Ways of utilization of mining wastes containing silicates

The availability of a large amount of mature mining waste, containing quartz and aluminosilicates, is, on the one hand, a negative environmental factor, but, on the other hand, represents a potential source of secondary raw materials for the production of building materials. In addition, the processing of mature tailings generated in the concentration of various ores is a significant contribution to the resource-saving low-water subsoil management technologies. Prospective technologies for recycling silicate wastes from the mining and processing industries are the processes for the production of building ceramics and porous glass (foam glass). The manufacture of foam glass is of particular interest because it enables producing high-demand products with high added value. The use of mature tailings in the production of porous glass materials is a relatively new area. Foam glass may be obtained both directly from mineral aluminosilicate raw materials, which form the basis of mature tailings, and with the use of various glass-containing additives to tailings, such as scrap glass. In addition to the tailings of processing plants, fly ash of thermal power plants, waste from incineration of solid household waste, and various types of slags may be used to prepare the charge for the production of foam glass. It is shown that the composition of the charge, the type of the pore-forming agent and the sintering temperature significantly affect the foam glass production process. Optimization of these parameters allows obtaining foam glass with the density of 200–300 kg/m3.The work was performed at the South Russian State Polytechnical University (NPI) with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, Agreement No. 18-19-00455.