Characterization of waste molding sands, for their possible use as building material

Abstract

It was done a physicochemical and mineralogical characterization of the molding sand wastes of the iron casting process, being these sands the main residue of the process, representing 65 to 85 % of the total waste. According with the obtained results, the chemical composition of the material (expressed in weight percentages) is the following: 77.9 SiO2, 6.6 Al2O3, 8.56 Fe2O3, 0.14 TiO2, 2.48 MgO, 0.34 K2O, 1.52 CaO and 1.03 Na2O. The major mineral phases found were: Albite, Orthoclase, Quartz (anorthic) and Laihunite, and as minority phases were present both the Berlinite and the Montmorillonite. Furthermore the material presented a thick granulometry, around 60% corresponds to a particle size of 53µm. According to this characterization, these residues could be used in the manufacture of construction materials such as bricks, blocks, or as a cementing material.