Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers
Valorization of high-volume mine tailings could be achieved by the development of new geopolymers with a low CO<sub>2</sub> footprint. Materials rich in aluminum and silicon with appropriate solubility in an alkaline medium can be used to obtain a geopolymer. This paper presents a study...
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| author | Darya Ilieva Lyudmila Angelova Temenuzhka Radoykova Andriana Surleva Georgi Chernev Petrica Vizureanu Dumitru Doru Burduhos-Nergis Andrei Victor Sandu |
| author_facet | Darya Ilieva Lyudmila Angelova Temenuzhka Radoykova Andriana Surleva Georgi Chernev Petrica Vizureanu Dumitru Doru Burduhos-Nergis Andrei Victor Sandu |
| author_sort | Darya Ilieva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Valorization of high-volume mine tailings could be achieved by the development of new geopolymers with a low CO<sub>2</sub> footprint. Materials rich in aluminum and silicon with appropriate solubility in an alkaline medium can be used to obtain a geopolymer. This paper presents a study of copper mine tailings from Bulgaria as precursors for geopolymers. Particle size distribution, chemical and mineralogical composition, as well as alkaline reactivity, acidity and electroconductivity of aqueous slurry are studied. The heavy metal content and their mobility are studied by leaching tests. Sequential extraction was applied to determine the geochemical phase distribution of heavy metals. The studied samples were characterized by high alkalinity, which could favor the geopolymerization process. The water-soluble sulphates were less than 4%. The Si/Al ratio in mine tailing was found to be 3. The alkaline reactivity depended more so on the time of extraction than on the concentration of NaOH solution. The main part of the heavy metals was found in the residual fraction; hence, in high alkaline medium during the geopolymerization process, they will stay fixed. Thus, the obtained geopolymers could be expected to exert low environmental impact. The presented results revealed that studied copper mine tailing is a suitable precursor for geopolymerization. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cef4873c3ac246eca96969f4021ff2ac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:54:05Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-cef4873c3ac246eca96969f4021ff2ac2024-02-09T15:17:01ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442024-01-0117354210.3390/ma17030542Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining GeopolymersDarya Ilieva0Lyudmila Angelova1Temenuzhka Radoykova2Andriana Surleva3Georgi Chernev4Petrica Vizureanu5Dumitru Doru Burduhos-Nergis6Andrei Victor Sandu7Faculty of Chemical Technologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 “St. Kl. Ohridski” Blvd., 1756 Sofia, BulgariaFaculty of Chemical Technologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 “St. Kl. Ohridski” Blvd., 1756 Sofia, BulgariaFaculty of Chemical Technologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 “St. Kl. Ohridski” Blvd., 1756 Sofia, BulgariaFaculty of Chemical Technologies, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 “St. Kl. Ohridski” Blvd., 1756 Sofia, BulgariaFaculty of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 8 “St. Kl. Ohridski” Blvd., 1756 Sofia, BulgariaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 67 Prof. D. Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 67 Prof. D. Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 67 Prof. D. Mangeron Blvd., 700050 Iasi, RomaniaValorization of high-volume mine tailings could be achieved by the development of new geopolymers with a low CO<sub>2</sub> footprint. Materials rich in aluminum and silicon with appropriate solubility in an alkaline medium can be used to obtain a geopolymer. This paper presents a study of copper mine tailings from Bulgaria as precursors for geopolymers. Particle size distribution, chemical and mineralogical composition, as well as alkaline reactivity, acidity and electroconductivity of aqueous slurry are studied. The heavy metal content and their mobility are studied by leaching tests. Sequential extraction was applied to determine the geochemical phase distribution of heavy metals. The studied samples were characterized by high alkalinity, which could favor the geopolymerization process. The water-soluble sulphates were less than 4%. The Si/Al ratio in mine tailing was found to be 3. The alkaline reactivity depended more so on the time of extraction than on the concentration of NaOH solution. The main part of the heavy metals was found in the residual fraction; hence, in high alkaline medium during the geopolymerization process, they will stay fixed. Thus, the obtained geopolymers could be expected to exert low environmental impact. The presented results revealed that studied copper mine tailing is a suitable precursor for geopolymerization.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/3/542mine tailinggeopolymersalkaline reactivitycharacterizationheavy metalsleaching tests |
| spellingShingle | Darya Ilieva Lyudmila Angelova Temenuzhka Radoykova Andriana Surleva Georgi Chernev Petrica Vizureanu Dumitru Doru Burduhos-Nergis Andrei Victor Sandu Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers Materials mine tailing geopolymers alkaline reactivity characterization heavy metals leaching tests |
| title | Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers |
| title_full | Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers |
| title_short | Characterization of Bulgarian Copper Mine Tailing as a Precursor for Obtaining Geopolymers |
| title_sort | characterization of bulgarian copper mine tailing as a precursor for obtaining geopolymers |
| topic | mine tailing geopolymers alkaline reactivity characterization heavy metals leaching tests |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/3/542 |
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