Proposal of New Construction Material: Polymer-Stabilized Gold Ore Tailings Composite

Giovanna Monique Alelvan (), José Wilson dos Santos Ferreira, Michéle Dal Toé Casagrande and Nilo Cesar Consoli
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Giovanna Monique Alelvan: Department of Transportation & Geotechnical Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil
José Wilson dos Santos Ferreira: Department of Civil Construction, Federal University of Technology-Parana, Campo Mourao 87301-899, Brazil
Michéle Dal Toé Casagrande: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Brasilia, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil
Nilo Cesar Consoli: Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-22

Abstract: Recent events involving the rupture of tailings dams in Brazil have motivated the search for alternatives to incorporate the material into the production chain. At the same time, the consumption of raw materials by the civil construction sector is high, requiring the incorporation of alternative materials to achieve sustainable development. Thus, this paper proposes a new construction material based on the mechanical and microstructural behavior of polymer-stabilized and fiber-reinforced gold ore tailings composites. Unconfined Compressive Strength tests were performed on different polymer contents (6% and 9%), dry unit weights (1.7 g/cm³ and 1.8 g/cm³), and curing periods (7 and 28 days), according to 2K Experimental Design. Microstructural tests were performed using X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography. The results demonstrate that adding polymer increased tailings’ mechanical behaviors by forming packages with the lamellar particle, which was observed in microstructural tests. The polymeric composites’ brittle behavior was improved using fiber insertion, leading to an increase of the strain energy absorption capacity. The polymer-stabilized and fiber-reinforced gold ore tailings composites demonstrated its potential as a construction material, especially in landfill structures, tailings stockpiles, and paving base layers. The association of mechanical and microstructural analysis established a new understanding of the effect of the stabilizer and the reinforcement.

Keywords: gold mining tailings; polymer; fiber; compression; microstructural analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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