Recycling of Phosphate Mine Tailings for the Production of Geopolymers
Journal of Cleaner Production 2018
S. Moukannaa, M. Loutou, M. Benzaazoua, Laura Vītola, R. Hakkou, J. Alami

Phosphate sludge is a fine by-product produced with large quantities during ore phosphate beneficiation(washing and flotation), and deposited in surface impoundment without treatment, which createenvironmental issues. The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential reuse of phos-phate sludge as a partial replacement of fly ash and metakaolin for the production of geopolymers.Geopolymers were prepared by mixing phosphate sludge with metakaolin or with fly ash in a proportionof 50 wt%. The effects of the main experimental factors (NaOH concentration, curing temperature andcuring time) on the main physical characteristics (density, water absorption and compressive strength)were assessed using an experimental design of response surface methodology (DOE). The microstructureof geopolymer samples were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy andFourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Analysis of variance confirmed that the adopted DOE modeldescribed well the experimentally observed properties. The results of the microstructural analysisshowed that the development of a gel-like phase was favored by the increase of sodium hydroxideconcentration (from 8 to 14M) for the two kinds, fly ash and metakaolin-based geopolymers. The physicalproperties of the geopolymers indicated that an increase of temperature and NaOH concentration led tostrengthen and dense materials, while the addition of phosphate sludge resulted in a reduction on themechanical properties. However, substitution of fly ash by phosphate sludge resulted in strong speci-mens (62 MPa), which indicated that the use of phosphate mine tailings in geopolymers can be a viabletechnological solution for the sustainable management of these by-products.


Keywords
Phosphate sludge, Mine waste, Alkali activation, Geopolymers
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.094

Moukannaa, S., Loutou, M., Benzaazoua, M., Vītola, L., Hakkou, R., Alami, J. Recycling of Phosphate Mine Tailings for the Production of Geopolymers. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, Vol. 185, No. 1, pp.891-903. ISSN 0959-6526. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.094

Publication language
English (en)
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