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Characterisation of Mining Waste and Its Use in Construction Materials:...
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Characterisation of Mining Waste and Its Use in Construction Materials: A Circular Mining Perspective

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2024) | Viewed by 6979

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Juan María Terrones-Saeta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mining, Mechanical, Energetic and Civil Engineering, University of Huelva, 21819 Huelva, Spain
Interests: mining waste; construction materials; hydrometallurgy; life cycle; materials processing; mechanical properties; metal extraction; sustainability; environment
Prof. Dr. José Antonio Grande Gil

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mining, Mechanical, Energetic and Civil Engineering, University of Huelva, 21819 Huelva, Spain
Interests: water pollution; modelling of polluting processes; statistics and fuzzy logic; mining and environment; acid mine drainage; applied geophysics
Dr. Ana Luís

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mining, Mechanic, Energetic and Construction Engineering, Higher Technical School of Engineering, University of Huelva & Scientific and Technological Center of Huelva (CCTH), 21819 Huelva, Spain
Interests: ecology; water quality; environment; environmental impact assessment; wastewater treatment; environmental monitoring; water treatment; environmental pollution; environmental analysis; water analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The mining sector is essential for the development and welfare of the population, as it provides raw materials of interest for different secondary industries. However, this sector also generates significant environmental impacts, for which several regulations have been developed at the international level to control and try to reduce. One of the most important environmental impacts produced by mining activity is mining waste. Therefore, it is essential to study these elements in order to, on the one hand, evaluate their possible impact on the environment through their characterisation and analysis over time; and, on the other hand, to develop new materials using these mining wastes as raw materials. In this way, the extraction of new materials can be avoided, landfilling can be eliminated and, consequently, the possible pollution associated with the storage of these wastes can be avoided. In view of this, this Special Issue aims to publish the current advances in the characterisation of mining waste in order to subsequently use it in new materials and, finally, to evaluate environmentally and economically the possible improvements from the use of these wastes in comparison with raw materials.

The following are, therefore, the main topics of this Special Issue:

  • Physical and chemical characterisation of mining waste.
  • Analysis of water from mining activities.
  • Statistical study of the properties of mining waste and mine water.
  • Development of new sustainable ceramic materials for construction with mining waste.
  • Development of bituminous mixtures for roads with a low carbon footprint through the use of mining waste.
  • Environmental study of the advantages of using mining waste as a raw material for new materials.

Dr. Juan María Terrones-Saeta
Prof. Dr. José Antonio Grande Gil
Dr. Ana Luís
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mining waste
  • acid mine drainage
  • raw materials
  • construction materials
  • ceramics
  • bituminous mixtures
  • geopolymers
  • environmental analysis
  • sustainable development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1732 KiB  
Article
Features of Processes for Preparation and Performance of Foamed Lightweight Soil with Steel Slag Micronized Powder and Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
by Hao Liu, Jixin Li, Qiqing He, Zhixiong Yang, Longfan Peng, Yuan Li and Gaoke Zhang
Processes 2024, 12(4), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12040678 - 28 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1242
Abstract
Steel slag micronized powder, granulated blast furnace slag, and cement were used as cementitious materials to prepare a foamed lightweight soil for roadbed filling to reduce the settlement and additional stress of the foundation and to solve the environmental problems caused by the [...] Read more.
Steel slag micronized powder, granulated blast furnace slag, and cement were used as cementitious materials to prepare a foamed lightweight soil for roadbed filling to reduce the settlement and additional stress of the foundation and to solve the environmental problems caused by the storage of large amounts of steel slag. However, the instability of steel slag and the multi-angular nature of its surface limit the resource utilization of steel slag. Currently, concrete technology is unable to achieve a large amount of steel slag. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply explore the influence of steel slag content and the specific surface area of steel slag on the working performance, compressive strength, durability, and micro-mechanism of foam light soil. Through the modification of steel slag and the improvement of the production process, the preparation of foam light soil with a large amount of steel slag can be realized. In this study, the foamed lightweight soil with 1.0 Mpa was prepared by cementitious materials composed of 40% cement and 60% multi-mixture of steel slag micronized powder and granulated blast furnace slag. The study of SEM images and BET demonstrated that the larger specific surface area of steel slag powder was more conducive to improving the durability of the foamed lightweight soil. Meanwhile, XRD analyses confirmed that the reactions of f-CaO and f-MgO in steel slag were slowly released in the porous foamed lightweight soil system, which compensated for the shrinkage properties of porous materials. When the SSMP content was 0%, the shrinkage rate was 2.34 × 10−3, while when the SSMP content was 60%, the shrinkage rate was only 0.54 × 10−3. Furthermore, our study of the hydration process of samples indicated that the strong alkalinity of steel slag micronized powder hydration was helpful to stimulate the potential activity of the slag powder, which was beneficial to the improvement of the compressive strength of foamed lightweight soil. Thus, this study provides a valuable idea for reducing the settlement and additional stress of the original foundation and for solving the environmental problems caused by a large amount of steel slag storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation of Mining Waste and Its Use in Construction Materials: A Circular Mining Perspective)
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25 pages, 9733 KiB  
Article
Interaction between Groundwater and Rock Fractures under Stress and Seepage Based on Extractive Water Resource Utilisation
by Zhuolin Shi, Qiangling Yao, Chengle Wu, Yingnan Xu, Furong Wang, Weinan Wang and Jialong Sun
Processes 2023, 11(12), 3380; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11123380 - 6 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1206
Abstract
In the fragile mining areas of western China, the contradiction between coal mining and water resource protection coexists prominently. Facing this issue, it is necessary to understand the dynamic relationship between mining-induced shear stress and groundwater seepage, as well as the fracture morphology [...] Read more.
In the fragile mining areas of western China, the contradiction between coal mining and water resource protection coexists prominently. Facing this issue, it is necessary to understand the dynamic relationship between mining-induced shear stress and groundwater seepage, as well as the fracture morphology of the overlying strata. In this study, the seepage characteristics of rough fractures within the rock mass are thoroughly investigated, with an emphasis on studying the effects of shear stress and seepage erosion. This research is carried out through seepage experiments and 3D fracture morphology scanning, and the research results are mainly as follows: (a) Rocks with higher shear strengths show less fluctuation in changes in fracture morphology and seepage velocity. (b) The permeability of sandstone and concrete fractures is inversely proportional to the shear stress. The layering of coal greatly limits seepage through the fractures and the permeability of coal is about one-tenth of the permeability of sandstone and concrete under the same conditions. (c) The mechanism of erosion damage to the rock by water-force coupling is the result of the shear and extrusion generated by rock fractures and the transport of rock particles. Changes in fracture erosion and seepage characteristics brought about by the damage will mutually promote and intensify the erosive effect of water force. (d) The degree of change in fracture morphology (fracture damage) under the same conditions is coal > concrete > sandstone. There are differences in the response of different types of rock to the shear stress–seepage erosion, but all show obvious changes in fracture damage and seepage characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation of Mining Waste and Its Use in Construction Materials: A Circular Mining Perspective)
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16 pages, 11609 KiB  
Article
Research of an Abandoned Tailings Deposit in the Iberian Pyritic Belt: Characterization and Gross Reserves Estimation
by Diego Davoise and Ana Méndez
Processes 2023, 11(6), 1642; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11061642 - 27 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2025
Abstract
Global situations such as economic recovery after a pandemic, geopolitical instability, and future digital and energy transition are some of the drivers for the European Union (EU) to explore new and existing sources of raw materials. The Iberian Pyrite Belt in the southwest [...] Read more.
Global situations such as economic recovery after a pandemic, geopolitical instability, and future digital and energy transition are some of the drivers for the European Union (EU) to explore new and existing sources of raw materials. The Iberian Pyrite Belt in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) hosts a great number of tailing deposits from centuries of mining operations. A unique tailings deposit has been studied and characterized. The similarities with other tailing deposits deeply studied suggested the presence of critical raw materials. Furthermore, a very gross reserves estimation was made. The characterization and reserves estimations were compared with the bibliography from mining companies who operated in the area decades ago and from the bibliography available at Fundación Riotinto. The presence of critical raw materials was confirmed, some of them in high concentrations. Moreover, a singular difference was found compared with other similar tailings stored within the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The main valuable metals identified were Au (2.25 ppm), Ag (215 ppm), Co (131 ppm) and Cu (0.29%). The reserves estimation showed that this deposit potentially hosts 1.86 t of Au, 177 t of Ag, 108 t of Co or 2358 t of Cu; in other words, with a copper average price of 8366 US$/t in December 2022, the tailings deposit contains a potential value of more than 19 million USD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation of Mining Waste and Its Use in Construction Materials: A Circular Mining Perspective)
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15 pages, 3599 KiB  
Article
Ceramics for Building Structures Made from Contaminated Soils: A Fuzzy Logic Intelligence Approach to Circular Mining
by Juan María Terrones-Saeta, Daniel Camazón Portela, Ana Teresa Luís, Jorge Suárez-Macías and José Antonio Grande
Processes 2023, 11(5), 1512; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11051512 - 16 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1599
Abstract
Soils contaminated by mining activities are a major environmental concern, and to avoid this type of environmental impact, carrying out high-cost processes is necessary. For this reason, a solution is proposed in this study in order to eliminate the soils contaminated by mining [...] Read more.
Soils contaminated by mining activities are a major environmental concern, and to avoid this type of environmental impact, carrying out high-cost processes is necessary. For this reason, a solution is proposed in this study in order to eliminate the soils contaminated by mining activities and, in turn, prevent the soil’s contaminating elements from causing harm. All this is achieved by using contaminated soils as raw materials for the production of ceramics for bricks. For this purpose, the materials were initially characterized physically and chemically, and different ceramic test pieces were manufactured with different percentages of clay and contaminated soil, subsequently determining the physical properties and the leaching of toxic elements. In this way, it was possible to evaluate, via innovative data mining and fuzzy logic techniques, the influence of the contaminated soil's contribution on the properties of ceramics. Based on this, it was possible to affirm that the contaminated soil incorporation negatively affects the physical properties of ceramics as well as the leaching of polluting elements. The ceramic formed by contaminated soil and clay has a lower compressive strength, and it is associated with lower linear shrinkage and lower density, as well as higher porosity and cold-water absorption. However, the addition of different percentages of contaminated soil (up to 70%) to clay created a ceramic that complied with regulation restrictions. Therefore, it was possible to obtain a sustainable material that eliminates environmental problems at a lower cost and that fits within the new circular mining concept thanks to fuzzy logic techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation of Mining Waste and Its Use in Construction Materials: A Circular Mining Perspective)
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