Treatment of oil-water emulsion from the machinery industry by Fenton's reagent.

An oil-water emulsion from the machinery industry was treated using Fenton's reagent. The objective was to reduce the high chemical oxygen demand (COD) of this waste stream so that it would meet the COD effluent limit of Chinese Standard JS-7740-95. The optimal [H2O2]/[Fe2+] ratio for COD removal was 3. An orthogonal experimental design was developed based on the optimal [H2O2]/[Fe2+] ratio to evaluate the significance of four parameters relevant to the treatment process, namely, H2O2 dosage, initial pH, oxidation time and coagulation pH. The influence of the four parameters on COD removal efficiency decreased as follows: H2O2 dosage>oxidation time>coagulation pH>initial pH. The COD removal efficiency was further investigated based on the most important single-factor parameter, which was H2O2 dosage, as discovered in the orthogonal test. A well-fitted empirical correlation was obtained from the single-factor analysis and up to 98% COD removal was attained using 50 mM H2O2. Using the doses and conditions identified in this study, the treated oil-water emulsion can be discharged according to Chinese Standard JS-7740-95.

Micro-structural characterization of the hydration products of bauxite-calcination-method red mud-coal gangue based cementitious materials.

In this research, the micro-structural characterization of the hydration products of red mud-coal gangue based cementitious materials has been investigated through SEM-EDS, (27)Al MAS NMR and (29)Si MAS NMR techniques, in which the used red mud was derived from the bauxite calcination method. The results show that the red mud-coal gangue based cementitious materials mainly form fibrous C-A-S-H gel, needle-shaped/rod-like AFt in the early hydration period. With increasing of the hydration period, densification of the pastes were promoted resulting in the development of strength. EDS analysis shows that with the Ca/Si of red mud-coal gangue based cementitious materials increases, the average Ca/Si and Ca/(Si+Al) atomic ratio of C-A-S-H gel increases, while the average Al/Si atomic ratio of C-A-S-H gel decreases. MAS NMR analysis reveals that Al in the hydration products of red mud-coal gangue based cementitious materials exists in the forms of Al(IV) and Al(VI), but mainly in the form of Al(VI). Increasing the Ca/Si ratio of raw material promotes the conversion of [AlO4] to [AlO6] and inhibits the combination between [AlO4] and [SiO4] to form C-A-S-H gel. Meanwhile, the polymerization degree of [SiO4] in the hydration products declines.

A novel silica alumina-based backfill material composed of coal refuse and fly ash.

In this paper, a systematic study was conducted to investigate a novel silica alumina-based backfill material composed of coal refuse and fly ash. The coal refuse and fly ash had different properties under various thermal activation temperatures (20 °C, 150 °C, 350 °C, 550 °C, 750 °C and 950 °C). It is known that a thermal activation temperature ranging from 20 °C to 950 °C significantly increases the flowability and pozzolanic properties of the coal refuse; however, the flowability of fly ash decreases when the activation temperature is higher than 550 °C because of a severe agglomeration phenomenon on its surface. An optimal design for this backfill material was determined to include an activated portion composed of 5% coal refuse at 750 °C and 15% fly ash at 20 °C. This combination yields the best performance with excellent flowability, a high compressive strength and a low bleeding rate. The microanalysis results corresponded well with the performance tests at different activation conditions. In the coal refuse, kaolinite peaks began to decrease because of their transformation into metakaolin at 550 °C. Chlorite peaks disappeared at 750 °C. Muscovite peaks decreased at 750 °C and disappeared at 950 °C. During this process, muscovite 2M(1) gradually dehydroxylated to muscovite HT. Furthermore, this paper examined the environmental acceptance and economic feasibility of this technology and found that this silica alumina-based backfill material composed of coal refuse and fly ash not only meets EPA requirements but also has several advantages in industry feasibility when compared with hydraulic backfill, rock backfill and paste backfill.

Evaluation of blends bauxite-calcination-method red mud with other industrial wastes as a cementitious material: properties and hydration characteristics.

Red mud is generated from alumina production, and its disposal is currently a worldwide problem. In China, large quantities of red mud derived from bauxite calcination method are being discharged annually, and its utilization has been an urgent topic. This experimental research was to evaluate the feasibility of blends red mud derived from bauxite calcination method with other industrial wastes for use as a cementitious material. The developed cementitious material containing 30% of the bauxite-calcination-method red mud possessed compressive strength properties at a level similar to normal Portland cement, in the range of 45.3-49.5 MPa. Best compressive strength values were demonstrated by the specimen RSFC2 containing 30% bauxite-calcination-method red mud, 21% blast-furnace slag, 10% fly ash, 30% clinker, 8% gypsum and 1% compound agent. The mechanical and physical properties confirm the usefulness of RSFC2. The hydration characteristics of RSFC2 were characterized by XRD, FTIR, (27)Al MAS-NMR and SEM. As predominant hydration products, ettringite and amorphous C-S-H gel are principally responsible for the strength development of RSFC2. Comparing with the traditional production for ordinary Portland cement, this green technology is easier to be implemented and energy saving. This paper provides a key solution to effectively utilize bauxite-calcination-method red mud.

Innovative methodology for comprehensive utilization of iron ore tailings: part 1. The recovery of iron from iron ore tailings using magnetic separation after magnetizing roasting.

Iron ore tailings have become one kind of the most hazardous solid waste. In order to recycle iron in the tailings, we present a technique using magnetizing roasting process followed by magnetic separation. After analysis of chemical composition and crystalline phase, according to experimental mechanism, the effects of different parameters on recovery efficiency of iron were carried out. The optimum reaction parameters were proposed as the following: ratio of coal: iron ore tailings as 1:100, roasting at 800 degrees C for 30 min, and milling 15 min of roasted samples. With these optimum parameters, the grade of magnetic concentrate was 61.3% Fe and recovery rate of 88.2%. With this method, a great amount of iron can be reused. In addition, the microstructure and phase transformation of the process of magnetizing roasting were studied.

Innovative methodology for comprehensive utilization of iron ore tailings: part 2: The residues after iron recovery from iron ore tailings to prepare cementitious material.

In order to comprehensive utilization of iron ore tailings, this experimental research was to investigate the possibility of using the residues after iron recovery from iron ore tailings as raw materials for the preparation of cementitious material, abbreviated as TSC, including analyses of its mechanical properties, physical properties and hydration products. The TSC1 was prepared by blending 30% the residues, 34% blast-furnace slag, 30% clinker and 6% gypsum. Meanwhile, the raw iron ore tailings (before iron recovery) with the same proportion of TSC1 were selected to compare the cementitious activity of raw tailings and the residues after magnetizing roasting, denoted by TSC0. The hydration products of them were mostly ettringite, calcium hydroxide and C-S-H gel, characterized by XRD, IR and SEM. It was found that ettringite and C-S-H gel were principally responsible for the strength development of TSC mortars with curing time. The results showed that the kaolinite of the tailings was decomposed completely after magnetizing roasting, which promoted the cementitious property of TSC1. Moreover, the mechanical properties of TSC1 are well comparable with those of 42.5 ordinary Portland cement according to Chinese GB175-2007 standard.

Investigation on the activation of coal gangue by a new compound method.

In order to comprehensively utilize coal gangue as the main raw material in cementitious materials, improving its cementitious activity is a question of fundamental importance. In this paper, we present a new compound mechanical-hydro-thermal activation (CMHTA) technology to investigate the activation effect of coal gangue, and the traditional mechanical-thermal activation (TMTA) technology was used as reference. The purpose of this study is to give a detailed comparison between these two methods with regard to the mineral composition, crystal structure and microstructure, by XRD, IR, MAS NMR, XPS and mechanical property analysis. The prepared coal gangue based blended cement, containing 52% of activated coal gangue C (by CMHTA technology), has a better mechanical property than activated coal gangue T (by TMTA technology) and raw coal gangue. The results show that both of the TMTA and CMHTA technologies can improve the cementitious activity of raw gangue greatly. Moreover, compared with TMTA, the mineral phases such as feldspar and muscovite in raw coal gangue were partially decomposed, and the crystallinity of quartz decreased, due to the effect of adding CaO and hydro-thermal process of CMHTA technology.

Early-age characteristics of red mud-coal gangue cementitious material.

This experimental research was to investigate the possibility of incorporating red mud and coal gangue as raw materials for the production of red mud-coal gangue cementitious material, abbreviated as RGC, including analyses of its chemical composition, physical properties, mechanical properties and hydration products. The red mud and coal gangue (at a ratio of 3:2) were mixed together and shaped in small spheres with a water to solid ratio of 0.30 and then calcined at 600 degrees C for 2h. Subsequently, the RGC was prepared by blending 50% the resultant red mud-coal gangue mixtures, 24% blast-furnace slag, 20% clinker and 6% gypsum. The hydration products of RGC were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA and SEM-EDS. The results showed that it is feasible to use red mud and coal gangue to replace up to 50% of the raw materials to produce cementitious material, which can be called as silica-alumina based cementitious material. The hydration products of RGC are mostly ettringite, calcium hydroxide and C-S-H gel. As the dominant products, C-S-H gel and ettringite are principally responsible for the strength development of RGC in early hydration process. The content of Ca(OH)(2) initially increased but later was depleted after reaching the peak value at 21 days. Moreover, it is found that the composition of the C-S-H gel shifted towards higher Si, Al and Na contents with the increase of hydration age, whereas that of Ca shifted towards lower content.