The influence of temperature and SiC content on the recycling of iron ore tailings for the preparation of value-added foam ceramics

Iron ore tailings (IOT) are common wastes in industrial iron processes, which are harmful to the environmental and industrial development. Therefore, developing an efficient process for the recycling and utilization of IOT is of extreme importance. In this work, the influences of the sintering temperature and SiC content on the material properties of foam ceramics developed from IOT were investigated. More specifically, bulk density, water absorption, and microstructure of the materials were discussed. In addition, the foaming mechanism was analyzed. The experimental results showed that the average pore size of the material gradually increased and the bulk density decreased with increasing sintering temperature. On the other hand, the bulk density of the samples decreased and the water absorption increased with increasing SiC content. An optimal lightweight foam ceramic was fabricated from 55 wt.% IOT and 0.10 wt.% SiC at 1130 °C. Finally, foam ceramics as construction materials were produced with excellent material performance, including a bulk density of 0.77 g/cm3 and a uniform pore size distribution. This study describes a cleaner technology for the value-added utilization of IOT.