Abstract
In this study, a one-part alkali-activated slag (AAS) composed of ground-granulated blast furnace slag, desulfurized gypsum, and hydrated lime is proposed as alternative to cement for the production of cemented fine tailings backfill (CFTB), which is an environmentally friendly binder consisting of 93.72 wt.% industrial solid waste. Results show that AAS with 67.83 wt.% slag, 25.92 wt.% desulfurized gypsum, and 6.25 wt.% hydrated lime yields the highest strength, which is 1.7–3.2 times that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Aside from calcium silicate hydrate gel, appreciable quantity of ettringite characterized by interlocking needles structure and high bound water is also produced during the AAS hydration process. In addition, the hydration heat of the AAS binder is 48% less than that of OPC. Moreover, CFTB made of AAS provides better workability than that of CFTB with OPC up to 20 h. The findings of this study will contribute to the production of more cost-effective, durable, and environmental-friendly cemented fine tailings backfill.
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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This work is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.51904055 and U1906208) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. N2001010 and N2101043). These supports are gratefully acknowledged.
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GZ designed the study, data collection and analysis, material preparation, and the combination of the whole manuscript. WZ wrote some parts of the introduction and the improvement of the manuscript. ZQ contributed to the manuscript by writing the methodology and improvement of the manuscript. BY reviewed and edited the manuscript. HJ performed the concept and wrote some parts of the introduction. CH wrote some parts of the introduction and the improvement of the manuscript.
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Zhu, G., Zhu, W., Qi, Z. et al. One-part alkali-activated slag binder for cemented fine tailings backfill: proportion optimization and properties evaluation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 73865–73877 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20331-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20331-w