Artificial stone production using iron ore tailing (IOT)

Abstract

Artificial stone materials (ASM) were produced with an iron ore tailing (IOT) from the disruption of Fundão’s tailing dam, located in Mariana, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The IOT was separated in 3 powders with different particle sizes: DAG (<600 μm), DAR (600 to 75 μm), and DSA (<75 μm); then, each powder was characterized and mixed with a polymer resin (polyester or epoxy). ASM samples were prepared using the transfer molding technique; vacuum vibration technology was also applied to half of the samples. After curing, the ASM samples were characterized for mechanical properties and physical parameters. The microstructure of polished ASM samples was also analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. All results indicated that ASM samples produced with epoxy resin were superior to the samples made with polyester resin. The features found for the different compositions and shaping conditions for the produced ASM samples can allow various applications for these alternative materials in the construction industry, such as floor and wall tiles, providing a means of reducing the amount of IOT deposited in the tailing dams and adding economic value to this waste.

Application of Iron Ore Tailings From The Dam Collapse In Mariana - MG In The Development of New Construction Materials: A Systematic Review

“…Other tests, such as flexural strength (Ruy, 2022;Amaral et al , 2021;Cechin et al , 2022) and porosity (Duarte et al , 2019;Amaral et al , 2021;Mendes et al , 2019;Silva & Paiva, 2020) were also significant in the studies carried out. Different evaluations were used less frequently, reflecting a diversity in the specific objectives of the work, such as water resistance (Pedroso et al , 2022), leaching and solubility (Mymrin et al , 2021a), expansion test (Povaluk et al , 2022, coloring (Fontes et al , 2021), tensile strength (Eugênio et al , 2021), carbonation test (Bessa et al , 2022), fatigue test (Sá et al , 2022), impact resistance (Eugênio et al , 2021), modulus of rupture (Narciso et al , 2022) and flexural strength (Fontes et al , 2021).…”

“…The high water content present in the RMF composition can alter and/or harm the properties of samples produced from its incorporation, making its preparation recommended and justifiable (MME, 2009). As shown in Figure 2, practically all research (97%) used treated RMF (Duarte et al , 2020;Silva & Paiva, 2020;Machado et al , 2019;Pedroso et al , 2020).…”

“…, 2021 ; This same approach is applied to other ceramic composites (Ruy, 2022;Avanci, 2022;Amaral et al , 2021;Cechin et al , 2022;Mymrin et al , 2021a;Pedroso et al , 2020). Some less common materials produced with RMF include artificial rock (Silva & Paiva, 2020), geopolymer (Guimarães et al , 2018), pavement (Sá et al , 2022, and other sustainable construction materials. Composites with a wider variety of raw materials such as RMF, concrete demolition waste and lime production waste have also been proposed (Mymrin et al , 2021b).…”

Characterization of Artificial Stone Developed with the Incorporation of Granite and Mirror Wastes in an Epoxy Matrix

“…Although artificial stone is a material whose composition comes mostly from mineral fillers, much research has been carried out with the incorporation of different types of wastes in polymeric matrices, with the aim of recycling and also of improving the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Among the aggregates commonly used are particles of glass, marble, granite, quartz, steel waste, crushed stone's powder, brick waste, iron ore waste, among others, agglomerated by matrices like epoxy polyester, polyurethanes, and natural source resins [6][7][8][9][10][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] .…”