Effects of MgO and Fe 2 O 3 Addition for Upgrading the Refractory Characteristics of Magnesite Ore Mining Waste/By-Products

Evangelia Pagona, Kyriaki Kalaitzidou, Vasileios Zaspalis, Anastasios Zouboulis () and Manassis Mitrakas
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Evangelia Pagona: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Kyriaki Kalaitzidou: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Vasileios Zaspalis: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Anastasios Zouboulis: Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Manassis Mitrakas: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece

Clean Technol., 2022, vol. 4, issue 4, 1-24

Abstract: In the context of a circular economy/zero-waste, the conversion of extractive wastes into new products is of particular importance. At the Grecian Magnesite SA mine (Chalkidiki, N. Greece), millions of tons of waste accumulate in the operation field. To achieve these goals, the effect of caustic calcined magnesia (MgO) at 10, 15, and 20 wt.% was investigated in combination with 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 wt.% Fe 2 O 3 at 1300 °C and 1600 °C for 120 min. The main refractory properties were determined along with the mineralogical content. The morphological examination has been performed by SEM-EDS analysis. The addition of MgO increases the desired olivine and eliminates the unwanted pyroxenes, causing the formation of magnesium-ferrite and periclase. MgO wt.% addition resulted in the decrease of firing shrinkage at 1300 °C but increased with Fe 2 O 3 . At 1600 °C, firing shrinkage had a minimum value at the optimum MgO dose. Mechanical strength at 1600 °C achieved a maximum value at the optimum MgO dose plus 5 wt.% MgO and 2.5 wt.% Fe 2 O 3 due to sintering process/magnesioferrite formation. These results indicate that MgO and Fe 2 O 3 upgrade the refractoriness of magnesite mining wastes due to the diffusion of Fe 2 O 3 in MgO excess.

Keywords: magnesite mining waste; MgO additive; Fe 2 O 3 additive; forsterite (olivine); thermal treatment; refractory products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (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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