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Utilization of Mining Wastes in Manufacturing

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Conference Paper · December 2014

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 Utilization of Mining Wastes in Manufacturing of Bricks
Modi Jemishkumar V.1, Sujeet Bharti2, M.Aruna3 and Harsha Vardhan4
1, 2
Research Scholar, Dept. of Mining Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India.
Email: modi@iitkgp.ac.in, sujeetiit@gmail.com
3,4
Associate Professor, Dept. of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology
Karnataka, Surathkal, India.
Abstract: This paper deals with an experimental study for manufacturing of iron ore waste
bricks made of iron ore fine wastes. Bricks are widely accepted and essential building
material. Building materials is growing at an alarming rate and therefore in order to meet the
demand for new buildings, new ways and techniques must be evolved. In order to reduce
adverse impacts of iron ore wastes, which are mine waste, it is used as aggregate for
manufacturing of bricks. Mixture was made of iron ore waste; sand and cement with four
different proportions and attempt were made to find the suitability of the bricks. The
compressive strength and water absorptions were assessed for different curing periods. The
result of the study meets the Bureau of Indian standard specifications of modular bricks.
Keywords: Mine wastes, Iron ore waste, Bricks, Concrete mix, Compressive strength, Water
absorption.
1. Introduction
India has large reserves of metal-bearing ore and it holds sixth position in the world with
regard to iron-ore reserves. Moreover, India is one of the important iron producer and
exporter in the world too (Aruna 2012). However, approximately 10-15 % of the iron ore
mined in India is unutilized, even now, and is discarded as waste/tailing which is mainly due
to lack of cost effective technology in extracting low grade ores (Rudramuniyappa 1997). The
waste/tailings that are called ultra-fines or slimes are mainly those having diameter of less
than 150 µm, and are not regarded to be useful and hence are discarded. Approximately, 10-
18 million tons of such ore is lost as tailings in India (Das 2000, Mohanty et al. 2010). For the
proper disposal or utilization of such vast mineral wealth in the form of ultra-fines or slimes
has remained a major unsolved and challenging task for the Indian iron-ore industry. In 2009,
the world production of iron ore was 2,248 million tons as against 2,214 million tons in the
previous year. It is evident that, during 5 year, the production of iron ore increased from
1,567 million tons to 2,248 million tons. In future, the proportion of iron-ore wastes
generated is likely to increase due to higher demand for iron ore as a number of steel plants
have been planned for future in many parts of the world as well as our own country (Mineral
Exploration and Development 2012-17).
Indian production of iron ore constitutes around 10 % of the world iron ore output. Fig. 1
shows the grade wise production of iron ore in India from 2005 – 2011. In 2009-10, in India
the production of iron ore was 218.64 million tons (IBM 2013) and the total production of
iron ore in India is expected to exceed 400 million tons within the next decade (Mohanty
2010). The production of iron ore constitutes lumps, fines and concentrates. The exploitation
of mineral resources would promote the development of economy and society, but it will also
generate massive waste/tailing that may pollute the environment heavily and bring other
issues such as occupying land and water resources (Fig. 3). Therefore, comprehensive
utilization of waste/tailings is important in saving resources, improving surrounding and for
sustainable development. Fig. 2 shows the production of fine grade of iron ore in India from
2005 to 2011.
 130
150

Production in Million
(in million tonnes)
Production of iron
100 120

Tonnes
50 Lumps 110
ore

0 Fines 100
Concentration 90

<------Year------> <-------------------------------Year--------------------…

Fig.1 Gradewise production of iron ore from Fig.2 Fine grade iron ore production in
India from 2005 – 2011 (source: IBM 2013) 2005 – 2011 (source: IBM 2013)

Fig. 3 Schematic representation of waste generation in mines (source: BRGM 2001)

In recent years there is a significant demand for building materials in India as well as all over
the world. Therefore, it is imperative to use mining and mineral wastes in the production of
bricks, paving blocks and other value added products which are used in the construction
industry (Chakravarthi et al. 2007, Muduli et al. 2010).

2. Utilization of Waste
Building materials are directly or indirectly prepared from the earth’s crust. The basic
composition of building materials is nearly equal to the composition of earth (i.e. Silica,
Aluminum oxide, Iron etc.). Iron ore wastes are same, from which iron ore has been
extracted. According to the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Karnataka
(2007) the iron ore waste was found accumulated around 130 tonnes and the requirement of
clay for tiles and brick industries is about 3 million tonnes per annum. In turn this affects
about 6,000 acres of fertile land by consuming top soil of earth (as clay). An attempt has been
made to utilize iron ore waste for its effective utilization to manufacture a product and save
the agricultural land as well as surrounding environment. Mine wastes and tailing can be
converted into bricks/paving blocks, which can meet the demand of brick in metropolitan
cities for the next 30 years or even more. Thus, there is great potential for utilizing industrial
and mine wastes for the manufacturing of building materials and products.

2
 Table 1 Iron ore waste (IOW) utilized for manufacturing of bricks and its properties
Properties

Firing Temperature (oC) or

Curing Period in (Days)

Product manufactured

Compressive strength,

absorption,

Thermal conductivity,
Mixing Percentage

Density, D (g/cm3)

Shrinkage, S (%)

Porosity,P (%)

TC (W/mK)
Mine wastes
Researcher

CS (Mpa)

WA (%)
Water
(%)
Soil, sand , a) 50:37.5:12.5
iron ore tailing (soil:sand:IOT) 28 days
a) 6.76 a)1.84
(IOT) and b) 50:25:25 curing
Ullas et al.

c) 50:0:50 under wet

(2010)

cement b) 6.77 b)1.82 ** - - -

7 % cement content burlap.
added with all a, b and c
proportion. c) 6.63 c)1.82
Bricks

Fly ash, rion 50 to 70 % iron ore by mineral 80 to 160 1.75 – 8 -12 - - -

ore tailings waste, brick size polymerizati 1.90
and red mud 230×110×75 mm on and (Dry
Muduli et al.

cementation crush-ing
(2010)

process stren.)
Bricks

Hematite
Yongliang et al.

tailing (HT), 84:10:6 980 - 1030

Eco-friendly
(2011)

clay (C) and

fly ash (FA). (HT:C:FA) for 2h 20.35 1.85 17.79 - -
bricks
Yongliang et al.

Iron ore tailing

Non-fired bricks

78:10:10:2
(IOT), 28 days
(2011)

15.9 - 17.38 0.05 - -

Cement (C), curing
(IOT:C:S:G)
sand(S) and
gypsum (G)

Optimum
autoclaved
time and
75:15:15 autoclave
Zhao,Y. et al.

pressure
(2012)

Hematite (HT:L:S) were 21.2 - - - - -

Autoclaved bricks

tailing(HT), determined
lime (L) and Φ = 50 ×23 mm, for 6 hour
sand (S) and 1.2
Mpa,
respectively.

3
3 Properties of Concrete Mixture

Mixture was made of Cement, sand and iron ore wastes in different proportions. Aggregate is
classified as coarse and fine based on its size. The density of the materials is tabulated in
Table 2. The size of the sand particles is below 600 micron and iron ore waste is below 300
micron which is used for manufacturing for bricks. Figure 3shows the particle size
distribution of sand and iron ore wastes. Atterberg limit of the iron ore wastes is satisfies the
IS 2117-1991. The chemical composition of the materials is given in Table 3.

Table 2 Specific gravity of the materials

Materials Specific gravity
Iron ore waste 2.94
Fly ash 1.90
Cement 3.00
Sand 2.63

sand iow 55

percentage (%)
Water content
Finer particles (%)

100 50

50 45

0 40
10 1 0.1 0.01 10 100
Grain size (mm) Number of blows (N)

Fig. 4 Sieve analysis of iron ore waste and sand Fig. 5 Liquid limit of the iron ore waste
Table 3 Chemical analysis of the materials
Concentration (%) (by Volume)
Sl.No. Parameter analysed
Iron ore Waste Cement Sand

1 Calcium Oxide (CaO)

0.08 51.46 0
2 Silica (SiO2)
49.01 18.71 96.54
3 Alumina Oxide (Al2O3)
31.43 10.44 0.29
4 Iron Oxide (Fe2O3)
14.77 6.47 0.23
5 Sodium (Na)
0.17 0.34 0.14
6 Potassium Oxide
1.81 0.43 0
(K2O)
7 Magnessium Oxide (MgO)
0.25 0 0
8 Zinc Oxide (ZnO)
1.31 1.05 0.14
9 Lead (Pb)
0 1.68 0.1
10 Chromium (Cr)
0.08 0.01 0

4
4. Experimental Investigations
Mixtures were made with four different proportions (Table 4) and properly filled it in to the
moulds having the dimension 19×9×9 cm and bricks were fabricated. Six specimens were
made of each proportion for different curing periods of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days respectively.
The materials are dried properly under the sunlight. The mixture was prepared as per weight
batching and the ingredients were mixed in to the mixer by adding proper quantity of water
and immediately casted in to the moulds. Proper marking were done for the identification of
specimens.
Table 4 Ratio of composition for iron ore waste bricks (Ullas et al. 2010)

Ratio (in %)
Mixture
(C:S:IOW) Cement Sand Iron ore waste
(C) (S) (IOW)

A 14 43 43
B 20 40 40
C 25 25 50
D 30 30 40

5. Results and Over all Discussions

Mixture was made using iron ore waste, sand and cement with different mix ratios.
Laboratory test were conducted to assess the compressive strength and water absorption of
the brick specimen. The results, compressive strength of bricks and water absorption are
mentioned in the Table 5 of different proportion. The average of the six bricks specimen is
considered.
The compressive strength of mixture each six bricks having different proportion are
plotted in the Fig. 6 to Fig. 9 The average result of compressive strength of the six bricks is
mentioned in the Fig. 10. The average result of water absorption is shown in Table 5. It
shows that the compressive strength is increasing as duration of curing increasing. The results
of the study show that the compressive strength of the bricks using cement, sand and iron ore
waste in the proportion 30:30:40 has a compressive strength and water absorption is 42.98
MPa as (shown in Fig. 9) and 2.42 % respectively after 28 days curing period. The result
meets the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) (IS-2180:1988, IS-1077:1992), in terms of
compressive strength and water absorption for iron ore waste bricks.

5
 Table 5 Compressive strength of bricks prepared by iron ore waste
cement(C):sand(S):iron ore waste(IOW) mixture bricks
14:43:43 20:40:40 25:25:50 30:30:40
Proportion
(C:S:IOW) (C:S:IOW) (C:S:IOW) (C:S:IOW)
of material
(A) (B) (C) (D)
No. of days
7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28 7 14 21 28
for curing
Brick Compressive Strength (MPa)
B1 8.65 11.35 14.74 17.54 15.21 19.82 21.58 29.29 9.88 14.32 19.71 25.03 25.21 28.01 35.15 46.81
B2 7.54 12.69 13.68 19.18 15.14 18.71 23.34 30.35 10.32 14.65 20.32 23.08 24.44 27.36 32.80 42.95
B3 8.71 13.22 16.43 17.53 14.08 18.42 20.09 28.60 11.16 13.39 18.75 23.27 26.04 27.37 34.24 44.02
B4 8.89 11.11 17.00 18.22 13.97 19.53 22.09 30.53 12.44 13.91 17.73 28.01 24.09 27.95 31.63 43.12
B5 9.29 12.63 16.03 20.00 15.82 20.58 19.91 29.77 12.80 14.06 20.68 23.16 24.59 29.20 36.19 39.05
B6 9.59 11.05 14.62 20.76 15.15 19.47 23.26 28.81 11.05 14.09 18.65 25.56 25.61 28.25 36.27 41.93

Average
compressive
8.78 12.01 15.42 18.87 14.90 19.42 21.71 29.56 11.28 14.07 19.31 24.69 25.00 28.02 34.38 42.98
strength
(Mpa)

Average
water 6.39 2.89 8.17 2.42
absorption
(%)
 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days
ompressive strength (Mpa)

25 40

Compressive strength
20 30
15

(Mpa)
20
10
5 10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Brick specimen Brick specimen

Fig. 6 Compressive strength of brick Fig. 7 Compressive strength of brick

specimen having proportion 14:43:43 specimen having proportion 20:40:40

7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days

Compressive strength (Mpa)
compressive strneth (Mpa)

30 50
40
20
30
20
10
10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Brick specimen Brick specimen

Fig. 8 Compressive strength of brick Fig. 9 Compressive strength of brick

specimen having proportion 25:25:50 specimen having proportion 30:30:40

14:43:43 20:40:40 8.17

Average compressive

25:25:50 30:30:40 6.39

strength (MPa)

60
40 2.89 2.42
20
0
0 7 14 21 28 35 14:43:43 20:40:40 25:25:50 30:30:40
Curing (days) Proposition

Fig. 10 Compressive strength of brick Fig. 11 Compressive strength of brick

specimen having proportion 25:25:50 specimen having proportion 25:25:50
6. Conclusions
The following conclusions were made from the result obtained by conducting various tests on
manufactured iron ore waste bricks. In the present study substitution iron ore waste for sand
as well as clay shows better compressive strength without much change in the water
absorptions. It is also revealed that the iron ore waste (IOW) is used as aggregate with sand
and cement for the manufacture non-fired bricks (of size 19×9×9 cm). The mixture made of
cement (C): sand (S): iron ore waste (IOW) with the ratio 30:30:40 (D) and with 28 days
curing period, attained a compressive strength of 42.95 MPa and water absorption of 2.42 %.
This property meets the requirement of Bureau of Indian Standards (IS-2180:1988)
specification for heavy duty burnt clay building bricks in terms of compressive strength and
water absorption. According to the compressive strength, iron ore waste bricks can be
classified as heavy duty bricks (with compressive strength 40.0 N/mm2) which are used in
heavy duty structures like bridges, foundations, etc. Moreover, the average of water
absorption of bricks is less than 10 % which is also meets of the Bureau of Indian Standards
(IS-2180:1988 and IS-1077:1992). From the environmental point of view, these bricks are
made without firing, which is an advantage over fired bricks in terms of low embodied
energy bricks. Hence, study demonstrates that the iron ore waste can be utilized as aggregate
in manufacturing of non-fired bricks, without conforming to its quality/standards.

7. References
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