Ceramics composites from iron ore tailings and blast furnace slag

The search for materials and methods capable of reducing human impacts on the environment is of utmost importance nowadays. This study's primary purpose was to analyze the technical feasibility of ceramic composites production utilizing Fundão Dam's Iron Ore Tailings (IOT), Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) from charcoal, and Foundry Sand (FS) as partial substitutes for the traditional raw materials – sand and clay – for application in building industry materials. The composites were molded in rectangular specimens and fired at temperatures of 900, 950, 1000, 1050, and 1200 °C. The developed materials were analyzed and characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Thermogravimetry (TGA), and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA). The obtained materials had flexural strength modulus of up to 12.19 MPa, water absorption ranging from 2 to 22%, linear shrinkage ranging from 0.02 to 6.50%, and apparent density ranging from 2.03 to 1.63 g/cm³. The study of the internal structure formation process revealed the formation of amorphous structures in the composites. The results demonstrated that these waste materials may be jointly used in construction materials, contributing to the reduction of natural resource extraction, besides enabling their correct disposal, minimizing environmental impacts, and improving the life quality of the surrounding communities.     

Preparation and pore-forming mechanism of MgO–Al2O3–CaO-based porous ceramics using phosphorus tailings

A simple strategy for preparing MgO–Al₂O₃–CaO-based porous ceramics (MACPC) with high strength and ultralow thermal conductivity has been proposed in this work based on the raw material of phosphorus tailings. The effects of phosphorus tailings content, carbon black addition and heat treatment temperature on the properties of MACPC were studied, and their pore-forming mechanism during sintering was revealed. The results showed that the main phase composition of MACPC was magnesia alumina spinel and calcium aluminate after sintering at 1225 °C. Furthermore, the MACPC exhibited excellent comprehensive properties when 60 wt% phosphorus tailings and 40 wt% alumina were added, whose apparent porosity was 62.8%, cold compressive strength was 14.8 MPa, and the thermal conductivity was 0.106 W/(m·K) at 800 °C. The synchronously enhanced strength and thermal insulation properties of MACPC were related to the formation of uniformly distributed micropores (<2 μm) and passages in the matrix, which originated from the decomposition of phosphorus tailings and the burnt out of carbon black during the sintering process. The preparation of MACPC with high temperature resistance and excellent mechanical and thermal insulation properties with the raw material of phosphorus tailings provided an effective method for the high-value utilization of phosphorus tailings.     

Microstructural,hydraulic conductivity and geochemical changes of drying mature fine oil sand tailings in column experiments

This study offers new insights into two-lift deposition of mature fine tailings under atmospheric drying. The interaction of newly added lift and former lift(s) was evaluated using column experiments in terms of volumetric water content, electrical conductivity (EC), hydraulic conductivity, geochemistry and microstructure. Water content and EC followed the same trend and decreasing of water content appears to be responsible for significant reduction in EC. Evaporation on top of the column reduced the water content to almost zero. The obtained results support the coupling between the hydraulic and chemical processes that should be considered by active operators.     

含锡抑硫浮锌尾矿FS活化浮硫试验

云南某锡矿选矿厂采用抑硫浮锌-硫酸活化浮硫-浮硫尾矿选锡流程回收矿石中的主要有用元素锡、锌、硫。硫酸活化浮硫不仅腐蚀搅拌桶、浮选机等矿浆存储及输送设备，而且与矿物作用还会释放有毒的硫化氢气体，造成环境污染。为解决此问题，武汉理工大学相关课题组有针对性地研制出一种新型药剂FS，可替代硫酸活化现场被抑制的硫。试验对以FS为活化剂的脱硫工艺条件进行了研究。结果表明，硫、锡品位分别为21.24%、11.43%的试样，以FS+硫酸铜为活化剂，丁基黄药为捕收剂，2#油为起泡剂，经1粗1精1扫闭路流程处理，可获得硫品位为36.57%、含锡0.60%、硫回收率为97.76%的硫精矿，以及锡品位为25.66%、含硫1.10%、锡回收率为97.03%的脱硫产品，较好地实现了硫锡分离。新型药剂FS与硫酸铜的组合使用，不仅解决了设备的腐蚀问题，而且降低了药剂消耗，消除了硫化氢气体对环境的污染。     

细粒尾矿综合利用技术研究

姑山矿业公司为提高细粒尾矿的综合利用率，研究分析了细粒尾矿的性质，系统研究了尾矿含量、煅烧工艺制度对不同成分体系尾矿陶粒堆积密度、表观密度、空隙率、吸水率、筒压强度及软化系数的影响。研究得出了全尾矿陶粒、细粒尾矿+污泥陶粒、细粒尾矿+污泥+粉煤灰陶粒3种成分体系的尾矿陶粒较优的尾矿含量及煅烧工艺制度，且3种尾矿陶粒均可代替石头用作粗集料。     

某铁矿尾矿资源化利用试验研究

针对某铁矿山尾矿开展了矿石性质研究,并探索采用磁选方法从该尾矿中回收含铁矿物的可行性。物相分析结果表明,该尾矿中磁铁矿含量约为40%,且磁铁矿解离度约97%。在铁尾矿中铁品位为19.87%的情况下,无需磨矿,经过一次粗选即可获得铁品位68.96%、回收率39.40%的选别指标。     

某矿山充填料浆坍落度试验研究

充填采矿成为了目前的发展趋势,充填料浆的流动性在此过程中的作用不容小觑。对某矿山的料浆流动性进行坍落度试验研究。结果表明,塌落度随着充填料浆的灰砂比和料浆浓度的变化而变化,当料浆的浓度小于74%时,坍落度大于22.5 cm,其流动性明显有所改观,此时可实现管道自流输送的目的。低浓度的充填料浆有较好的流动性,但该情况下的充填体强度不能得到很好的保障,通过观察充填料浆在不同灰砂比下不同浓度的坍落度以及摊开的样子得出,浓度在68%之上的料浆具有良好的保水性,不会有粒级不同的颗粒相互分离或析水的不良情况,因此把充填料浆的浓度初设为68%~74%。相应的坍落度为22.5cm,完全摊开。     

铅锌尾矿配料对水泥熟料易烧性影响的研究

在相同的熟料设计率值、相同的烧成制度下,对不掺加和掺加铅锌尾矿的生料分别进行了生料易烧性的对比实验。研究结果表明:铅锌尾矿可以部分替代铁矿石进行配料生产硅酸盐水泥熟料并起到矿化作用,能够显著改善生料易烧性。     

Geosynthetic reinforced piled embankment modeling using discrete and continuum approaches

Understanding the load transfer mechanism can support engineers having more economical design of geosynthetic reinforced piled embankments. This study aims to investigate the load transfer mechanisms by two different numerical methods including the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and the Finite Difference Method (FDM). The DEM model adopts (a) discrete particles to simulate the micro-structure of the granular materials and (b) coupled discrete element – finite element method (DEM-FEM) to capture the interaction between granular materials and geotextiles. On the other hand, the FDM model uses an advanced constitutive soil model considering the hardening and softening behaviour of the granular materials. The numerical results show that the geotextiles can only contribute to the vertical loading resistance in cases where the soils between piles are soft enough. In terms of design, an optimum value of the geotextile tensile stiffness can be found considering the load, the soft soil stiffness and the thickness of the embankment. Both the DEM and the FDM show that a high geotextile tensile stiffness is not required since an extra stiffness will slightly contribute to the efficiency of the geosynthetic reinforced piled embankments. Nevertheless, both models are useful to optimize the design of geosynthetic reinforced piled embankments.