Mechanical Behavior of a Mine Tailing Stabilized with a Sustainable Binder

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 13; no. 7; p. 4103
• Main Authors: Manaviparast, Hamid Reza, Pinheiro, João, Najafi, Elmira Khaksar, Abreu, Cláudia, Araújo, Nuno, Cristelo, Nuno, Miranda, Tiago
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2023
• Subjects: alkaline activation; Alkaline wastes; Alumina; Binders; Carbon dioxide; Caustic soda; Cement; Chemical analysis; Chemical reactions; Curing; Fly ash; Heavy metals; Industrial wastes; Landfill; Mechanical properties; mine tailing; Mine tailings; Mine wastes; Mineral industry; Mineralogy; Mining industry; Natural resources; Performance evaluation; Permeability; Portland cement; Portland cements; Potassium; Scanning electron microscopy; Sodium; Sustainability; Tailings; Toxicity; triaxial test; Triaxial tests; Portugal
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app13074103

Mining is a primary sector for the national economy of many countries, but exploiting these natural resources causes negative impacts on the environment. Tailings produced during mining, called mine tailings, have to be disposed of, and for that purpose, they are often mixed with Portland cement to control environmental toxicity and improve their mechanical properties. However, the high environmental impacts of producing Portland cement are well known. In this sense, sustainable binders based on the alkaline activation of industrial wastes have been studied as an alternative to using Portland cement. This study focused on applying a sustainable binder based on the alkaline activation of fly ash to improve the mechanical performance of a mine tailing from a mine located in Portugal. Geotechnical tests and chemical analysis were conducted to characterize the mine tailing and fly ash used in the alkaline activation process. In addition, triaxial tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical performance of the specimens, with both natural and stabilized tailings. The developed study proved that stabilized tailing with activated fly ash shows promising mechanical performance showing that this approach can be an excellent alternative to using Portland cement.