Complementation in the composition of steel slag and red mud for preparation of novel ceramics

A method for preparing novel ceramics was developed in this study. Different ratios red muds were added to steel slags to optimize the preparation of novel ceramics by a traditional ceramic preparation process. The sintering mechanism, microstructure, and performance were studied by X-ray diffraction techniques, scanning electron microscopy, and combined experiments of linear shrinkage, water absorption, and flexural strength. The results confirmed that red mud can reduce the volumetric instabilities through the complementarity of red mud and ferroalloy slag. The crystal phases in the ceramics are all pyroxene group minerals, including diopside ferrian, augite, and diopside. The flexural strength of the ceramic that contains 40 wt% red mud and was prepared at the optimal sintering temperature(1140°C) is greater than 93 MPa; its corresponding water absorption is less than 0.05%.

Preparation of hydro-sodalite from fly ash using a hydrothermal method with a submolten salt system and study of the phase transition process

Hydro-sodalites are zeolitic materials with a wide variety of applications.Fly ash is an abundant industrial solid waste,rich in silicon and aluminum,from which hydro-sodalite can be synthesized.However,traditional hydrothermal synthesis methods are complex and cannot produce high-purity products.Therefore,there is a demand for processing routes to obtain high-purity hydro-sodalites.In the present study,high-purity hydro-sodalite(90.2 wt%)was prepared from fly ash by applying a hydrothermal method to a submolten salt system.Samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis(TG–DTA),and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)to confirm and quantify conversion of the raw material into the product phase.Purity of the samples prepared with an H2O/Na OH mass ratio of 1.5 and an H2O/fly ash mass ratio of 10 was calculated and the conversion process of the product phase was studied.Crystallinity of the product was influenced more by the Na OH concentration,less by the H2O/fly ash mass ratio.The main reaction process of the system is that the Si O ions produced by dissolution of the vitreous body in the fly ash and Na+ions in the solution reacted on the destroyed mullite skeleton to produce hydro-sodalite.This processing route could help mitigate processing difficulties,while producing high-purity hydro-sodalite from fly ash.