Development of construction materials using red mud and brine

Abstract

This study aims to develop new applications for seawater desalination brine, which is discharged from desalination plants and disposed of in the sea. To this end, experiments were conducted to develop and characterize high-volume red mud cement using 50% or more red mud, which is a hazardous waste. Thirty mixtures of 50–90% red mud and 50–10% slag and CaO were prepared. To compare them with brine, freshwater was also used as mixed water. According to experiments, the smaller the red mud, the higher the strength. CaO also showed a significant improvement in early and late-stage strength. In addition, brine promoted hydration reaction and the formation of hydration reactants more than freshwater. The results show that both CaO and brine have a significant synergistic effect on the hydration and solidification of high-volume red mud slag cement. Therefore, it is concluded that the combination of brine and high-volume red mud slag cement is applicable to the production of non-structural elements and small building components. © 2023 The Authors