Influence of CaO on Physical and Environmental Properties of Granulated Copper Slag: Melting Behavior, Grindability and Leaching Behavior

Lijun Sun, Yan Feng, Daolin Wang (), Chongchong Qi and Xuemin Zeng
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Lijun Sun: State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines, Maanshan 243000, China
Yan Feng: State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines, Maanshan 243000, China
Daolin Wang: School of Resource and Safety Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Chongchong Qi: State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines, Maanshan 243000, China
Xuemin Zeng: State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines, Maanshan 243000, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Due to its potential pozzolanic activity, granulated copper slag (GCS) has been proven to act as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) after thermochemical modification with CaO. This modification method reduces cement consumption and CO 2 emissions; however, the additional energy consumption and environmental properties are also not negligible. This paper aims to evaluate the economics and environmental properties of thermochemically modified GCS with CaO through the melting temperature, grindability, and heavy metal leaching characteristics. The X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) results indicated that the composition of the modified GCS shifted to the field close to that of class C fly ash (FA-C) in the CaO-SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 ternary phase diagram, demonstrating higher pozzolanic activity. The test results on melting behavior and grindability revealed that adding CaO in amounts ranging from 5 wt% to 20 wt% decreased the melting temperature while increasing the BET surface area, thus significantly improving the thermochemical modification’s economics. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the cement paste blended with 20 wt% CaO added to the modified GCS after curing reached 17.3, 33.6, and 42.9 MPa after curing for 7, 28, and 90 d, respectively. It even exceeded that of Portland cement paste at 28 d and 90 d curings. The leaching results of blended cement proved that the heavy metal elements showed different trends with increased CaO content in modified GCS, but none exceeded the limit values. This paper provides a valuable reference for evaluating thermochemically modified GCS’s economics and environmental properties for use as SCM.

Keywords: granulated copper slag; thermochemically modification; leachability; melting behavior; solidification/stabilization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q 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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