Study on the Long-Term Durability and Leaching Characteristics of Low-Consumption Cement Backfill under Different Environmental Conditions

Jinxing Wang, Menghang Xing, Xiaolin Yang, Huazhe Jiao (), Liuhua Yang, Tongyi Yang, Chunlai Wang and Xiaohui Liu
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Jinxing Wang: Department of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454003, China
Menghang Xing: Department of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454003, China
Xiaolin Yang: Department of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454003, China
Huazhe Jiao: Department of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454003, China
Liuhua Yang: Department of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454003, China
Tongyi Yang: School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003, China
Chunlai Wang: Faculty of Resources & Safety Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing 100083, China
Xiaohui Liu: School of Safety Engineering, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Langfang 065000, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: The high consumption and high cost of cement are the bottleneck problems that limit the development of cemented tailings backfilling technology. The low-consumption cement backfill is immersed in a weak acid/alkaline groundwater environment for a long time. Reducing the consumption of cement can easily lead to problems such as a sudden decrease in strength and the leakage of heavy metals. Through the monolithic leaching test in static and uniaxial compressive tests, the heavy metals’ leaching concentration and the compressive strength of low-consumption cement backfills in different pH soaking solutions were measured at different soaking times. Results show that a lower cement concentration will result in a lower CTB compressive strength and a higher rate of heavy metal leaching. Long-term exposure to an acidic/alkaline environment will lead to the instability and destruction of the CTB structure. A microscopic examination reveals that the creation of hydration products can improve the structure’s compactness while also lowering the internal porosity of CTB but can also solidify heavy metal ions in various ways. A first-order reaction/diffusion model (FRDM) can better evaluate the leaching behavior of CTB. This study helps to improve backfilling technology, thereby contributing to the creation of sustainable mining geotechnologies.

Keywords: cementing backfilling technology; cement consumption; heavy metal leaching; pollution prevention; structural safety; balanced development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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