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Effect of the co-activation of sodium silicate and CO2 on setting and mechanical properties of coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB)

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Abstract

Static segregation of coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB) material presents a significant impact on its mechanical performance for underground support. To resolve, a novel formulation was addressed using sodium silicate (SS) and CO2 as co-activator. Its setting behaviors and mechanical properties were investigated with respect to the coal gangue content, CO2 influx and the concentration of sodium silicate solution. The microstructure was characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, and FTIR. The present method lowered the initial and final setting times to approximately 90% and 74% comparing to which of conventional activator. The compressive strength increased from 2.06 to 10.23 MPa with coal gangue ratio of 3.2 after 56 days curing. This mainly results from the mitigation of the effect of segregation through the generation of silica gel, which precipitated on the grain surface. The silica gel promoted the interparticle binding and rapid consistency, thus preventing gangue from settlement. Incorporating the microscale crystalline phase characterization, the carbonate products work as the filling particle and the coal gangue presents as the reinforcement after hardening, leading to the significant increase in material strength. This method not only ensures safe disposal of coal gangue and fly ash from segregation, but also mitigates overburden deformation and promotes CO2 utilization. Therefore, the coordinated development of coal resource development, environmental protection, and carbon footprint reduction is realized.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51874280 and 52250410338) and the Fundamental Research Funds of the Central Universities (2021ZDPY0211) for financial support.

Funding

Funding was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51874280 and 52250410338), Fundamental Research Funds of the Central Universities (2021ZDPY0211).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Deep Coal Resources Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Ministry of Education, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Ichhuy Ngo, Liqiang Ma, Jiangtao Zhai, Yangyang Wang, Yujun Xu, Tianxiang Wei & Kunpeng Yu

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  1. Ichhuy Ngo
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Contributions

Ichhuy Ngo: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization. Liqiang Ma: Conceptualization, Methodology, Funding acquisition. Jiangtao Zhai: Data curation, Writing - review & editing. Yangyang Wang: Data curation, Writing – review & editing. Yujun Xu: Resources, Writing – review & editing. Tianxiang Wei: Data curation, Writing – review & editing. Kunpeng Yu: Writing – review & editing.

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Correspondence to Liqiang Ma.

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Ngo, I., Ma, L., Zhai, J. et al. Effect of the co-activation of sodium silicate and CO2 on setting and mechanical properties of coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB). Environ Earth Sci 82, 190 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-10863-w

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