Developing a one-part geopolymer cement containing iron ore tailings from Minas Gerais state in Brazil

The growing perspective of mining tailings volume worldwide takes to a necessity of developing sustainable solutions to apply the concept of circular economy. Meanwhile, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is the most consumed construction material globally, and its considerable CO2 emission abundantly contributes to greenhouse effect. Geopolymers are environmentally friendly materials that can be used as a sustainable alternative to OPC. This study proposes the development of a geopolymer cement containing iron ore tailings (IOT) and investigates the influence of the water/solid (W/S) ratio on their uniaxial compressive strength (UCS). The best result had a W/S ratio of 0.37 and achieved strength of 62.7 MPa after 28 days curing at room temperature, which is considerable higher than the required in the worldwide OPC standards. Also, the binder in this study has higher compressive strength after one day of cure than the regular OPC should have in 28 days of cure, showing high early strength. The result can be optimized for better economic viability in the future and shows that IOT has potential to be applied as filler in geopolymer cements.