Production and Characterization of Glasses and Glass-Ceramics from Egyptian Iron Slag Waste

Trials were made for reprocessing Egyptian blast furnace slag with and without additives or commercial batches to produce glasses. X-ray diffraction studies were done to identify the crystallization phases separated by two steps regime for controlled crystallization. The corrosion behaviours of the prepared glasses and corresponding glass-ceramics by different leaching solutions were done at both room temperature for 1 and 2 months and at 95 degrees C for 1 h through the grain method. A further corrosion test inside a gamma-irradiation chamber was carried out for both the reference vitrified slag and the highly promising glass and glass-ceramic samples under direct gamma irradiation facility. Infrared absorption spectra of the prepared samples were measured to identify their structural building units. Scanning electron microscope was used to study the morphology of the prepared samples after corrosion and irradiation. X-ray diffraction studies indicate the separation of gehlenite and akermanite as major phases in the base slag. On adding additives, wollastonite and diopside were separated as main phases. Infrared spectral data confirm these findings. Corrosion studies indicate that the prepared sample containing equal portion of slag and sodium borosilicate batch is the highest durable glass together with its glass-ceramic derivative and the same stability retains under direct exposure to gamma irradiation.