Study Regarding the Micro Filler Effect of Sludge Resulting from Steel Pickling

Abstract

The management of waste, resulting in high amounts from different production processes, often raises special problems. This is also the case for sludge, generated in increasing amounts from the chemical pickling of steel pipes. This article presents the results of laboratory experiments regarding the micro filler effect of sludge generated by chemical pickling of steel pipes and analyzes its capacity to be a pozzolanic material. The study involved the performance of mechanical tests (specific surface of the powder; compressive mechanical strengths) and chemical tests (determination of the general chemical composition of cement and sludge using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method; determination of oxides in the chemical composition of sludge by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES); X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the sludge and cement used). This topic was addressed because recycling of sludge, by using it for the manufacture of new building materials, takes advantage of the waste resulting from the pickling of steel pipes that-until now-has generated large volumes without a specific use.