Fusion of phosphate by-products and glass waste for preparation of alkali-activated binders

Landfilling of mine and industrial waste streams leads to environmental and economic issues. Sustainable management methods through valorization in manufacturing green construction materials are a current research interest. Here, a promising process for recycling mine tailings, such as phosphate sludge, is proposed. A mixture of phosphate sludge, kaolin clay (Al source), and glass waste (Si source) was prepared. Three fluxing agents were tested at 1000 °C (NaOH, Na2CO3, Na2SO4). Na2CO3 was selected as the most cost-effective. The precursors were alkaline activated with NaOH solution (2, 6, and 8 M). At 28 days of curing (20 h room temperature + 6 h 85 °C + room temperature), the best compressive strength (of more than 45 MPa) was obtained with 8 M NaOH. The reaction products, characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and MAS NMR, show that the main reaction products is a gel N–A–S–H/(N,C)–A–S–H together with some unreacted crystalline phases formed during the fusion.