Recycling of mine tailings for the geopolymers production: A systematic review
Shaker Qaidi, Bassam A. Tayeh, Abdullah M. Zeyad, Afonso Rangel Garcez de Azevedo, Hemn Unis Ahmed, Wael Emad
Abstract
The mining sector generates a considerable amount of waste stone and tailings, which constitute a substantial hazard to the ecology. The most prevalent method of disposing of these industrial wastes is by dumping, which adds to soil deterioration and water contamination and also takes up valuable land. Fortunately, it can be recycled in a variety of ways, including the promising geopolymerisation technique, which converts waste into value. This article discusses recent advances in the production of mine tailings-based geopolymers composites (MT-GPC) from waste and industrial by-products as a potentially sustainable construction material. Besides, focusing on the following aspects: economic and production perspective; environmental consequences and waste disposal; physical and chemical properties; mechanical properties; durability properties; microstructure properties; thermal properties; and potential applications of MT-GPC.