Published date: Apr 13 2020

Journal Title: KnE Engineering

Issue title: REMINE International Conference on Valorization of Mining and Industrial Wastes into Construction Materials By Alkali-activation

Pages: 134–146

DOI: 10.18502/keg.v5i4.6804

Imed Beghoura beghoura.imed@ubi.ptC-MADE, centre of Materials and Building Technologies, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, Calçada Fonte de Lameiro Edifício II das Engenharias, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal

Joao Castro-GomesC-MADE, centre of Materials and Building Technologies, Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, Calçada Fonte de Lameiro Edifício II das Engenharias, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal

In this study, an Alkali-activation of tungsten mining waste mud (TMWM) was combined with aluminium powder (Al) as a blowing agent (gas foaming method). The synthesis of inorganic alkali-activated foamed mortar (AA-FM) and alkali-activated lightweight foamed mortar (AALW-FM) was achieved by incorporating expanded granulated cork (EGC) and one type of river sand < 2 mm. Al powder was added first to the dry mix with the mass used varying from 0.1 g to 0.5 g. Precursors and activators were included to produce a homogeneous mixture, which was placed into a mould (100x100x60 mm³), and cured in the oven at 60° C for 24 hours. The influence of two main parameters (Al powder contents and cork particles) on the AA-FM and AALW-FM properties (compressive strength, density, expansion volume and pore size distribution) were investigated. The compressive strength of the foams in the case of highly porous structures of the AALW-FM and AA-FM achieved 4.1MPa and 13.2MPa respectively, for samples with a larger amount of Al powder (0.5g). Open celled hardened of the AALW-FM and AA-FM with 0.5g Al shows a high porosity of 40% and 81% respectively. Therefore, tungsten mining waste-based alkali-activated foams shows potential as a thermal insulation material in certain situations.

Keywords: Tungsten mining waste, Alkali-activated, Foamed Materials

[1] Badanoiu, A.I., et al. T(2015). Preparation and characterization of foamed geopolymers from waste glass and red mud. Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 84, pp. 284–293.

[2] Ul Haq, E., Kunjalukkal Padmanabhan S., and Licciulli, A. (2015). Microwave synthesis of thermal insulating foams from coal derived bottom ash. Fuel Process. Technol. vol. 130, pp. 263–267.

[3] Zhang, Z., et al. (2014). Geopolymer foam concrete: An emerging material for sustainable construction. Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 56, pp. 113–127.

[4] Beghoura, I., et al. (2017). Feasibility of alkali-activated mining waste foamed materialsincorporating expanded granulated cork. Min. Sci. vol. 24, pp. 7–28.

[5] Kovalchuk, P.V.K.Æ.G.Y. (2007). Directed synthesis of alkaline aluminosilicate minerals in a geocement matrix. Journal of Materials Science, vol. 42, pp. 2944–2952.

[6] Krivenko, P. and Kovalchuk, G. (2015). Achieving a heat resistance of cellular concrete based on alkali activated fly ash cements. materials and Structures, vol. 48, pp. 599–606.

[7] Arellano Aguilar, R., Burciaga Díaz, O. and Escalante García, J.I. (2010). Lightweight concretes of activated metakaolin-fly ash binders, with blast furnace slag aggregates. Constr. Build. Mater. vol. 24, pp.1166–1175.

[8] Narayanan, N. and Ramamurthy K. (2000). Structure and properties of aerated concrete: a review. Cement & Concrete Composites, vol. 22, pp. 321–329.

[9] Kearsley, E.P. and Wainwright, P.J. (2001). The effect of high fly ash content on the compressive strength of foamed concrete, Cement and Concrete Research, 31 (2001) 105–112.

[10] Davidovits, J. (2011). Geopolymer chemistry & applications 3rd edition, Institut Géopolymère, Geopolymer Institute, Saint-Quentin, France.

[11] Masi, G. et al. (2014). A comparison between different foaming methods for the synthesis of light weight geopolymers. Ceram. Int. vol. 40, pp.13891–13902.

[12] Sanjayan, J.G., et al. (2015). Physical and mechanical properties of lightweight aerated geopolymer. Constr. Build. Mater., vol.79, pp. 236–244.

[13] Matos, A.M., Nunes, S. and Sousa-coutinho, J. (2015). Cork waste in cement based materials. JMADE, vol. 85, pp. 230–239.

[14] Beghoura, I. et al. (2019). Expansion volume of alkali-activated foamed cork composites from tungsten mining mud waste with aluminium. MATEC Web of Conferences. 274. 03002. 10.1051/matecconf/201927403002.

[15] Akthar, F.K. and Evans, J.R.G. (2010). High porosity (> 90%) cementitious foams. Cem. Concr. Res., vol. 40, pp. 352–358.

[16] Kreft, O. (2011). Pore size distribution effects on the thermal conductivity of light weight autolaved aerated concrete. 5th Int. Conf. Autoclaved Aerated Concr. Bydgoscsz, 2011.

[17] Beghoura, I. and Castro-Gomes, J. (2019). Design of alkali-activated aluminium powder foamed materials for precursors with different particle sizes. Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 224, pp. 682–690.

[18] Panesar, D.K. and Shindman, B. (2012). The mechanical, transport and thermal properties of mortar and concrete containing waste cork. Cem. Concr. Compos., vol. 34 pp. 982–992.

[19] Karade, S.R., Irle M., and Maher, K. (2006). Influence of granule properties and concentration on cork- cement compatibility. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff, vol. 64, pp. 281–286.

[20] Vaou, V. and Panias, D. (2010). Thermal insulating foamy geopolymers from perlite. Miner. Eng., vol. 23, pp. 1146–1151.

[21] Buchwald, A., Kaps, C. and Hohmann, M. (2003). Alkali-activated binder and pozzolan cement binders- compete reaction or two side of the story? 11 Th Int. Congr. Chem. Cem. Pp. 1238–1246.

[22] Castro-Gomes, J. (2017). Alkali-activation of tungsten mining waste mud blended with waste glass: reactivity, performance and innovative applications. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/6858.