LIN Hui, SONG Xiaolan
(Department of Inorganic Materials, School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University,
Changsha 410083, Hunan, China)
Abstract: Although mineral processing holds great power for improving economy, it often misses the mark because of the generation of industrial wastes like tailing. To recycle the copper tailing, high-strength ceramsite with the density grade of 800, the water absorption of 3.8%, the bulk density of 647 kg/m3, the grain shape factor of 0.98, and the compressive strength of 8.9 MPa was prepared using Zambian copper tailings as the main raw material, after preheating at 900°C for 15 min and sintering at 1250°C for 8 min. The mechanical strength and moisture adsorption of the as-prepared novel ceramsite from Zambia copper tailing were tested. Scanning electron microscope, tensile tests and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the experimental samples. All the performance indexes of the products generated in the optimum technical process can reach the international standard. This kind of ceramsite may have potential applications in structural material.
Key words: copper tailing; high-intensity ceramsite; ratio of materials