Preparation and Properties of Blast Furnace Slag Glass Ceramics Containing Cr2O3

Abstract

In this study, the blast furnace slag of the Baotou Steel and Iron Company was used as the main raw material to prepare glass ceramics with diopside as the main crystal phase. The composition of the parent glass was designed by thermodynamic calculations with FactSage software. Small amounts of the nucleation agent Cr2O3 were then added to the parent glass to induce crystallization. Differential thermal analysis was used to determine the nucleation and crystallization temperatures of the glasses, and scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were adopted to determine the microstructures and phase compositions of the glasses after heat treatment, respectively. The results showed that glass ceramics of the diopside phase can be prepared with up to 73 ≥wt% blast furnace slag when 1.44-1.91 ≥wt% Cr2O3 is added, and the ceramics have uniform compact grains and a high bending strength of about 84.6-101.7 ≥MPa. In addition, the mechanical properties are better than those of natural marble and granite. These results provide basic information and a scientific basis for industrial production of diopside glass ceramics using molten blast furnace slag as the main raw material.