Influence of sintering temperature on the characteristics of shale brick containing oil well-derived drilling waste

Introduction The influence of sintering temperature on the physico-mechanical characteristics (such as water absorption, apparent porosity, bulk density, weight loss on ignition, firing shrinkage, and compressive strength), leachability, and microstructure of shale brick containing oil well-derived drilling waste (DW) was investigated. Methods The experiments were conducted at a temperature ranging from 950 degrees C to 1,050 degrees C with 30% DW addition. Results The results indicate that increasing the sintering temperature decreases the water absorption and apparent porosity and increases the shrinkage, density, and compressive strength of sintered specimens. Moreover, the physico-mechanical properties of samples sintered at 1,050 degrees C meet the requirements of the MU20 according to GB/T 5101-2003 (in China). The heavy metal concentrations of the leachate are much lower than the current regulatory limits according to GB16889-2008. Conclusion The results from XRD and SEM show that increasing sintering temperature results in an increase of the high temperature liquid phase, which may have a significant effect on the densification process of the samples.