(ORDO NEWS) — Materials and technologies developed during the research of the Kola Scientific Center can be economically beneficial due to the low cost of the raw materials used compared to olivine or dunite.
The trend among chemists is the development of technologies for functional materials from waste processing of minerals: thus, the burden on the environment is reduced, the area occupied by waste is reduced. And complex processing of natural raw materials is much more profitable than selective processing.
Unshaped refractory materials are very promising in this respect. In the production of non-fired refractory concrete, compared to traditional products, up to 50 percent of energy costs for manufacturing are saved, the time of lining work is reduced by 2-3 times, and labor intensity is reduced by 25-40 percent.
The American Journal of Environmental Protection published an article by researchers from the Kola Scientific Center on the use of Kovdorsky GOK waste to create refractory concretes. Kovdorsky Mining and Processing Plant, located in the Murmansk region, is one of the leading enterprises in the North-West of Russia.
Complex ores are mined and processed here, obtaining three concentrates: magnetite, apatite and baddeleyite. Production wastes are mainly forsterite (magnesium orthosilicate), calcite (calcium carbonate) and low-iron phlogopite mica.
The scientists set themselves the goal of obtaining refractory concretes based on forsterite concentrate and magnesium phosphate cement, determining the compounds obtained by their interaction, and also investigating the effect of a binder on the properties of materials.
Magnesium phosphate cements are classified as environmentally friendly binders. They have proven themselves in refractory technology, providing strength, structure and heat resistance of the material at high temperatures, giving the material strength during the formation stage. Other necessary properties are determined by the filler and are implemented in thermal installations during primary heating.
The complex physicochemical processes that occur during the hardening of mixtures on magnesium phosphate cement can be represented as follows: the formation of new magnesium phosphates, the gradual removal of chemically bound water, and the transition of mono- and disubstituted phosphates to trisubstituted ones.
The researchers selected the grain size of the starting materials and the ratio of filler and binder, and also determined how the composition and heat treatment of raw materials affect the physical and technical properties of the obtained materials.
Materials and technologies developed in the course of research can be economically beneficial due to the low cost of the raw materials used compared to olivine or dunite. Despite the fact that even now the products of Kovdorsky GOK are in great demand and make a profit, the prospects for the further development of the enterprise are associated with the use of processing waste and the offer of new non-traditional types of products.
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