Environment. Technology. Resources.

Rezekne, Latvia
Proceedings of the 13th International Scientific and Practical Conference. Volume 1, 183-190

Upcycling of Technogenic Mineral Waste –

Challenges and Solutions
Gotfrids Noviks
Engineering faculty
Rezekne Academy of Technologies
Rezekne,Latvia
[email protected]

Abstract - Industrial mineral waste accounts for a significant 2. Discovering and / or intensifying the use of new mineral
proportion of all global waste. In the European Union it is resources (not from the depths of the Earth - e.g. minerals
more than 71% (2,5 Gt ) of the total amount of non- from seawater, magma, space objects).
hazardous waste - construction and demolition waste, ash The intensive directions are:
and slag, tailings residues, unconditioned waste rocks, etc.
1. Development of extraction methods for very low
In Latvia, the share of this waste is about 20%. Due to the
fact that they are inert, non-biodegradable materials and concentrations of the useful component in minerals, thus
cannot be used for energy production and cannot be reduced involving the use of ores listed so far as waste rocks, or
by incineration, their stocks are increasing every year. Their the waste rock dumps of already developed deposits,
utilization volumes are low and focused mainly on use as where the content of the useful component is lower than
backfill when carrying out various earthworks. possible for extraction at the moment.
At the same time, mineral waste, both in terms of 2. Replacement of the critical mineral resource required
composition and structure, physical and chemical properties, for production with other minerals, the amount of which
is a serious mineral resource, the processing of which can is much larger or even unlimited - finding alternatives to
result in high-quality useful products, thus implementing the
them. As we know, the Earth's crust consists mainly of
waste upcycling principle - the newly acquired product has
higher added value than the original. silicates - the use of silicon and its compounds and the
The paper evaluates the physical and technical possibilities substitution of other substances with them in the sphere of
and perspectives for the production of eco-innovative production and consumption could become a radical
materials from mineral waste - geopolymers, glass ceramics, solution to the problem of depletion of mineral resources.
porous ceramics and mineral-organic composite materials. 3. Reuse of used mineral resources as technological
Keywords - technogenic mineral waste, upcycling principle, resources - secondary raw materials in the sphere of
geopolymers, composites production and consumption.
The extraction, processing and exploitation of mineral
I. INTRODUCTION resources generate a lot of residue and waste, the volumes
The amount of any mineral resource in nature is of which increase over time.
objectively limited and gradually diminishes. Analyzing the composition, structure and properties of
The stable supply of mineral resources to the industrial this waste, it can be seen that they are essentially the same
sector is one of the most important problems for the mineral formations as natural minerals and rocks. Mineral
sustainable development of humankind. waste can be considered as a transformed primary mineral
There are different ways of possible solutions to this resource into another category of secondary (technogenic)
problem - they can be both extensive and intensive. mineral resources.
Among the extensive ones can be noted the following: Many mineral wastes have retained virtually unchanged
1. Discovery of new mineral deposits - expansion of the components from which the original product was
geological exploration in hitherto little-explored areas and formed, as well as partially the original structure and
depths. physical properties, and can therefore potentially be used
either directly or after processing to serve as a raw material

Online ISSN 2256-070X

https://doi.org/10.17770/etr2021vol1.6586
© 2021 Gotfrīds Noviks. Published by Rezekne Academy of Technologies.
This is an open access articleunder the CreativeCommonsAttribution 4.0 InternationalLicense.

183
 Gotfrīds Noviks. Upcycling of Technogenic Mineral Waste – Challenges and Solutions

for new products - thereby reducing the intensity of the on the quality of the environment. It is expected that the
depletion of non-renewable resources and the amount of impact of the use of these seven metals on the environment
waste going to landfill. in 2060 will increase from two to four times compared to
Over the last 40 years, the world's consumption of mineral 2011.
resources has increased 25 times, but the amount of The extraction and production of cement raw materials,
industrial waste generated is 10-100 times higher. sand and gravel have a much lower specific impact (per
Therefore, saving resources and reducing pollution is in kilogram of production) on the environment, but their use
fact one and the same integral problem and must be is so large that the total impact also increases. Together,
tackled in a complex way. seven metals and two building materials account for
almost a quarter of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
and one sixth of total energy demand.
Although the recycling and use of secondary materials
2 cannot be without an impact on the environment, it is
generally ten times lower than the impact of primary
production processes.
1
III.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The European Commission (EC) approved the European

Waste Catalog (EWC) by Decision 2000/532 / EC [8]. The
EWC is a hierarchical list in which all waste is divided
into twenty main sections, each assigned a two-digit code
3
from 01 to 20. Most sections are based on industry, but
some are based on materials and processes. Each waste is
assigned a six-digit code in each compartment.
Fig.1. Changes in the amount of waste produced (1), recovered (2) and
deposited(3) since 2004in the 28 countries of the We propose a waste classification based on the European
European Union (Eurostat (online data code: env_wasgen) Waste Catalog but more appropriate for the research and
At the same time, although the level of mineral waste analysis of treatment processes of technogenic materials
processing has been increasing over the last 15 years (Fig. (Fig. 2).
1), its use is not related to the production of new high-
quality products. Statistics show that the treatment of
waste currently produced in the European Union is mainly
related to its disposal (46%). Waste recycling (which
actually can be considered as their using as technogenic
resources) are subjected to 873 Mt of waste, which
constitutes 38% of the processed waste.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS.

In this work, based on our previous research from the

1990s on the complex and rational use and processing of
mineral and technogenic resources [1],[2],[3],[,[4],[5] as
well as on the analysis, compilation and calculation of
Fig 2. Classification of technogenic waste sources . Detailed group of
literature data provides a methodology for evaluating and inorganic solid technogenic resources
substantiating the prospects for the processing of
technogenic mineral materials. The main thesis on which The recycling of mineral waste is in fact a process in
this methodology is based is the concept of up cycling. which the physical and chemical properties of a
Waste recycling should focus on the development of technogenic resource are transformed into the properties
recycling technologies that use end products with a quality of the intended end product. Therefore, it is logical to
not lower than the quality of the original product - the divide all properties into three groups according to the
principle of “up-cycling” is now a predominant practice analyzed process:
instead of the principle of “down-cycling”, where each • properties that characterize the raw material;
subsequent recycling phase produces product of a quality •characteristics that characterize the final product;
lower than the previous [6],[7].The development of an •properties that describe the ability of the raw material to
eco-innovative product from secondary resources (waste) transform into the final product - physical and chemical
with better (at least not inferior) properties than the activity of the raw material.
properties of the former product requires detailed and It is known that the physicochemical activity (reactivity)
comprehensive investigation of physical, chemical, of a thermodynamic system is characterized by the speed
structural properties of these raw materials and processes and depth of the process. The direction and depth of the
in different physical fields. process are determined by thermodynamic laws, but the
Life cycle analysis of the global extraction and production speed of the process - by the kinetics.
of seven metals (iron, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, nickel
and manganese) shows a strong impact of these processes

184
 Environment. Technology. Resources. Rezekne, Latvia
Proceedings of the 13th International Scientific and Practical Conference. Volume 1, 183-190

The change of the Gibbs energy G of system can be taken are the means by which it is possible to transform a
as the main thermodynamic parameter what regulate mineral into a useful product, to change its properties in
efficiency of raw materials transformations. the desired direction. Thus, previously exposed minerals
∆G=∆H-T∆S (1) containing quartz up to 5000C are much easier to grind in
The process rate constant KV can be taken as a kinetic crushers and mills , grinding energy intensity is reduced
parameter of the system. by 30-40%. On the other hand, rocks characterized by an
KV= dξ/dt[V1a1·V2a2 · ·Vnan] -1 (2) increase in plasticity with temperature (e.g. gabbros) after
where dξ - the degree of perfection of the process during heating increase the energy intensity of crushing.
the period dt, V(1,2,3,…) - relative volumes of the Preheating of materials containing metallic minerals in a
components included in the interaction, a(1,2,3,…) - high-frequency electromagnetic field cause cracking in
empirical indicators of the nature of the interaction the grain contact areas, resulting in crushing to give a
process. crushed material from which the metal-containing
It is known, that the higher the negative value of ∆G and fractions can be efficiently separated.
the higher the positive value of KV, the more active the On the other hand, in the fields of ionizing flows the
process will be. Therefore, the process activity parameter processing results gradually relax and disappear. The
can be evaluated by the complex parameter α, which is the same happens with mechanical activation in high-intensity
product of these two indicators. dynamic fields. This means that the time of use of the
α=-∆G∙KV (3) induced changes in minerals is limited, which must be
In turn, the Arrhenius equation determines the dependence considered in the implementation of technological
of KV on the activation energy Ea processes.
KV=A·exp( -Ea/RT) (4)
Hence
α= (T ∆S-∆H) A ·e ( -Ea/RT) (5)
In the case of chemical reactions, these parameters are
within the following values: A = 1010-1014 s-1, Ea = 50-
300 kJ / mol, ∆S = 10-500 J / mol, ∆H = 300-5000 kJ /
mol.
Using these regularities, it is possible to perform a
comparative analysis of any chosen type of interaction of
mineral components and, consequently, to substantiate the
usefulness and efficiency of its implementation from the
physicochemical point of view.
Analyzing the results of research on the dependence of
mineral properties on the effects of external fields, the Fig.3. Possible changes in the effect after the exposure to the physical
following can be concluded: field depending on the field strength (a) and the time after exposure (b).
1. In the general case, changes in the physical parameters X / X0 - the ratio of the value of the current physical parameter X to the
initial mineral parameter X0 (a- before exposure, b-obtained as a result
of a mineral occur in a non-monotonic manner. This of exposure).
manifests in the extremes of correlation curves, changes in
the speed of processes at different levels of exposure. 4. The result of exposure of physical fields to minerals
Thus, the strength of a number of rocks (marble, gabbros, depends on the time, intensity of the field exposure and
labradorite, etc.) decreases with increasing temperature, the rate of its change, cyclicality and other parameters
while for others the strength increases (urtite), but characterizing the physical treatment regimes.
quartzite, granite have a maximum strength in the Compliance with the upcycling principle for the
respective temperature range. The parameters of elasticity conversion of mineral waste into high quality products can
also change analogously. In addition, it is important which be assessed according to the following criteria:
physical fields cause the temperature to increase in the 1. The product is obtained from low-value raw materials
mineral. Heating of iron quartzite with a high-frequency which are currently not used at all or little and only as an
electromagnetic field gives a minimum of strength. These auxiliary material.
facts show that changes in physical parameters occur in 2. The parameters of the obtained product, which
the process of realization of several mechanisms of characterize the quality of its use, are at the level of the
interaction between matter and field, the effects of which existing product or exceed it - the new product can be used
are different and sometimes even opposite. as an alternative.
2. Different modes of exposure cause different changes in 3. The fields of application and range of the new product
physical parameters. In addition, depending on the become wider compared to the traditional product.
composition and structure of the substance, the same mode 4. The technology of manufacturing the new product does
of action may cause different changes in the physical not generate or generate much less waste (especially
parameters of the mineral. hazardous), does not cause pollution, does not increase the
3. Changes in the physical parameters of the minerals as a negative burden on the ecological environment.
result of exposure to external fields after removal of the 5. The production of the new product from mineral waste
acting field may be permanent, may increase, or may relax is economically advantageous - at least does not exceed or
over time completely or partially (Fig.3). These changes insignificantly exceeds (in the first stage of

185
 Gotfrīds Noviks. Upcycling of Technogenic Mineral Waste – Challenges and Solutions

implementation) the economic costs of production of the “disintegration” we combine a wide group of physical,
traditional product. physic-chemical and chemical processes in which a
These criteria can be normalized and quantified by taking mineral is broken down into components of various scales
the relevant parameters of the traditional product as a basis - from mineral aggregates to individual chemical elements
and applying them to the parameters of the alternative (Fig. 4). The efficiency of physical field-substance
product. interaction processes highly depends on the free surface
Thus, coefficients can be obtained: area of the exposed mineral, surface energy, crystal lattice
Raw material value factor V defects, their types and concentration, structural
mineral waste price distortions, diffusion and reactivity. All these parameters
V=
traditional raw material price.
increase strongly after crushing the mineral, in proportion
Quality factor of the manufactured product Q to the degree of crushing. Therefore, all processing
quality of the alternative product
Q= activities start from the crushing and grinding of the
quality of the traditional product
Ecological impact factor D material. Disintegration, by its nature and types of
impact of the production of the alternative product processes, is sharply divided into three directions -
D=
impact of the production of the traditional product. mechanical, physicochemical and microbiological.
Area of use factor J The goals of disintegration are:
uses of the alternative product
J= • crushing of mineral material to the stage necessary for
uses of the traditional product.
its further use in a direct way or for activation of further
Economic expenditure ratio E
production cost of the alternative product processing (including the implementation of the next
E= disintegration and also for the provision of consolidation
production cost of the traditional product.
Based on these factors, the level of upcycling can be processes);
quantified by the complex indicator UC
𝑄𝑄.𝐽𝐽
UC = (6)
𝑉𝑉.𝐸𝐸.𝐷𝐷
The ideal option is when Q, J> 1, but V, E, D <1. When
comparing the possible processing options, the one with
the highest parameter UC is preferred.
The analysis shows that these criteria for obtaining quality
products from mineral waste at the moment are most met
by such promising directions of construction and building
materials production as the development of binders,
porous and glass ceramics, geopolymers and composite
materials (including organominerals).
The main physical processes used in the development of
these technologies are machining-disintegration (crushing
and grinding), integration (consolidation, dynamic and
static pressure); heat treatment - integration (sintering,
melting, solid phase reactions), disintegration (chemical
reagent environment, biogeochemical processes).
The use of additional physical effects - mechanical,
thermal, chemical activation of substances, acoustic
(especially in the ultrasonic range) and electromagnetic
(especially, high frequency range) fields, phase and
polymorphic effects - has a perspective for the
intensification of basic processes in technology.
Thus, the areas of research and information base of
mineral properties and their changes are specified:
composition - both mineral and chemical;structure - macro
and crystalline scale; properties - mechanical, thermal,
physico-chemical - their changes, stability and critical
(extreme) values under the influence of physical fields.
HIgher level of mineral waste processing technologies
are associated with their physico-chemical, chemical and Fig.4. Classification of disintegration methods.
physico-biological disintegration. Research in these areas
for mineral waste is currently limited, but mining industry •sizing of crushed mineral material (sifting,
uses hydrometallurgy, geobiotechnology, oxidation and classification);
reduction reactions to extract useful chemical elements or •division by composition (mineral individuals);
compounds from unconditioned ores and residues. •extraction of the single compounds or chemical elements
All types of mineral waste processing, except when the As shredding is energy-intensive - in many cases
mineral waste is used directly or with little mechanical exceeding 40% of the total energy consumed in recycling
pre-treatment can be grouped in two opposite directions - - it becomes very important to maximize the recycling of
disintegration and integration. Under the term mineral waste already shredded in the basic technology or
generated at the relevant stages of this technology - ash,

186
 Environment. Technology. Resources. Rezekne, Latvia
Proceedings of the 13th International Scientific and Practical Conference. Volume 1, 183-190

treatment plant dust, enrichment plant tails, since in this Glass is the result of the melting of minerals and forms a
case the crushing stage becomes redundant. In other cases, separate group of amorphous solids.
it is necessary. In the appropriate technological process, an intermediate
By "integration" we mean the direct compaction of a loose product can be obtained - glass ceramics, which is used for
aggregate - consolidation to form a solid monolith, as well the production of tiles and other construction materials.
as the combination of individual components through Many technogenic mineral wastes can be included in the
binders, thermal and other field effects or chemical production of glass ceramics. This issue has received a
reactions, resulting in a compact new substance with new great deal of attention recently [9], [10]. Glass-ceramic
properties. The task of integration (consolidation) is to technology includes a two-stage heat treatment process -
create strong mechanical bonds between individual grains, nucleation (sludge formation) and crystallization stages.
crystals or their elements of a mineral or a mixture thereof. The glass-ceramic structure is characterized by fine,
The integration of minerals is performed with crushed, chaotically oriented crystals embedded in a matrix of
often highly dispersed materials, except in cases when partially amorphous material, without pores, micro cracks
large pieces of raw material (slabs, blocks) are combined and voids.
in a cohesive macrostructure. So, the first stage of A study [11] has shown that basalt and residues from the
integration (consolidation, monolithization) technology ceramics industry can be used in the production of glass
also starts from disintegration. The choice of the next ceramics. The chemical composition of the used raw
processing stage is related to the production of the planned materials is quite close to most of the technogenic
final product and the properties that need to be created in minerals, including the composition of construction debris
the obtained product. There are two options - to move the (clay and silicate bricks, concrete residues).
crushed mineral for further direct processing without any The obtained glass-ceramics showed high mechanical
additives or to add additional components and create a properties - hardness from 9.6 to 10 GPa, bending strength
batch of the respective composition. in the range from 92 to 135 MPa (Fig. 6), water adsorption
In the basic processing process, the crushed material or at zero level. As a result of sintering, four mineral phases
their respective mixture is exposed to physical or were formed - grown, anortitis, olivine and magnetite.
substance fields (solutions).Considering the currently Typically, the addition of ceramic waste to basalt
most feasible and effective types of exposure to minerals, increased the mechanical properties of glass ceramics by
we distinguish four types of exposure - the effects of up to 40% compared to ceramics made from basalt alone.
mechanical, thermal, chemical reagents on the This leads to the conclusion that the use of this waste in
environment and complex (combined) fields (Fig. 5). Each the production of glass-ceramics can prove to be quite
of these routes of exposure is subdivided according to the efficient.
physic-chemical process that makes up the structure and
composition of the final material. 160
140
Bending strength , MPa

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 20 40 60

Quantity of waste ceramics,%

10.05
10
Fig.5. Classification of integration methods. 9.95
9.9
Hardness, GPa

Depending on the types of fields acting, their intensities, 9.85

duration of action and modes, new different types of 9.8
energy bonds between the particles of the material change 9.75
or are formed, both interatomic (covalent, ionic) and 9.7
intermolecular (electrostatic, donor-acceptor, hydrogen). 9.65
In the sintering process of materials at temperatures of 9.6
10000C and more, traditional ceramics are formed - 9.55
crystalline inorganic, non-metallic material, consisting 0 20 40 60
Quantity of waste ceramics
mainly of oxides, nitrides or carbides. A mixture of low-
melting clay minerals with quartz sand is used as a raw
material in traditional brick production technology.
Fig.6. Changes in glass ceramic mechanical properties with
addition ceramic waste.

187
 Gotfrīds Noviks. Upcycling of Technogenic Mineral Waste – Challenges and Solutions

which are aluminum silicates can be used in the

In [12], fly ash and tails of a rare metal ore from the Baijan production of geopolymers. The main criterion for the
Obo enrichment plant in China were studied as a raw suitability of raw materials is the degree of disordered
material for the production of glass ceramics. structure of the aluminosilicate substance. Many silica-
The mineral waste from the enrichment plant was added and alumina-rich minerals (ash , slag, granite waste, clay
to the ash in various proportions from 10 to 50% by minerals in the original and calcined state, effluent rocks
weight. The results showed that the density of the obtained with a high degree of vitrification, construction debris,
glass-ceramics is about 3 g/cm3, bending strength about etc.) may be used in geopolymers production.
193 MPa, hardness (according to Vickers method) 1.3 The report [16] informs about experiments where
GPa, thermal expansion coefficient - 8.3.10-4K-1. geopolymer was produced of unconditioned kaolin
Another study [13] examined the use of enrichment plant residues containing about 59% SiO2, 33% Al2O3, 3%
residues for the production of porous glass ceramics. The Fe2O3, 2% TiO2.
mixture was formed from operational waste from boron Mineral wastes such as fly ash and glass fragments are also
mineral deposits, basalt, ordinary soda-lime glass subject to geopolymerization. In [17] it was shown that the
production residues, silicon sand and limestone. polymerization of inorganic materials can be used not for
The prospect of inorganic waste recycling is the use of the final product, but for the production of an
inorganic polymer technologies. As is known, inorganic intermediate-gel, which is further subjected to heat
polymers are, for the most part, products of the synthesis treatment - ceramication. The mixture of fly ash and glass
of chemical elements of groups III-VI. waste was activated in weakly alkaline solutions, resulting
Artificially synthesized inorganic polymers are currently in a polymerized gel suspension which is mechanically
widely used. French chemist J.Davidovits [14] discovered foamed by the addition of surfactants, dried and sintered
that the reaction of metakaolin and soluble alkali silicate without foam structure collapse at temperatures below
formed a binder capable to replace cement. Subsequent 1000 0C to form a highly porous, chemically stable,
studies have shown that there are two possible directions mechanically durable glass ceramics.
of polymerization: in alkaline media (Na +, K +, Li +, Ca The report [18] analyzes two possibilities of chemically
++, Cs + and others) and in acidic media (phosphoric acid, bound ceramics extraction by processing mine waste: by
organic carboxylic acids). The alkali method is currently alkali activation (geopolymerization) and acid activation
being further studied. J.Davidovits called such materials (chemically bound phosphate ceramics). It was found that
geopolymers (other names - alkali-activated cement, the activation of alkali has been studied for 28 silicate
alkali-activated binder, alkaline cement, and alkaline minerals, and results have been obtained confirming the
binder. efficiency of this method in the production of ceramics.
Geopolymer, - inorganic binder (aluminosilicon gel) with Alkali activation is a promising technology for the
low calcium content, consisting of tetrahedral SiO4 and recycling of inorganic waste and industrial residues in
AlO4 stages, polycondensed in the spatial structure as a construction materials. This process makes it possible to
result of reaction between aluminosilicates and alkaline regulate the properties of the final product according to the
activators [15]. Alkali activation usually occurs by mixing chemical composition of the raw materials. At the same
powdered aluminosilicate with liquid activator sodium or time, it is less sensitive to various non-essential impurities.
potassium hydroxide at most temperatures up to 100 ° C. Studies have been carried out at the Kazan State
The main products of the interaction between University of Architecture and Construction in which
aluminosilicate and alkali are of two types. One of them is finely dispersed mineral materials have been subjected to
an aluminum silicate gel consisting of alkali and alkaline alkali treatment: quartz sand, processed foundry sand,,
earth hydroalosinosilicates (R-A-S-H). The second type is ash, ceramic brick and Portland cement concrete
low basic hydro silicates, calcium hydro aluminates (C-S- fragments, synthetic zeolite waste. As a result of slag use
H, C-A-H). The hardening of the gel results in water- studies, it has been found that the highest mechanical
resistant hydrates - hard artificial stone with high properties are achieved after grinding the batch to a degree
mechanical properties and chemical stability. The of fineness that gives a mixture with a degree of dispersion
composition of geopolymers is characterized by a formula (specific surface area) of 600-700 m2/kg. The inclusion of
Mn [- (Si-O) zAl-O] n · wH2O, wherein M is K, Na or Ca, 30% crushed ceramic bricks in the mixture increases the
n is the degree of polycondensation, z is 1, 2, 3 or more. stone strength of the geopolymer by 30% (for example, a
The Si: Al ratio is crucial in shaping the properties of the geopolymer made of neutral slag with silicate coating
geopolymer - as the Si-Al ratio increases, the heat increases the strength from 116 MPa to 140 MPa, but with
resistance and mechanical strength of the geopolymer soda ash increases from 61 to 80 MPa). 25-30% ash
increase. Geopolymers have good chemical and thermal additive for slag with a dispersion of 500-800 m2 / kg
stability, high compressive strength and low permeability. increases the strength of geopolymer stone up to 60%
In addition, the production of geopolymers is cheaper and during heat treatment. Micro silicon with a specific
less energy-intensive and more environmentally friendly surface area of 15,000 m2/kg additive in the amount of 5-
(emitting 80% less CO2) compared to the production of 7% gives maximum strength values.
Portland cement. Metakaolin is the most widely used raw When the mineral waste is intended to use for production
material in the production of geopolymers because of its materials, which are the replacement of an existing
high reactivity and ability to form homogeneous reaction traditionally used product, its component or as an
products. Studies have shown that a variety of natural and intermediate product, the research program should consist
technogenic mineral raw materials in the composition of of the following stages (Fig.7):

188
 Environment. Technology. Resources. Rezekne, Latvia
Proceedings of the 13th International Scientific and Practical Conference. Volume 1, 183-190

The successful development of these recycling

technologies requires the acquisition of much broader and
deeper information on the properties, composition,
structure and ability of mineral waste to change them in
the required direction as a result of exposure to external
physical and chemical fields.
An appropriate classification of technogenic mineral
resources for processing in this direction has been
developed, thermodynamic parameters characterizing the
efficiency of impact on the mineral environment have
been determined, criteria for evaluation of processing
technology in accordance with the upcycling principle
have been proposed.
The classification of mineral waste disintegration and
integration processes is given. An optimal algorithm for
Fig.7. Algorithm for selection of research on the substantiation of
evaluation and research of possible physical processes of
mineral waste processing technologies
mineral waste processing is proposed.
> the basic requirements and properties (P) that the
product must meet are precisely defined the final product;
> mineral properties are studied (M);
> the correspondence of these properties is determined (M REFERENCIES
~ P);
> in the event of non-compliance, specify the exact [1] Г.Я.Новик, С.В.Ржевская. ”Физико-техническое обеспечение
parameters of the non-compliance and, on the basis of a горного производства”, М.Недра, 1995 , 258с.
[2] Г.Я.Новик, М.Г.Зильбершмидт.“ Управление свойствами
database of physical effects, assess the possible courses of горных пород в процессах горногопроизводства”, M.
action that could lead to the required property; Изд.ЛКИ, 2010, 224с.
> organizes the planning of experiments and performs [3] G.Noviks. “The development of complex analysis system of
experiments; ecotechnology paramaters“, Rēzeknes augstskolas zinātniskie
raksti”, 2003, pp.97-110
> investigates the properties M 'of the material obtained [4] G.Noviks.”Basis of optimal mineral inorganic waste processing
during the experiments and their compliance with the methods”, Environment. Technology. Resources. Proceedings of
requirements (M '~ P); the 6-th International Scientific and Practical Conference, 2007,
> if necessary, continue experiments with other physical Rezekne, pp.87-101
[5] G.Noviks. “Physico-technical approach to design of composites
fields. from mineral and polymer technogenic resources”, Environment.
Technology. Resources. Proceedings of the 10-th International
Scientific and Practical Conference, 2015, pp162-169,
IV. CONCLUSIONS [6] Sung, K.; Cooper, T.; Kettley, S. “Individual Upcycling Practice:
Exploring the Possible Determinants of Upcycling Based on a
Development of high-quality up cycled products from Literature Review”, Sustainable Innovation Conference,
mineral waste is one of the perspective directions, which Copenhagen,2014.
on the one hand ensures saving of natural mineral [7] G.Noviks,”Eco-innovative solutions for the processing of
resources and on the other hand reduction of technogenic mineral resources Environment. Technology.
Resources. Proceedings of the12-th International Scientific and
environmental pollution by implementing the principles of Practical Conference, 2019, Rezekne, pp. 204-209
circular economy. [8] European Waste Classification for Statistics, version 4
There may be important economic and environmental Commission Regulation (EU) No 849/2010 of 27 September 2010
amending Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European
benefits of using inorganic mineral waste for producing Parliament and of the Council on waste statistics
new up cycled products. For example , Australian [9] F.L.da Silva, F.G.S.Araújo, M.P.Teixeira, R.C.Gomes,
researches Ross P.Williams and others [19]estimated , that F.L.vonKrüger, ”Study of the recovery and recycling of tailings
producing geopolimers from waste raw materials it is from the concentration of iron ore for the production of ceramic”,
Ceramics International 40,2014,pp.16085–16089
possible to achieve 44-64% improvement in greenhouse [10] A.Jonker, J.H. Potgieter, “An evaluation of selected waste
gas emissions over ordinary Portland cement production , resources fertilization in ceramic materials application”, Journal
while the financial cost of geopolymers are 7% lower to of the European Ceramic Society 25 , 2005,pp.3145–3149.
[11] G.A. Khater, A. Abdel-Motelib , A.W. El Manawi , M.O. Abu
39% higher compared with OPC. Safiah”Glass-ceramics materials from basaltic rocks and some
In recent years, many studies industrial waste”,Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 358 , 2012,
[20],[21],[22],23],[24],[25],[26],[27] have been carried pp. 1128–1134
out in the world which have proven that the processing of [12] LiBaowei, Deng Leibo, Zhang Xuefeng, Jia Xiaolin, “Structure
and performance of glass–ceramics obtained by Bayan Obo tailing
mineral waste in accordance with the current economic and fly ash” Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 380, 2013, pp.
and environmental conditions is the most reliable in the 103–108
production of building materials such as cement, various [13] Mauro Marangoni, Enrico Bernardo, Suna Cetin, ”Lightweight
classes of ceramics (light bricks, water permeable bricks, glass–ceramic tiles from the sintering of mining tailings”,
Ceramics International, 41, 2015, pp.5294–5300
tiles, glass ceramics), geopolymers, mineral-organic [14] Davidovits, J. Geopolymers. Journal of Thermal Analysis
composites. 37, 1991, pp.1633–1656

189
 Gotfrīds Noviks. Upcycling of Technogenic Mineral Waste – Challenges and Solutions

[15] PaivoKinnunen, Arnold, Ismailov, Soili Solismaa, Harisankar [21] Hailing Kong, Zhanqing Chen, Luzhen Wang, Haide Shen
Sreenivasan, Marja- Liisa Raisanen, Erkki Levanen, ,Mirja “Experimental study on permeability of crushed gangues during
Illikainen, ”Recycling mine tailings in chemically bonded compaction,” International Journal of Mineral Processing 124 ,
ceramics. A review”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 174, 2018, 2013, pp. 95–101
pp.634-649 [22] Qianxing Huang, Taoyong Liu , Jiashuo Zhang, Xi He, Jianlei Liu,
[16] Marlon A. Longhi , Erich D. Rodríguez , Susan A. Bernal , John ZhiweiLuo, AnxianLu,“Properties and pore-forming mechanism
L. Provis ,Ana Paula Kirchheim,” Valorisation of a kaolin mining of silica sand tailing-steel slag-coal gangue based permeable
waste for the production of geopolymers”, Journal of Cleaner ceramics”,School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central
Production, 115 ,2016, pp.265-272 South University, Changsha 410083, China. Construction and
[17] Acacio Rincón Romero, Daniele Desideri, Aldo R. Boccaccini, Building Materials 253, 2020, 118870.
Enrico Bernardo,“Up-Cycling of Iron-Rich Inorganic Waste in [23] Sung-Hoon Kang, Yeonung Jeong, Kiang HweeTan, Juhyuk
Functional Glass-Ceramics”, Minerals 2020, 10, 959; Moon, “The use of limestone to replace physical filler of quartz
doi:10.3390/min10110959 powder in UHPFRC” Cement and Concrete Composites 94 , 2018,
[18] Paivo Kinnunen, Arnold Ismailov, ,,Soili Solismaa , Harisankar pp. 238–247
Sreenivasan, MarjaLiisa Raisanen, Erkki Levanen, Mirja [24] Nancy A. Soliman, Arezki Tagnit- Hamou, ”Using glass sand as
Illikainen, “Recycling mine tailings in chemically bonded cerami analternative for quartz sand in UHPC” Construction and Building
cs.A review”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. Materials 145 ,2017,pp.243–252
[25] BoWei, Yimin Zhang, Shenxu Bao “Preparation of geopolymers
174, 2018,pp. 634-649
from vanadium tailings by mechanical activation” Construction
[19] Ross P.Williams, JanineLay, Arievan Riessen, Glen
and Building Materials 145, 2017, pp 236–242
D.Corder.“Costs and carbon emissions for geopolymer pastes in
[26] MengguangZhu, Hao Wang, Li Li Liu, RuJi, Xidong Wang,
comparison to ordinary portland cement”, Journal of Cleaner
”Preparation and characterization of permeable bricks from
Production,Vol.19, Iss. 9–10, 2011, pp. 1080-1090
gangue and tailings” Construction and Building Materials 148 ,
[20] Natalia Babak1.Emperor Alexander, “Structure of Atoms of the
2017, pp. 484–491
Main Phase of Industrial Wastes Predict Properties of Building
[27] Diana Bajare, Girts Bumanis, Genadij Shakhmenko, Janis
Materials in Transport Construction in Cold Regions”, St.
Justs“Obtaining composition of geopolymers (alkali activated
Petersburg State Transport University, Proceedings of
binders) from local industrial wastes” 3 rd International
TRANSOILCOLD, Transportation Soil Engineering in Cold
conference Civil engineering`11. proceedings, building, 2011
Regions, Volume 2.2019.

190