Potassium Aluminate Geopolymerisation of Acidic Gold Mine Tailings

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Abstract

Acidic gold mine tailings were alkaline activated using KOH. The effect of potassium aluminate (KA) on the strength and durability of the geopolymers was investigated. A 2.8 KA:KOH geopolymer had a UCS of 18.10 MPa after curing for 5 days at 100 °C. There was an increase in UCS with an increase in loading of KA up to a ratio of 2.8. Beyond the KA:KOH ratio of 2.8, there was a 48% drop in UCS due to excess K+ ions in the system which resulted in the loss of charge balance of the system leading to reduction of UCS. It is worth mentioning that the KA:KOH ratio of 2.8 represented a Si/Al ratio of 1.02. This study showed that KA activation of acidic gold mine tailings is an attractive route to stabilise/solidify hazardous tailing material. Though there is use of elevated temperature to achieve high strength for the KA based geopolymer, this pales in comparison to energy requirements of cement manufacturing and clay brick firing.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNew Prospects in Geotechnical Engineering Aspects of Civil Infrastructures - Proceedings of the 5th GeoChina International Conference 2018 – Civil Infrastructures Confronting Severe Weathers and Climate Changes
Subtitle of host publicationFrom Failure to Sustainability, 2018 in HangZhou, China
EditorsHadi Khabbaz, Heejung Youn, Mounir Bouassida
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media B.V.
Pages270-275
Number of pages6
ISBN (Print)9783319957708
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event5th GeoChina International Conference on Civil Infrastructures Confronting Severe Weathers and Climate Changes: From Failure to Sustainability, 2018 - HangZhou, China
Duration: 23 Jul 201825 Jul 2018

Publication series

NameSustainable Civil Infrastructures
ISSN (Print)2366-3405
ISSN (Electronic)2366-3413

Conference

Conference5th GeoChina International Conference on Civil Infrastructures Confronting Severe Weathers and Climate Changes: From Failure to Sustainability, 2018
Country/TerritoryChina
CityHangZhou
Period23/07/1825/07/18

Keywords

  • Alkaline activation
  • Durability
  • Geopolymers
  • Gold mine tailings
  • Toxicity leaching characteristic procedure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Computational Mechanics
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Environmental Engineering

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