Disposal of mine tailings via geopolymerization

From daily life to infrastructure and national defense construction, mining has been key in human history. However, within their vigorous development process, mining activities are also result in many negative impacts on both the environment and human health. Mine tailings are among the most threatening byproducts of ore processing. Luckily, they can be recycled through various approaches, such as via the promising technique of geopolymerization, converting waste into value. This paper reviews some of the recent efforts in this direction, focusing on the following aspects: geopolymer production using mine tailings as a single precursor; feasibility of the improvement, through supplementary materials incorporation; pretreatments (including mechanical activation, calcination, and alkali roasting) to enhance the reactivity of the mine tailings and the resulting geopolymer. Preparation of geopolymers using mine tailings as a single precursor normally presented lower compressive strength; adding supplementary materials seemed to show more noticeable effective on the strength development than pretreatment of mine tailings. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Mining plays a crucial role in human history, but also has negative impacts on the environment and health. Mine tailings are a significant threat from ore processing. Geopolymerization offers a promising approach to recycle mine tailings and convert waste into value.