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.     

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。     

克量级铀中微量铕和铽的放化分离方法研究

为提高中子诱发铀裂变时低产额裂变产物¹⁵⁶Eu和¹⁶¹Tb产额测量的精度，需获得放化纯的¹⁵⁶Eu和¹⁶¹Tb样品。本工作建立了氢氧化物共沉淀法除铝、氟化钙共沉淀法除铀、TRPO萃取法提取稀土元素、阳离子交换色谱法从混合稀土元素中分离Eu和Tb的流程，可用于大量铀、铝和裂变产物中微量Eu和Tb的分离。在待分离样品中含2 g铀、0.65 g铝和裂变产物的条件下，该流程对Eu、Tb的化学回收率均大于80%，对U、²³⁹Np、⁹⁵Zr、¹⁰³Ru、¹³¹I、¹³²Te、¹⁴⁰Ba、¹⁴⁰La、¹⁴¹Ce、¹⁴⁷Nd等主要干扰物质的去污因子达到106。该方法可满足中子诱发铀裂变时¹⁵⁶Eu和¹⁶¹Tb产额精确测量的要求。     

基于介形类生态特征评价湖南某铀矿山地表水放射性环境

湖南某铀矿为我国一重要铀资源生产基地，长年的矿冶活动使该铀矿冶地域生态环境不可避免地遭到了一定程度破坏。本文以该铀矿冶地域介形类为研究对象，分析其分布与生态特征，并利用该生物评价本矿冶地域地表水放射性污染状况。结果表明，Cypridopsis vidua在溪流与河流中均有分布，Helerocypris incongruens仅发现于河流，两者丰度均不高。利用该两种介形类丰度及总丰度变化可指示水体铀浓度的变化，丰度越小，铀含量越大，反之亦然。Shannon-Wiener物种多样性指数与水体铀浓度呈明显负相关，表明也可利用介形类生物指数指示水体铀浓度。该生物指数明显偏低，说明该铀矿冶地域地表水环境质量需要改善，放射性污染应引起足够重视。     

Experimental study of neutron counting in a zero-power reactor driven by a neutron source inherent in highly enriched uranium fuels

Even a zero-power reactor core containing highly enriched uranium has a weak neutron source inherent in uranium 235, and consequently, a neutron counter placed closely to the core without external neutron source registers a certain counting rate. The study of the counting is very important for zero-power reactor physics experiments with a high precision. In this experimental study, first, at a shutdown state of the UTR-Kinki reactor without start-up neutron source, a pulse height distribution of output signals from a neutron proportional counter was measured to confirm that these signals resulted from neutron detections. At several subcritical states of the UTR, then, the Feynman-α analysis was carried out to confirm that the neutrons detected by the counter must be fission neutrons multiplied by fission chain reactions. The correlation amplitude measured in the Feynman-α analysis was much higher than that measured in a previous drive by start-up source. Further, it was also confirmed that the subcriticality dependence of neutron counting rate followed the source multiplication formula. This feature indicated that the one-point model was very successful in the subcritical range including the shutdown state.     

磁铁尾矿与石灰石双掺生产优质水泥

受环保压力影响，西乡公司生产水泥用河道淤沙供应紧张，难以满足生产需求且价格上涨幅度较大，严重影响到水泥生产及成本，我们开展了磁铁尾矿在水泥中的应用研究工作，通过连续几个月的生产实践，对物料配比优化，磨机技术改造，实现利用磁铁尾矿与石灰石双掺解决混合材紧缺问题，降低了水泥生产成本，水泥质量及性能稳定。     

饱和尾粉砂动孔隙水压力发展特性试验研究

采用动三轴仪对内蒙古某尾矿库尾粉砂进行了动强度试验,研究了围压、相对密实度及固结比对动荷载作用下尾粉砂中孔隙水压力发展特性的影响。研究结果表明,随着固结比、相对密实度、围压的增大,动荷载作用下饱和尾粉砂孔压增长曲线形状由陡峭转变为平缓。随着围压及固结比增大,试样动力破坏形式从以孔压值为主要表征指标的液化破坏,转化为以动剪应变为主要破坏形式的软化破坏。动荷载作用下发生液化破坏的饱和尾粉砂孔压增长过程分可为初始增长阶段、稳定增长阶段和快速增长至破坏阶段,孔压增长曲线表现为明显的反S型,本文采用双对数函数对该试验孔压增长曲线进行拟合,结果表明该模型可以较好地模拟尾粉砂在动荷载作用下的孔压发展规律。