Uses of Red Mud as a Construction Material

Uses of Red Mud as a Construction Material

Mohamed Abdel-Raheem, PhD, PMP, LEED GA, LSSGB, CM-BIM, CM-Lean

Assistant Professor

Department of Civil Engineering

By:

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEYCIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Lizeth G. Santana, Miguel Piñeiro Cordova, Bilkis O.

MartinezUndergraduate Student

Department of Civil Engineering

• Red Mud: An Overview

• Waste Management and Disposal Practices of RM

• Chemical Characterization

• Previous Studies▫ Raw Material in Cement Production

▫ Red Mud as a Construction Material

▫ Partial Cement Replacement

▫ Other Applications

• Objective

• Methodology

• Preliminary Findings

• Conclusions

Agenda

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• Caustic waste from alumina refining industry.

• Classified as hazardous by EPA prior to 1990 and a regular waste thereafter.

• Disposal has raised concerned of impact on environment and economy.

• RM characteristics qualify it as a versatile construction material.

Red Mud: An Overview

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Aerial view of red mud landfills in the U.S.

Current Waste Management and Disposal Practices of RM

1. Sea Water DischargeRM is transported to sea via pipes.

2. LagooningRM is left in clay-lined landfills.

3. Dry StackingRM is dewatered and dried in layers.

4. Dry DisposalRM is washed, some components removed and dried.

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Chemical Characterization• Major compounds in RM:▫ SiO2 (2-20%)▫ Al2O3 (15-30%)▫ Fe2O3 (25-55%)

• Low on CaO

• RM Composition varies by:▫ Bauxite origin▫ Refinement process▫ Country of refining▫ Method of disposal

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SiO� 17 23 2Al�O� 20 4 -Fe�O� 36 2 -CaO 4 64 90

Red MudPortland Cement

Hydrated Lime

Composition by wt. %

Previous Studies

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1. Raw Material in Cement Production

2. Partial Cement Replacement

3. RM in Brick Manufacturing

4. RM as a Corrosion Inhibitor

Previous Studies1- Raw Material in Cement Production

1. Iron rich cements: lime, gypsum, red mud and bauxite. Results: new cements have higher strengths than ordinary

Portland cement when they were heated up to 1250°C for 1.5 hours

2. Cement produced: using lime, red mud, bauxite, gypsum and fly ash. Results: (1) lime, red mud and bauxite and (2) lime gypsum,

red mud and bauxite gave 28-day compressive strengths comparable to those obtained using ordinary OPC.

Cement mixtures made with fly ash were not as successful

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▫ Studies show discrepancies in optimum replacements percentages: 2% (Kushwaha et al. 2013) 10% (Rana et al. 2015), 20% (Bishetti et al. 2014) 25% (Rathod et al. 2012)

▫ Several studies: agree increasing replacement beyond 15% would reduce compressive strength.

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Previous Studies2- Partial Cement Replacement

• RM concrete:▫ 15% RM & 5% hydrated

lime▫ Comparable Compressive

strength to OPC concrete

• RM in mortar reached optimal strengths:▫ 10% RM, 4% lime &20%

silica fume▫ Comparable Compressive

strength to OPC concrete

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▫ Discrepancies may be attributed to: Alumina refining process Origin of red mud and/or

alumina Unreported mix proportions

Previous Studies2- Partial Cement Replacement (cont’d)

• Several studies explored the use of red mud as a component in clay bricks

• Bricks made of fly ash and red mud: had a maximum compressive strength between 5 and 6 MPa

• Bricks were made using clay wastes and fine wastes from boron and red mud: fired at 700, 800 and 900°C.

• In general, the compressive strength of the bricks increased with a higher firing temperature

• Light weight red mud bricks: red mud + fly ash + foaming agent

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Previous Studies3- RM in Bricks

• Steel immersed in NaOH and RM solution differed in corrosion potential.▫ RM solution showed lower

corrosion potential.

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Previous Studies4- RM as a Corrosion Inhibitor

Objective

1. Provide a comprehensive literature review for the uses of Red Mud to serve as a foundation for future research.

2. Assess the feasibility of utilizing red mud produced in the United States for incorporation into concrete.

3. Reduce environmental impact by effectively utilizing the red mud waste.

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Methodology

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1• Literature Review

2• Material Procurement

3• Material Processing• Mixing (ASTM C305-14)

4• Testing Samples

5• Observations

Wet RM

Processed RM

Dry RM

Preliminary Findings: Cement Replacement

• Mortar’s compressive strength decrease with higher % cement replacements

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Replacement0% 30.35% 25.3

10% 25.015% 21.620% 27.030% 28.940% 17.550% 11.2

Compressive Strength, Mpa

Preliminary Findings: Sand Replacement

• Compressive strength increases up to 30% replacement of sand.

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Replacement0% 28.35% 44.2

10% 35.915% 41.320% 54.930% 49.940% 4.650% 8.4

Compressive Strength, Mpa

Conclusions

• RM as cement replacement negatively affects mortar compressive strength.

• RM as sand (up to 30% ) replacement improves mortar strength.

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References• Alumina and Aluminum, Identification and Description of Mineral Processing Sectors and Waste Streams, Environmental Protection Agency(EPA).

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Eng., 1-10.• Bishetti, P.N. and Pammar, L.(2014). “Experimental Study on Utilization of Industrial Waste in Concrete.” Int. Jour. of Tech. Research and App., 2(4), 49-52.• Cabeza, M., Collazo, A., Nóvoa, X.R. and Perez, M.C.(2003). “Red mud as a corrosion inhibitor for reinforced concrete.” The Jour. of Corrosion Sci. and Eng., 6, paper C077.• Cablik, Vladimir(2007). “Characterization and Applications of Red Mud from Bauxite Processing.” VSB-Tech. Univ. of Ostrava, Fac. of Mining and Geo., Ostrava-Poruba, Czech

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74(2), 334-342.• Collazo, A., Fernandez, D., Izquierdo, M., Nóvoa, X.R. and Perez, C.(2005). “Evaluation of red mud as surface treatment for carbon steel prior painting.” Prog. in Org. Coat.,

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Mat., 44(3), 251-257.• Díaz, B., Joiret, S., Keddam, M., Nóvoa, X.R., Pérez, M.C. and Takenouti, H.(2004). “Passivity of iron in red mud’s water solutions.” Electro. Acta, 49(17-18), 3039-3048.• Khushwaha, M., Dr. Salim Akhtar and Survesh Rajput.(2013). “Development of Self Compacting Concrete by Industrial Waste (Red mud).” Int. Jour. of Eng. Res. and App., 3(4),

539-542.• Rana, A. Y. and Sathe, N. A.(2015). “Analysing the potential substitute of red mud in concrete adding lime and silica.” Int. Jour. of Emerg. Tech. and Adv. Eng., 5(4), 410-414.• Rathod, R. R., Nagesh T. Suryawanshi and Pravin D. Memade.(2012). “Evaluation of the Properties of Red Mud Concrete.” Jour.of Mech, and Civil Eng., 31-34.• Ribeiro, D.V., Labrincha, J.A. and Morelli, M.R.(2010). “Use of red mud as addition for portland cement mortars.” Jour. of Mat. Sci. and Eng., 4(8), (Serial No. 33), 1-8.• Ribeiro, D.V., Labrincha, J.A. and Morelli, M.R.(2011b). “Chloride diffusivity in red mud added-concretes determined by migration tests.” Mat. Res., 14(2), 227-234.• Ribeiro, D.V., Silva, A.S., Labricha, J.A. and Morelli, M.R.(2013). “Rheological properties and hydration behavior of portland cement mortars containing calcined red mud.”

Canadian Jour. of Civil Eng., 40(6), 557-566.• Ribeiro, D.V., Labrincha, J.A. and Morelli, M.R.(2014). “Use of calcined bauxite waste as a supplementary cementitious material: study of pozzolanic activity.” Jour. of Mat. Sci.

and Eng., 4(5), 172-178.• Sahu, M.K. and Patel, R.K.(2016). Chapter 19 - Methods for utilization of red mud and its management, In Environ. Mat. and Waste, Acad. Press, 485-524.• Snars, K. and Gilkes, R.J.(2009). “Evaluation of bauxite residues (red muds) of different origins for environmental applications.” App. Clay Sci., 46(1), 13-20• Sureshkumar, M.P. and Gowtham, S.K. “Potential utilization of industrial waste(red mud) in concrete.” Environ. Sus.: Cncpt., Prinp., Evid. and Innov., 284-290.• Tsakiridis, P.E., Agatzini-Leonardou, S. and Oustadakis, P.(2004). “Red mud addition in the raw meal for the production of portland cement clinker.” Jour. of Haz. Mat., 116(1-2),

103-110.• Vangelatos, I., Angelopoulos, G.N. and Boufounos, D.(2009). “Utilization of ferroalumina as raw material in the production of Ordinary Portland Cement.” Jour. of Haz. Mat.,

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