Search Results (34)

The use of mining by-products in bitumen and asphalt mixture modification has drawn a lot of interest lately since it can improve pavement performance while advancing the goals of the circular economy and environmental sustainability. Mining by-products such as steel slag, red mud, silica fume, and fly ash have demonstrated good results as sustainable materials for improving the chemical, mechanical, durability, and rheological properties of asphalt binders and mixtures while also reducing the environmental degradation brought about by the disposal of these by-products. This study reviews research efforts on mining by-products (specifically steel slag, silica fume, red mud, and fly ash) in asphalt concrete pavement construction, analyzing the existing research, with emphasis on their various applications in asphalt concrete, their benefits as sustainable asphalt concrete materials, and limitations connected to their use. This review concludes by providing future directions in the utilization of these mining by-products in asphalt concrete production. This review contributes to the development of cost-effective, eco-friendly, and high-performance road construction materials, helping the transition to sustainable infrastructure. Full article

Today, several conventional wastes (fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slags, etc.) are used as valid precursors for geopolymer synthesis. However, there are several new wastes that can be studied to replace geopolymer precursors. This study investigates the behavior of four industrial wastes—suction dust (SW1), red mud (SW2), electro-filter dust (SW3), and extraction sludge (SW4)—as 20 wt.% substitutes for metakaolin in geopolymer synthesis. The objective is to assess how their incorporation before alkali activation affects the structural, thermal, mechanical, chemical, and antimicrobial properties of the resulting geopolymers, namely GPSW1–4. FT-IR analysis confirmed successful geopolymerization in all samples (the main Si-O-T band underwent redshift, confirming Al incorporation in geopolymer structures after alkaline activation), and stability tests revealed that none of the GPSW1–4 samples disintegrated under thermal or water stress. However, GPSW3 showed an increase in efflorescence phenomena after these tests. Moreover, compressive strength was reduced across all waste-containing geopolymers (from 22.0 MPa for GP to 12.6 MPa for GPSW4 and values lower than 8.1 MPa for GPSW1–3), while leaching tests showed that GPSW1 and GPSW4 released antimony (127.5 and 0.128 ppm, respectively) above the legal limits for landfill disposal (0.07 ppm). Thermal analysis indicated that waste composition influenced dehydration and decomposition behavior. The antimicrobial activity of waste-based geopolymers was observed against E. coli, while E. faecalis showed stronger resistance. Overall, considering leaching properties, SW2 and SW3 were properly entrapped in the GP structure, but showed lower mechanical properties. However, their antimicrobial activity could be useful for surface coating applications. Regarding GPSW1 and GPSW4, the former needs some treatment before incorporation, since Sb is not stable, while the latter, showing a good compressive strength, higher thermal stability, and leaching Sb value not far from the legal limit, could be used for the inner reinforcement of building materials. Full article

The production of alumina produces red mud (RM), a highly alkaline solid waste. The majority of it is disposed of in landfills, which seriously pollutes the environment. It needs to be recycled and handled with care to protect the environment. RM is a promising raw material for wastewater and waste gas treatment owing to its high alkalinity and abundant metal compounds. It can efficiently remove diverse pollutants while facilitating large-scale utilization of RM resources. Reviews of the use of RM resources to create catalysts for environmental governance are, nevertheless, scarce. Therefore, this paper analyzes and summarizes the pertinent research on RM-based catalysts to remove pollutants from the environment based on journal literature related to RM resource utilization from 2015 to 2025. This study reviews the application of RM-based catalysts for degrading pollutants in wastewater and exhaust gases via advanced oxidation processes (AOPs)—including photocatalysis, Fenton-like catalysis, ozonation catalysis, and persulfate catalysis—as well as catalytic oxidation, chemical looping combustion (CLC), and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The paper emphasizes the analysis of modification strategies and catalytic mechanisms of RM-based catalysts in environmental remediation and examines the environmental risks and corresponding mitigation measures related to their preparation from RM resources. Finally, it outlines that future research should prioritize green, low-energy modification processes; catalytic systems for the synergistic removal of multiple pollutants; and efficient, recyclable separation and recovery technologies. These directions aim to promote the sustainable application of RM in large-scale environmental remediation and to achieve the integrated advancement of resource utilization and ecological protection. Full article

Highly alkaline and highly toxic red mud and other bulk industrial solid wastes become severely accumulated, posing huge risks such as soil degradation and environmental pollution. It is urgent to develop a long-term and stable resource disposal method. In the present research, artificial lightweight aggregates were fabricated utilizing industrial solid residues including red mud, phosphate tailing powder, and fly ash as raw materials. The physical characteristics, microstructure, heavy metal leaching attributes, and freeze–thaw resistance under different mixed water and curing conditions were studied. The results showed that, under the optimal curing condition (steam curing temperature of 80 °C and curing time of 10 h), lightweight aggregates exhibited the best comprehensive performance, with favorable trends in bulk density, apparent density, softening coefficient, and 1 h water absorption. In addition, the impact of extending the curing time on the further enhancement of the cylinder crush strength is limited. The microscopic morphology study showed that the hydration products in lightweight aggregates are primarily N-A-S-H and C-(A)-S-H, forming a strong colloidal structure and evenly dispersed on the particle surface, thereby improving its strength. Moreover, the heavy metal leachates (Cr, Pb, As, Cu, and Ni) from the lightweight aggregates met the environmental discharge criteria for non-hazardous substances. Full article

Comparative analysis of red mud reduction techniques was performed using both carbothermal and hydrogen-based reduction methods, combining thermochemical modeling and experimental validation. The reduction process is mostly important because of the high contamination risk assessment of soil with disposed red mud. Therefore, the minimization of red mud during the reduction process can be a novel strategy for the production of metallic iron and solid residue for hydrometallurgical treatment. Different strategies of hydrogen and carbon reduction in static and dynamic conditions were studied between 700 °C and 1700 °C. The separation of solid residue and formed iron was analyzed using magnetic separation. The main aim was to study the advantages and disadvantages of using decarbonizing technologies for the treatment of red mud, aiming to develop an environmentally friendly process. Thermochemical analysis of the reduction offered new data about mass losses during our process through the evaporation, thermal decomposition, and formation of metallic carbide. Full article

Red mud (RM), a highly alkaline waste from alumina production, poses severe environmental threats due to massive stockpiling (>350 million tons in China) and groundwater contamination. This study evaluates three scalable strategies to repurpose RM: iron recovery via magnetic separation, sintered brick production using RM–fly ash–granulated blast furnace slag (6:1:3 ratio), and non-calcined cementitious binders combining RM and phosphogypsum (PG). Industrial-scale iron extraction achieved 23.85% recovery of iron concentrate (58% Fe₂O₃ grade) and consumed 3.6 million tons/year of RM, generating CNY 31 million annual profit. Sintered bricks exhibited 10–15 MPa compressive strength, meeting ASTM C62-23 standard while reducing material costs by 30%. The RM–PG binder achieved 40 MPa compressive strength at 28 days without cement or calcination, leveraging RM’s alkalinity (21.95% Na₂O) and PG’s sulfate activation. Collectively, these approaches reduced landfill reliance by 50% and CO₂ emissions by 35%–40% compared to conventional practices. The results demonstrate RM’s potential as a secondary resource, offering economically viable and environmentally sustainable pathways for the alumina industry. Full article

To address the issues of the low pozzolanic activity and high pollution potential of red mud (RM), this study utilizes different industrial solid wastes to synergistically enhance the physicochemical properties of red mud-based filling materials. The compressive strengths of red mud-based filling materials activated by three types of solid wastes—desulfurized gypsum (DG), carbide slag (CS), and steel slag (SS)—were compared, revealing the differences in their effects on the physicochemical properties of the materials. The results showed that DG significantly enhanced the compressive strength of the backfill material. The composite system composed of 65.8% RM, 18.8% FA, 9.4% cement, and 6% DG achieved a compressive strength of 7.36 MPa after 28 days of curing, demonstrating a 97.8% increase compared to the control group. Techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis were employed to characterize the microstructural evolution of the red mud-based filling materials activated by different solid wastes. This study investigated the differences in the pore structure, microscopic morphology, and chemical composition of the materials containing different solid wastes. The results indicated that DG effectively promotes the formation of ettringite and C(-A)-S-H gel, optimizes the pore structure of the filling materials, and forms a dense matrix, thereby enhancing the stiffness and strength of the materials. Additionally, the red mud-based filling materials developed in this study exhibit excellent environmental performance. This not only provides theoretical support for the development of red mud-based filling materials but also offers new insights for mine backfilling and the co-disposal of solid wastes. Full article

Red mud and phosphogypsum are two typical industrial by-products. The preparation of red mud/phosphogypsum-based artificial soils offers a promising novel solution to the efficient synergistic disposal of them. Fungi, as key drivers, can promote the continuous development and ecological improvement of artificial soils. This study is first to report the characteristics of fungal communities in three artificial soils after one year of incubation. The preliminary formation of fungal communities (with relatively low diversity) resulted in a total of 3 fungal phyla, 81 fungal genera, and 144 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in artificial soils. Ascomycota was the dominant fungal phylum in each artificial soil (>99.5%), and the high-abundance fungal genera included Unclassified_c_Sordariomycetes, Unclassified_o_Sordariales, Emericellopsis, Kernia, Unclassified_f_Nectriaceae, Ramophialophora, Schizothecium, and Iodophanus. There were significant differences among the three artificial soils in the compositions of fungal genera, which affected material cycling, ecological succession, and soil development and maturation to varying extents. According to the FUNGuild prediction of fungal communities, saprotrophic fungi (such as undefined saprotroph, dung saprotroph–undefined saprotroph, and dung saprotroph) played dominant roles in promoting the degradation and humification of organic matter and the cycling of carbon in artificial soils. Fungal communities in the three artificial soils had strong correlations with many environmental factors (such as pH, organic matter, available nitrogen, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, sucrase, urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and catalase), indicating significant interactions between them. This is not only conducive to the continuous optimization of the structure of fungal communities in artificial soils but also promotes the balanced and homogeneous distribution of various substances, promoting continuous soil development and maturation and gradual improvement in its ecological functions. This study provides an important scientific basis for clarifying the mechanisms of mycogenesis during the continuous development and maturation of artificial soils. Full article

This study presents a comparative analysis of titanium leaching from tionite (a byproduct of the titanium dioxide production process) and carbothermally reduced red mud (derived from aluminum residues). Tionites from the sulfate process and red mud residue are known for their environmental impacts due to their metal content and acidic/basic nature. This study explored leaching as a method to recover titanium and other metals under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions using sulfuric acid. Experiments were conducted in an autoclave with different parameter changes, like varying oxygen pressure, temperature, and reaction time to optimize metal extraction. The leaching efficiency of titanium was found to be higher in the carbothermal-reduced slag compared to tionite due to the altered mineral phases in the reduced material. XRD and SEM-EDS analyses confirmed the differing leaching behaviors, with titanium compounds in tionite showing greater resistance to dissolution. These findings highlight the importance of thermal pre-treatment for optimizing metal recovery from industrial residues. The main aim of this study is to contribute to the development of sustainable waste management solutions for tionites and red mud, emphasizing the potential of hydrometallurgical methods for metal recovery. The results are expected to inform future research and industrial applications, advancing the recovery of valuable metals while reducing the environmental footprint of titanium and aluminum residue disposal. Full article

Instability in red mud dam bodies is not uncommon. In order to study the stability evolution mechanism during the process of red mud landfill and the deformation characteristics under earthquake action when the landfill site is closed, the deformation law and potential sliding surface motion characteristics of the landfill site were explored based on the finite difference method, revealing the influence of peak ground acceleration (PGA) on red mud deformation. The results showed that: (1) As the height of the red mud landfill increases, the shear force of the red mud landfill gradually increases. Meanwhile, the maximum shear force always occurs near the initial dam, indicating that under the action of gravity, the possibility of shear slip occurring near the initial dam is the highest. (2) The distribution pattern of the plastic zone in the red mud pile during the filling process is relatively complex, and continuous monitoring of the filling process should be carried out to ensure the safety of the filling project. (3) With the increase in earthquake acceleration, the shear force of red mud piles gradually increases. Meanwhile, as the acceleration increases, the maximum shear stress always occurs at the bottom of the initial dam body. Under the action of power, special attention should be paid to the stability of the pile near the initial dam. Full article

Industrial byproduct gypsum (BPG) is a secondary product that is mainly composed of calcium sulfate discharged during industrial production. BPG primarily consists of desulfurized gypsum, phosphogypsum, and titanium gypsum, which account for 88% of the total BPG in China. The large-scale utilization of these three types of solid waste is crucial for the safe disposal of BPG. BPG contains various impurities and harmful elements, limiting its applications. The continuous accumulation of BPG poses a serious threat to the safety of the environment. Based on a literature review (2021–2023), it was found that 52% of BPG is used in the preparation of cementitious materials, and the addition of BPG results in an average improvement of 7–30% in the mechanical properties of cementitious materials. Moreover, BPG has a positive impact on the immobilization of hazardous elements in raw materials. Therefore, the utilization of BPG in cementitious materials is beneficial for its large-scale disposal. This study primarily reviews the effects and mechanisms of BPG on the mechanical properties of cementitious materials and the solidification of hazardous elements. Most importantly, the review reveals that BPG positively influences the hydration activity of silica–alumina-based solid waste (such as steel slag and blast furnace slag) and alkaline solid waste (such as carbide slag and red mud). This improves the proportion of solid waste in cement and reduces production costs and carbon emissions. Finally, this article summarizes and proposes the application of BPG in cementitious materials. The application of BPG + silica–alumina solid waste + alkaline solid-waste-based cementitious materials is expected to realize a new type of green ecological chain for the joint utilization of multiple industrial solid wastes and to promote the low-carbon sustainable development of industrial clusters. Full article

Red mud is an industrial solid waste rarely utilized and often disposed of in landfills, resulting in resource waste and environmental pollution. However, due to its high pH and abundance of iron and aluminum oxides and hydroxides, red mud has excellent adsorption properties which can effectively remove heavy metals through ion exchange, adsorption, and precipitation. Therefore, red mud is a valuable resource rather than a waste byproduct. In recent years, red mud has been increasingly studied for its potential in wastewater treatment and soil improvement. Red mud can effectively reduce the migration and impact of heavy metals in soils and water bodies. This paper reviews the research results from using red mud to mitigate cadmium pollution in water bodies and soils, discusses the environmental risks of red mud, and proposes key research directions for the future management of red mud in cadmium-contaminated environments. Full article

Sewage sludge and red mud, as common industrial waste, have become a research hotspot in the field of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, reducing carbon emissions, and solving environmental problems. However, their treatment and disposal have always been a difficult problem in the environmental field. Utilizing these two materials for thermal energy storage can not only improve energy utilization efficiency but also further reduce carbon emissions during their treatment process, providing a new approach for sustainable development in the industrial sector. This article summarizes the research progress for the resource recovery of sewage sludge and red mud for direct thermal energy recovery and composite phase change energy storage. After proper treatment, sludge and red mud can be directly used as energy storage materials. In addition, sludge and red mud can be combined with phase change materials to prepare composite materials with an excellent energy storage performance. This composite has broad application prospects in fields such as solar energy utilization and building energy efficiency. However, there are still some challenges and issues in this resource recovery and utilization, such as potential environmental pollution during the treatment process, the long-term stability of energy storage materials, and cost-effectiveness, which require further research and resolution. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential of sewage sludge and red mud as energy storage materials, to explore their feasibility and advantages in practical applications, and to reveal the research progress, technical challenges, and future development directions of these two materials in the field of thermal energy storage. Full article

Red mud (RM) is a common industrial byproduct that is characterized by high alkalinity, high pollution, and difficult utilization. In this paper, gangue (CG), flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGD), and silicate cement (PC) were used to assist red mud in the preparation of red mud-based composite filler material (RMC), aiming at the large-scale resource utilization of RM. The effects of the mass ratio of RM/CG, the mass ratio of FGD/(RM + CG), and the water–solid ratio (WCR) on the multi-angle properties of RMC were investigated and the optimal ratios were determined. The results showed that the RM/CG was 7:1, FGD/(RM + CG) was 4%, and WCR was 0.51 (RMC8), and the system could increase the RM content to 70%. The microstructural analysis of RMC using a specific surface area and porosity analyzer (BET), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that its hydration products could remodel the pore structure, encapsulate and cement the coarse and fine particles into a dense matrix, and play a certain alkali reduction role, which revealed the microscopic synergistic mechanism between multiple solid wastes. The study shows that the comprehensive disposal of RM reduces the pollution released into the environment and provides new ideas for the green development of mines. Full article

Several procedures for extracting content from different waste materials types were investigated, with the aim of evaluating their environmental impact. The waste materials consisted of wastes from bauxite ore processing by means of the Bayer process (red mud, Ajka, Hungary), bauxite ore using the sintering process followed by the Bayer process (brown-red mud, Žiar nad Hronom, Banská Bystrica region, Slovakia) and sulphide ores (metal-rich post-flotation tailing, Lintich, Slovakia). The extraction procedures were carried out with the aim of isolating “mobilizable” fractions using 0.05 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and 0.43 M acetic acid (AA) (representing environmental risk during changes in normal environmental conditions) and “maximum potentially mobilizable” fractions using 2 M HNO₃ (representing the total environmental risk). The content of chosen toxic heavy metals (THMs) (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn) and Fe, Mn as metals creating Fe/Mn oxides in the extracts and solutions after microwave digestion was determined using high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry (HR CS FAAS). On the basis of the results obtained in this study, it is possible to state that different origin of waste materials is reflected in different mobility of toxic heavy metals into the surrounding environment. From the point of view of toxic heavy metals mobility, disposal site of wastes after bauxite processing are much less of a threat to the environment than disposal site of flotation sludge after processing sulphide ores. The single extraction of 0.43 M AA is more effective than the extraction of 0.05 M EDTA for the purposes of determining the content of metals in the mobilizable fraction of tailing waste materials. The mobility of the studied toxic heavy metals in the Lintich tailing decreases in the direction from the lagoon to the dam, which may indicate the fact that the dam serves to a certain extent to inhibit the mobility of metals into the surrounding ecosystem. Full article