Mechanical activation of sulfidic mine tailings for use as supplementary cementitious materials

IF 3.9 3区 工程技术 Q2 CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
Farid Shabani, Julia Hylton, Ahmadreza Hedayat, Lori Tunstall, Juan Antonio Vega Gonzalez, Jorge Wilfredo Vera Alvarado, Martin Taboada Neira
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Abstract

Mine tailings (MTs) are hazardous waste generated in large volumes and can pose serious environmental risks if not effectively managed. They are typically stored as slurry in ponds, behind tailings dams, or storage facilities. In sulfidic MTs, the high concentration of sulfide minerals makes them prone to acid mine drainage, infiltrating soil and groundwater. Recently, producing supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) from MTs has been noted as an effective approach for utilizing mining waste while reducing the carbon footprint of concrete. This study assesses the influence of four milling methods, rotary ball mill, planetary ball mill, vibratory ball mill, and vibratory disc mill, on the reactivity of sulfidic MTs. The vibratory-disc-milled MTs revealed higher reactivity with a heat release of 162 J/g, as quantified using the modified R3 test; this is likely due to their very fine particle size (d50 = 9.8–14 μm). Owing to the presence of pyrite in raw materials, its impact on the activity of MTs in cement-tailings mixes was examined, focusing on heat release, hydration, and strength development through morphological, chemical, mineralogical, and mechanical characterization. Furthermore, hyphenated TGA and FTIR was employed to accurately identify the decomposition temperature ranges of chemically bound water and other evolved gas, in specimens made with tailings-based SCMs. A 10% cement substitution with tailings-based SCMs resulted in mortars with the highest strength at early ages, achieving 41.5 MPa at 3 days, which surpassed the 33 MPa strength of the control specimens. Although strength reduction with higher SCM content likely stemmed from pyrite oxidation and the formation of a secondary ettringite phase, up to 30% substitution achieved the required strength activity index per ASTM C618, indicating their potential as suitable SCMs.

Abstract Image

硫化矿尾矿作为辅助胶凝材料的机械活化研究
尾矿是大量产生的危险废物,如果不加以有效管理,可能造成严重的环境风险。它们通常以泥浆的形式储存在池塘、尾矿坝或储存设施后面。在硫化物mt中,高浓度的硫化物矿物使其容易产生酸性矿水,渗入土壤和地下水。最近,从mt中生产补充胶凝材料(SCMs)已被认为是利用采矿废物同时减少混凝土碳足迹的有效方法。本研究评估了旋转球磨机、行星球磨机、振动球磨机和振动盘式球磨机四种研磨方法对硫化物mtts反应性的影响。采用改进的R3测试量化,振动盘式MTs的反应性更高,释放热量为162 J/g;这可能是由于它们的颗粒尺寸非常细(d50 = 9.8-14 μm)。由于原材料中存在黄铁矿,因此研究了黄铁矿对水泥-尾矿混合物中MTs活性的影响,重点研究了通过形态、化学、矿物学和力学表征的热释放、水化和强度发展。此外,采用联用TGA和FTIR技术准确地确定了以尾矿为基础的SCMs样品中化学结合水和其他演化气体的分解温度范围。用尾砂基SCMs替代10%水泥后,砂浆早期强度最高,3 d强度达到41.5 MPa,超过对照试件的33 MPa。虽然高SCM含量的强度降低可能是由于黄铁矿氧化和二次钙矾石相的形成,但高达30%的替代达到了ASTM C618要求的强度活性指数,表明它们有潜力成为合适的SCM。
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来源期刊
Materials and Structures
Materials and Structures 工程技术-材料科学:综合
CiteScore
6.40
自引率
7.90%
发文量
222
审稿时长
5.9 months
期刊介绍: Materials and Structures, the flagship publication of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM), provides a unique international and interdisciplinary forum for new research findings on the performance of construction materials. A leader in cutting-edge research, the journal is dedicated to the publication of high quality papers examining the fundamental properties of building materials, their characterization and processing techniques, modeling, standardization of test methods, and the application of research results in building and civil engineering. Materials and Structures also publishes comprehensive reports prepared by the RILEM’s technical committees.
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