Effect of shale addition on properties of sintered coal fly ash

Shale can be used as a substitute for clay in sintered fly ash, due to the similar physical and chemical property to clay. In this paper, these characteristics of sintered fly ash with or without shale (binder) were investigated by physical property, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that shale addition ranging from 30% to 50% (in weight) can be beneficial for properties of sintered products at temperature ranging from 950 to 1050 °C. However, a higher amount of shale easily caused significant bloating at 1100 °C. Considering energy saving and best performance, the sintering mix for shale and fly ash (50% in weight respectively, the same as below) fired at 1000 °C for 2 h was an optimal option. XRD results of the sintering mix show that intensity of hercynite increases with the increasing temperature, but intensity of quartz decreases on sintering. SEM confirms that addition of shale can improve microstructure and sintering of fly ash.