Preparation of high porosity bricks by utilizing red mud and mine tailing

Abstract Due to tremendous size and environmental concerns, management and utilization of red mud and gold tailing have received attention for the last few decades. In the present study, the novel process for utilization of red mud and gold tailing for high porosity brick was proposed and its physical properties were evaluated. By adopting the gelation of slurry method, above 75% apparent porosity; that is hardly obtainable by traditional method, was successfully achieved. Morphologies investigation including pore size distribution revealed that the increasing mixing ratio of gold tailing results in the increasing pore diameter along with changing into closed cell structure. In addition, effect of crystalline phase on thermal conductivity was evaluated and found the dominant effect of quartz phase on thermal conductivity. As a result, increasing of gold tailing leads to increasing of thermal conductivity. Finally, the thermal conductivity of present system was successfully estimated by using Ashby-Glicksman model considering the different type of cell structure.