Effect of green gel system upon the properties of phosphorus tailings foamed ceramics
Fanghui Fu, Nanyan Hu, Shengwen Yang, Qigao Li, Yicheng Ye, Rongbin Tang, Guan Chen
Abstract
The foaming-gel casting technique has emerged as a highly promising avenue for the fabrication of solid-waste foamed ceramics, although achieving an optimal balance between their strength and bulk density remains a significant challenge. The phosphate tailings foamed ceramics were successfully fabricated by a unique and green gelling system (IB-CMC). Adjusting the content of additives could synthesize specimens with excellent performance. The compressive strength and bulk density of the phosphatic tailings foamed ceramics manufactured by adding 0.3 wt% of isobutylene-maleic anhydride copolymer (IB) and 0.2 wt% of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were 3.13 MPa and 0.48 g/cm 3 . The gelation mechanism of phosphorus tailings foamed ceramics was the formation of a three-dimensional network space structure by the esterification reaction between –COOH of IB and –OH of CMC, and the –COOH and –NH 2 groups crosslinked with the phosphorus tailings particles via van der Waals forces. Phosphorus tailings foamed ceramics satisfied the industrial demands of tailings recycling, green, and low-cost manufacturing, with a promising application prospect in decorative materials, marine floating platform construction, and lightweight construction materials.