Phase evolution, pore morphology and microstructure of glass ceramic foams derived from tailings wastes

In the direction of dealing with solid hazards, preparing glass ceramic foam materials has become a practicable technique due to its environmental-friendly and economical characteristic. Here, we have successfully prepared glass ceramic foams with excellent combination of properties by utilizing lead-zinc mine tailings (LZMT), fly ash (FA) and red mud (RM) as the major component. The influence of sintering temperature on phase evolution, pore morphology, microstructure, physical properties and chemical stability of glass ceramic foam was investigated. The results reveal all above performances exhibit temperature-dependent character, with increasing sintering temperature, the performances enhance first and then deteriorate, the optimal porosity and compressive strength value for the prepared sample can be well achieved at the temperature of 980 degrees C. Liquid phase was formed during the heat treatment process and resulted in the variation of pore structure. According to SEM image and EDS spectra, the liquid phase may be the Ca-Al-Si-O system glass with less network modifier. The experiment results indicated that glass ceramic foams can be obtained by using solid wastes with different chemical compositions, better yet, it features with economic efficiency to solve the industrial solid wastes problems.