Coastal Cemented Soil Modified by Iron Tailings and Nano Silica

In order to explore the effect of composite materials on the mechanical properties of coastal cement soil, cement soil samples with different iron tailings and nano silica contents were prepared, and unconfined compression and scanning electron microscope tests were carried out. The results show that: (1) The compressive strength of cement soil containing a small amount of iron tailings is improved, and the optimum content of iron tailings is 20%. (2) Nano silica can significantly improve the mechanical properties of iron tailings and cement soil (TCS). When the content of nano silica is 0.5%, 1.5%, and 2.5%, the unconfined compressive strength of nano silica- and iron tailings-modified cement soil (STCS) is 24%, 137%, and 323% higher than TCS, respectively. (3) Nano silica can promote the hydration reaction of cement and promote the cement hydration products to adhere to clay particles to form a relatively stable structure. At the same time, nano silica can fill the pores in TCS and improve the compactness of STCS.

Towards the Understanding of Damage Mechanism of Cemented Tailings Backfill

Recent studies have shown that the damage characteristics of cemented tailings backfill (CTB) are influenced significantly by the variation of cement-tailings ratio, while the effects of other influencing factors remain unanswered. The CTB damage constitutive model, which takes the corrected coefficient of damage variable into consideration, and peak toughness are introduced to investigate the effects of fine tailings contents, curing ages, curing temperatures, and water-to-cement ratios ( w / c ) on the damage evolution laws, damage ( D P ), and specific energy ( G P ) at peak stress point of CTB. The results show that appropriate content of fine tailings could improve the compressive strength of CTB and reduce its damage evolution speed and D P . The damage growth rate of CTB decreases with curing age in early curing period and increases with higher curing temperature and w / c . D P of CTB takes on a descending trend with higher w / c and fine tailings content but shows an increase with curing age. There exists no significant relationship between D P and curing temperature. G P of CTB increases with curing age and higher curing temperature with a quadratic function but is on a decline with increases of fine tailings content and w / c with logarithmic and exponential function, respectively. The results obtained from our study have important application to the successful design of backfill structures in underground mines.

Geological and mineralogical study of ore tailings for bio-leaching

In this paper, the geological conditions of accumulation and the material composition of the ore tailings from the processing plants of Kazakhstan were studied. The results of studying the material of unused tailings are presented. Accumulated tailings were studied on natural exposures and on the materials of cartographic wells. In the three tailing dumps of the Zhezkazgan enrichment plant, after processing, more than 1.2 billion tons of tailings are accumulated in the form of effluent pulp, of which about 1 billion tons are in two inactive tailing dumps, and the third tailing dump is operational. When the content of the main copper ore component in tailing dump is about 0.1-0.3%, the total geological reserves of metals can be at least 2.0 million tons. More than 630 million tons of ground material with a copper content of 0.1 to 0.4% is accumulated in the tailing site of another large facility – Balkhash enrichment plant. Thus, in the tailing ponds of only two considered processing plants, there are more than 1.5 billion tons of technogenic raw ore material, where the geological reserves of copper are about 3 million tons. Mineralogical studies provide a determination of the distribution and content of basic (copper, lead, zinc) and associated (noble and rare metals) useful components in the tailings. The tailings of the processing plant can be considered promising for processing technogenic deposits of mineral raw materials. This type of technogenic ore is underexplored from both a geological and technological point of view. In this regard, it was necessary to conduct full-scale scientific research in order to study the material composition of tailings as technogenic deposits with the establishment of variability in the distribution of useful components in them and the technological properties of their processing. The results of studying the chemical, mineral and granulometric content of the tailings can serve as reliable initial data for technological studies on the extraction of metals from this technogenic raw ore material. The mineral and granulometric content of copper ore processing tailings has been studied. Microscopic descriptions of polished sections made of loose tailings are given. Sulfide ore minerals are microscopic in size, they are distributed mainly inside the grains of the host rocks and are rush in nature. Using the results of geological studies, a methodology for technological research was selected and laboratory experiments were conducted on the bioleaching of copper from the tailings.

Geological and mineralogical study of ore tailings for bio-leaching

In this paper, the geological conditions of accumulation and the material composition of the ore tailings from the processing plants of Kazakhstan were studied. The results of studying the material of unused tailings are presented. Accumulated tailings were studied on natural exposures and on the materials of cartographic wells. In the three tailing dumps of the Zhezkazgan enrichment plant, after processing, more than 1.2 billion tons of tailings are accumulated in the form of effluent pulp, of which about 1 billion tons are in two inactive tailing dumps, and the third tailing dump is operational. When the content of the main copper ore component in tailing dump is about 0.1-0.3%, the total geological reserves of metals can be at least 2.0 million tons. More than 630 million tons of ground material with a copper content of 0.1 to 0.4% is accumulated in the tailing site of another large facility – Balkhash enrichment plant. Thus, in the tailing ponds of only two considered processing plants, there are more than 1.5 billion tons of technogenic raw ore material, where the geological reserves of copper are about 3 million tons. Mineralogical studies provide a determination of the distribution and content of basic (copper, lead, zinc) and associated (noble and rare metals) useful components in the tailings. The tailings of the processing plant can be considered promising for processing technogenic deposits of mineral raw materials. This type of technogenic ore is underexplored from both a geological and technological point of view. In this regard, it was necessary to conduct full-scale scientific research in order to study the material composition of tailings as technogenic deposits with the establishment of variability in the distribution of useful components in them and the technological properties of their processing. The results of studying the chemical, mineral and granulometric content of the tailings can serve as reliable initial data for technological studies on the extraction of metals from this technogenic raw ore material. The mineral and granulometric content of copper ore processing tailings has been studied. Microscopic descriptions of polished sections made of loose tailings are given. Sulfide ore minerals are microscopic in size, they are distributed mainly inside the grains of the host rocks and are rush in nature. Using the results of geological studies, a methodology for technological research was selected and laboratory experiments were conducted on the bioleaching of copper from the tailings.

Flocculation Efficiency and Spatial Distribution of Water in Oil Sands Tailings Flocculated with a Partially Hydrophobic Graft Copolymer.

This work investigates the effect of partially hydrophobic grafted polymers on flocculation and dewatering of oil sands mature fine tailings. Here, we combine confocal microscopy and rheology to investigate how the graft density of ethylene-propylene-diene grafted with hydrolyzed poly(methyl acrylate) (EPDM-g-HPMA) affects its dispersion in water and flocculation efficiency in terms of sediment solids content and long-term dewatering of oil sands tailings. Increasing the graft density from 30 to 50% makes the flocculant easier to disperse, increases the rate of initial dewatering, and also enhances the viscoelastic response of the flocculated sediments. Conversely, the long-term rheological properties of the flocculated sediments were similar for all flocculants. Tri-dimensional microscopic details of the spatial distribution of water within the flocculated sludge provide novel insights into the performance of the flocculants. Increasing the graft density in EPDM-g-HPMA traps more water within the individual flocs and, consequently, decreases the post-flocculation dewatering rate. Our systematic approach confirms the importance of the spatial distribution of water in the flocculated sediment, which depends on how the flocculant is dispersed and how it retains water in the flocs.

Effect of Tailings Fine Content on the Properties of Cemented Paste Backfill from the Perspective Packing Density

In order to quantitatively study the influence of tailings fine content on the properties of cemented paste backfill (CPB) and further understand the mechanism of tailings fine content acting, the concept of packing density was introduced in this study. The packing density of each tailings sample was measured by the wet packing method after the samples with various fine contents were prepared. Moreover, CPBs with different tailings fine contents were tested by the mini slump test, rheological test, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) test, and mercury intrusion porosimetry test. The results demonstrated that the flow spread and UCS both increase first and then decrease with the increase of tailings fine content, while the yield stress shows an opposite trend. The fine content of tailings affects the flowability of fresh CPB mainly through the packing density. When the fine content is high, the influence of the specific surface area of tailings cannot be ignored. The packing density is an important factor affecting the strength of CPB, and there is an obvious linear relationship between the packing density and UCS. The pore structure of CPB samples with different tailing fine contents is significantly different, and the macroscopic packing density changes the strength of CPB by affecting the microscopic pores.

Effects of polyacrylamide molecular weight and mass concentration on water transport characteristics of iron tailings

Iron tailings have few macropores which severely inhibit infiltration and transport of soil water. Polyacrylamide (PAM) can regulate soil water, but it is rarely used when remediating tailings matrix. In this research, PAM of four molecular weights of 300w, 600w, 800w, and 1000w were selected as amendments, and were each applied at five mass concentrations of 0% (CK), 0.01%, 0.04%, 0.08%, and 0.16% to observe their effects on water transport in iron tailings using column simulations in the laboratory. After adding PAM, the water retention and saturated water content of iron tailings increased significantly (P < 0.05). With increases in PAM molecular weight and mass concentration, the saturated hydraulic conductivity showed a downward trend, but the saturated hydraulic conductivity increased after a dry–wet cycle. With the increase of PAM mass concentration, adding PAM of 1000w molecular weight to iron tailing decreased infiltration capacity, but treatments of other molecular weights all initially increased then decreased infiltration capacity. The greatest improvement on infiltration capacity of iron tailings was observed with the addition of PAM of 300w molecular weight and 0.01% mass concentration. Adding PAM increased the vertical depth of the saturation zone of iron tailings (P < 0.05) with a maximum depth of 20.83 cm. The Kostiakov model more accurately simulated water infiltration of iron tailings compared with the Horton and Philip models. On the whole, when PAM of low molecular weight and concentration was added to iron tailings, PAM increased stable infiltration, saturated water content, and water retention. It also inhibited saturated hydraulic conductivity of iron tailings. Therefore, in practice, it is necessary to select the appropriate molecular weight and mass concentration of PAM according to the dominant limiting factors and remediation needs of the matrix.

Hydration kinetics of a calcination activated bauxite tailings-lime-gypsum ternary system

To simulate the hydration process of bauxite tailings as supplementary cementitious material, the hydration kinetics of a calcination activated bauxite tailings-lime-gypsum ternary system was investigated. Hydration heat of the ternary system was measured at 50 °C by an isothermal calorimeter. Kinetics equations were used to simulate the hydration process of the ternary system. The Kinetics parameters, n, K, were calculated and discussed. XRD and TGA were used to characterise change of hydration products as the hydration was ongoing. Results demonstrate that the hydration kinetics equation can well simulate the hydration process of the calcination activated bauxite tailings-lime-gypsum system with 5% gypsum, but not suitable for the deceleration stage of the ternary system with 10% gypsum. When the content of bauxite tailings was increased, the ending time of induction period and the appearing time of second exothermic were decreased, but the value of second exothermic peak was increased. When the content of gypsum was decreased, similar results could be obtained. In the diffusion stage, the hydration rate and degree of hydration were extremely low due to the insufficient calcium hydroxide content, and the degree of hydration of the ternary system gradually decreased with the increasing of bauxite tailings content.

Superabsorbent recycling for process water recovery

The high process water content of many mineral tailings warrants development and application of new and cost-effective dewatering methods, involving high-capacity and regenerable water-absorbing polymers. The stimuli responsive nature of Superabsorbent (SAB) polymers enables them to release absorbed water upon changing process conditions (e.g., temperature and pH), allowing superabsorbent polymers recycling towards improving dewatering process economics. To understand the effect of process conditions and ore type coupled with cost effectiveness of superabsorbent dewatering system, this study investigates recovery of the absorbed water by pH induced superabsorbent regeneration. The superabsorbent, sodium polyacrylate, absorbed water from hydrophilic saprolitic laterite and hydrophobic chalcopyrite slurries prior to the investigations. Specifically, the effect of pH of absorbed water, SAB dosage and acid type (CH3COOH, HCl) and dosage on the SAB's water recovery behaviour was studied. The SAB dosage of 2 g/100 g slurry and HCl dosage of 2 g/100 g absorbed water were conducive for maximum water recovery (~95%) from both slurries while their pH and mineralogy had no noticeable effect on the SAB dewatering process. The overall performance, based of maximum recovered water, of CH3COOH in the SAB dewatering system was lower than HCl, however, relatively higher water recovery (~70 wt.%) was observed for Ch3COOH under slightly acidic solution conditions (~ pH 4) compared with HCl (~45 wt.% water recovery). The findings aid to the development of improved, cost-effective management of both, hydrophobic and hydrophilic waste tailings.

Study on Mechanical Properties of Recycled Mixture with High Content of Iron Tailings Sand

This paper focuses on the disposal of iron tailings sand (ITS) and reclaimed inorganic binder stabilized aggregate (RAI), and a new “ITS plus RAI” solid waste treatment method is innovatively proposed, which uses ITS and RAI as a new base course material to replace of new aggregates by 100%. It is found that the new ITS and RAI mixture has excellent compressive performance by designing the material composition of the mixture, which can meet the design strength of different levels of pavement under various load conditions. A series of laboratory tests are used to study the effect of the content of special cementitious material and iron tailings on the uniaxial compressive strength, flexural‐tensile strength, compressive resilience modulus, and flexural‐tensile resilience modulus of recycled mixture. And, the scanning electron microscope test (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction test (XRD) are used to compare the surface morphology characteristics and hydration products of the recycled mixture under different ratios and to discuss the formation mechanism of the strength of the mixture. The test results show that the macroscopic change pattern in laboratory tests is basically consistent with the results in microanalysis. The relationship between compressive strength and compressive resilience modulus and flexural resilience modulus is also established by linear regression. This solid waste treatment method is applied to the pavement renovation project of national and provincial roads in Shanxi Province (within Linfen), to replace the existing base material by using recycled mixture, and the results show that it can save not only the carbon emission from stone mining and processing but also the construction cost, while producing good social and economic benefits and promoting the process of carbon neutralization in the world.

Study on hydration reaction and structure evolution of cemented paste backfill in early-age based on resistivity and hydration heat

In order to reveal the hydration reaction of cemented paste backfill (CPB) more comprehensively, the non-contact electrical resistivity (NER) and microcalorimeter (TAM Air) were used to combine the hydration reaction with microstructure evolution of CPB in the early-age hydration process. The influence of tailings-cement ratio (TCR) on hydration reaction and microstructure evolution of CPB was studied, and the mathematical relationship model of resistivity and hydration heat of CPB was established; the kinetic parameters of CPB in the deceleration period were quantified by using the kinetic model; In combination with CPB’s unconfined compressive strength (UCS), the relationship between resistivity, hydration heat and UCS was established. The results show that the hydration process of resistivity and hydration heat characterization is highly consistent, which can be combined to characterize the hydration reaction and microstructure evolution of the CPB hydration process, and more comprehensively reveal the hydration reaction of CPB from a different perspective. Under different TCRs, the resistivity of CPB is affected by both tailings and cement. The content of tailings determines the overall value of its resistivity. As the content of tailings increases, the resistivity value increases, and the resistivity corresponds to the structural kinetic parameter Kc increases; the hydration heat of CPB is mainly affected by the cement content. The higher the cement content, the higher the hydration heat, and the larger the corresponding hydration kinetic parameter Km. In addition, the hydration reaction process characterized by resistivity and hydration heat is dominated by cement content, the specific manifestation is that as the cement content decreases, the induction period will be prolonged, the acceleration period and the deceleration period will be shortened, and the reaction constants D and D′ increase. The mathematical relation model of resistivity and accumulative heat release of CPB can realize the mutual characterization of resistivity and hydration heat.The resistivity and hydration heat of CPB under different TCR at 24, 36 and 48 h have good corresponding relationship with the UCS; the UCS of different TCRs at 28 days is negatively correlated with its resistivity at 48 h, and positively correlated with the hydration heat of 48 h. Studies have shown that the combination of resistivity and hydration heat can more fully reveal the hydration reaction and microstructure evolution of CPB, which is of great significance to the design of CPB.

Impeded Macrofaunal Colonization and Recovery Following Marine Deposition of Inert and Organically Modified Mine-Tailings

Fine-grained, waste rock (or tailings) produced during mining processes are the main waste product following the extraction of valuable minerals and metals from ores. The proximity of mineral resources to coastal regions in some countries has meant that the organically inert mine tailings are often deposited into the marine environment as a submarine tailings placement or STP. This creates a real environmental challenge since the deposition of tailings at the seafloor can completely smother the benthic environment and reduce benthic biodiversity and alter ecosystem function. A limited number of studies have attempted to quantify the speed of seafloor recovery following tailings disposal and have suggested that one of the main factors limiting seafloor colonisation is the lack of organic matter of the tailings deposited. In this experimental study, we used hydrodynamically unbiased settlement trays within a complete randomised block design to test whether macrofaunal colonisation of mine tailings, and resemblance towards ambient assemblages, is enhanced when tailings become more enriched in organic C (Corg). Our experiment showed that tailings with Corg contents 1% exhibited lower faunal abundance and biomass and different macrofaunal community composition after one year compared to background sediments. Macrofaunal species richness (defined as the total number of different taxa) in the 0% and 0.5% Corg tailings treatments, however, was statistically indistinguishable from ambient intertidal sediments after one year. Furthermore, macrofaunal community structure was more similar to that of the background intertidal sediments after one year, which collectively suggest partial recovery of seafloor biodiversity in tailings with zero to low Corg levels. Nevertheless, macrofaunal abundance and biomass in these treatments remained significantly less than the background community after one year suggesting factors other than the Corg content of tailings may be structuring macrofaunal colonisation and impeding seafloor recovery of tailings deposits. We propose that the non-marine physical structure of the tailings particles, which show great angularity is predominantly responsible for the observed delayed recovery.

Effect of the lenticles on moisture migration in capillary zone of tailings dam

Small-particle interlayers (lenticles) show some characteristic hydraulic properties and can affect the movement of unsaturated water. In this study, we developed a novel online capillary-water-absorption monitoring device and conducted three groups of comparison tests to simulate lenticle positions and thicknesses with respect to the capillary rise. The results show that the characteristic wetting front exhibits a fast rise in the early stage, a slow rise in the middle stage, and stability in the later stage. The motion of the capillary water in the lenticle is mainly transversal, with the upward curve being “flat,” and the longer is “flat,” the longer is the time needed for the water to move. The interlayer can form a capillary stagnation zone with moisture content close to saturation. The high interlayer may form a discontinuous corrugated capillary zone. Thus, when the wetting front reaches the “coarse-grain (lower)-fine-grain (upper)” interface, the “anti-capillary barrier effect” results in more moisture in the upper layer. Thus, when the wetting front of the capillary water reaches the “fine-grain (upper)-coarse-grain (lower)” interface, the “capillary barrier effect” causes the moisture content of the upper tailings to decreases sharply because of the horizontal movement of the water in the fine medium. It is clear that the presence of lenticles can retard the rise of capillary water by storing water.

Effect of graphite tailings as substitute sand on mechanical properties of concrete

In this article, the mechanical properties and material characterisation of graphite tailings concrete, in which graphite tailings are replaced as sand were investigated. The results showed that the concentration of graphite tailings has influence on the comprehensive performance of concrete. Simultaneously, the graphite tailings have an important improvement on reducing the mesostructure distribution and micro-crack density of cement-based materials. However, high content of graphite tailings can result in the growth on defects and significantly reduces strength properties. How to solve the adverse effect of high content of graphite tailings on reduced mechanical strength of concrete or taking full advantage of this material property and characteristics of graphite tailings is an urgent problem to be solved in the future research for practical engineering applications such as road subgrades, coastal breakwaters and so on.

Innovative Approaches to Using Kazakhstan’s Industrial Ferrous and Nonferrous Tailings in the Production of Ceramic Materials

This paper covers the production of ceramic materials from the tailings of ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy without using convention natural materials. The research addresses the dependency of the polymetallic ore tailings, chromite ore tailings, and physico-mechanical properties of ceramic materials based on the clayey portion of zircon-ilmenite ore gravity tailings. The dependency model is based on the actual experimental data and provides an analytical description of the test results as a function. Regression analysis has produced mathematical models for predicting the properties of ceramic mixtures at points not covered by the experiments. The paper presents five model equations to show:– how the content of chromite-ore tailings and polymetallic-ore tailings affects the compressive strength of ceramic bricks;– how the content of chromite-ore tailings and polymetallic-ore tailings affects the bending strength of ceramic bricks;– how the content of chromite-ore tailings and polymetallic-ore tailings affects the frost resistance of ceramic bricks;– how the content of chromite-ore tailings and polymetallic-ore tailings affects the thermal conductivity of ceramic bricks;– how the content of chromite-ore tailings and polymetallic-ore tailings affects the heat resistance of ceramic bricks;The research team has managed to produce ceramic bricks of high physico-mechanical properties from the tailings of ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy without using convention natural materials.

Preparation of porous glass-ceramics from coal fly ash and asbestos tailings by high-temperature pore-forming

This paper presented a new method of preparing porous glass-ceramics by high-temperature pore-forming using coal fly ash and asbestos tailings as raw materials. The effects of the content of asbestos tailings and sintering temperature on the phase composition, microstructure and properties of the porous glass-ceramics had been systematically discussed, furthermore, the pore formation mechanism was also expounded. Compared with T0, porous glass-ceramics from T1, T2 and T3 experienced more violent self-expansion during the sintering process due to the addition of asbestos tailings. The porosity of porous glass-ceramics from T3 was 51%, the bulk density was 1.42 g/cm3, the flexure strength was 19 MPa, the main crystal phase was indialite, along with several secondary phases such as anorthite, enstatite, and forsterite. Due to the high strength, the material was expected to be used as a porous construction material with load-bearing function. This work provided a convenient and promising method for the utilization of coal fly ash and asbestos tailings to prepare porous glass-ceramics without adding foaming agents.