Fabrication of green one-part geopolymer from silica-rich vanadium tailing via thermal activation and modification

• Published in: International journal of minerals, metallurgy and materials Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 177 - 184
• Main Authors: Bao, Shenxu, Luo, Yongpeng, Zhang, Yimin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing University of Science and Technology Beijing 01.01.2022; Springer Nature B.V; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering,Wuhan University of Technology,Wuhan 430070,China%Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment,Wuhan University of Technology,Wuhan 430070,China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment,Wuhan University of Technology,Wuhan 430070,China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering,Wuhan University of Technology,Wuhan 430070,China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Mineral Metallurgical Resources Utilization and Pollution Control,Wuhan University of Science and Techno-logy,Wuhan 430081,China; Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for High Efficient Utilization of Vanadium Resources,Wuhan University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430081,China
• Subjects: Aluminum; Caustic soda; Cement; Ceramics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Corrosion and Coatings; Emissions; Fabrication; Geopolymers; Glass; High temperature; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Metakaolin; Metallic Materials; Natural Materials; Precursors; Raw materials; Silica; Silicon dioxide; Sodium; Sodium hydroxide; Sodium silicates; Solid wastes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Tailings; Thin Films; Tribology; Vanadium; compressive strength; thermal activation; vanadium tailing; geopolymeric precursor; leaching behavior
• ISSN: 1674-4799; 1869-103X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12613-020-2182-1

The aim of this investigation was to prepare geopolymeric precursor from vanadium tailing (VT) by thermal activation and modification. For activation, a homogeneous blend of VT and sodium hydroxide was calcinated at an elevated temperature and then modified with metakaolin to produce a geopolymeric precursor. During the thermal activation, the VT was corroded by sodium hydroxide and then sodium silicate formed on the particle surfaces. After water was added, the sodium silicate coating dissolved to release silicon species, which created an alkaline solution environment. The metakaolin then dissolved in the alkaline environment to generate aluminum species, which was followed by geopolymerization. The VT particles were connected by a gel produced during geopolymerization, which yielded a geopolymer with excellent mechanical performance. This investigation not only improves the feasibility of using geopolymer technology for large-scale and in-situ applications, but also promotes the utilization of VT and other silica-rich solid wastes.