Assessment of Alkali Activation Potential of a Polish Ferronickel Slag

Konstantinos Komnitsas, Georgios Bartzas, Vasiliki Karmali, Evangelos Petrakis, Witold Kurylak, Grzegorz Pietek and Jarosław Kanasiewicz
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Konstantinos Komnitsas: School of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Georgios Bartzas: National Technical University of Athens, School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, 15780 Zografos, Athens, Greece
Vasiliki Karmali: School of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Evangelos Petrakis: School of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Witold Kurylak: Instytut Metali Nieżelaznych, ul. Generała Józefa Sowińskiego 5, 44–100 Gliwice, Poland
Grzegorz Pietek: Instytut Metali Nieżelaznych, ul. Generała Józefa Sowińskiego 5, 44–100 Gliwice, Poland
Jarosław Kanasiewicz: PROFIMA, ul. Bielawska 6/40, 02-511 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: In this study, the alkali activation potential of a Polish ferronickel slag (PS), for the production of inorganic polymers (IPs), is investigated. The effect of the main synthesis parameters, i.e., strength of the activating solution, consisting of NaOH and Na 2 SiO 3 solutions and affecting (SiO 2 + Al 2 O 3 )/Na 2 O and other important molar ratios in the reactive paste, pre-curing period, curing temperature and time and ageing period was investigated. The structural integrity of the produced specimens was tested after their (i) immersion in distilled water and acidic solutions for a period of 7–30 days, and (ii) firing at temperatures between 200 °C and 1000 °C. Several analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Differential scanning analysis-Thermogravimetry and Scanning Electron Microscopy were used for the characterization of the produced IPs. Results show that under the optimum synthesis conditions the IPs obtain compressive strength that exceeds 65 MPa. An innovative aspect of this study is that after heating at 400 °C, the specimens acquire compressive strength of 115 MPa and this indicates that they can be also used as fire resistant materials. This study highlights the potential of alkali activation for the valorization of a ferronickel slag and the production of IPs that can be used as binders or in several construction applications, thus improving the sustainability of the metallurgical sector.

Keywords: ferronickel slag; alkali activation; compressive strength; morphology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:1863-:d:217861

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