Aspects of making of a composite material when using red mud

• Main Authors: Liubov Melnyk, Valentin Svidersky, Lev Chernyak, Nataliia Dorogan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PC Technology Center 2018-03-01
• Series: Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies
• Subjects: polymeric composite; filler; red mud; porous structure; styrene-acrylate; cellulose thickener
• Online Access: http://journals.uran.ua/eejet/article/view/125702

A composite material was developed with the polymeric binder at the elevated concentration of a technogenic raw material, 75 % by weight of red mud, as the filler. Dependence of indicators of composite properties on the content of the filler at the differentiation of varieties of polymer binders was established. When applying the binder Acronal 290 D, the water absorption minimum is 3.2–3.5 % by weight, the maximum is 5.0–5.3 % by weight. When applying Pliolite AC-4, the water absorption minimum is 0.83–0.96 % by weight, the maximum is 3.0–3.2 % by weight. When replacing the binder from the aqueous dispersion with the varnish dispersion, it is observed that water absorption level decreases by two times, but the character of dependence of this indicator on concentration of the filler remains unchanged. Analysis of hydrophobicity as a factor of improvement of operational properties of the composite showed that the maximum values of wetting angle of 130–136 degrees are registered at the concentration of the filler of 75 % by weight. We established features of the porous structure of the composite as a factor of influence on its properties. Total porosity and development of its varieties depend on the type of the polymeric binder. Indicators of total porosity are at the level of 9.3–11.8 % against 8.6–23.9 %, and the indicators of open porosity are at a significantly lower level of 0.96–3.15 versus 3.49–5.32 over the same range of changes in the concentrations of the filler when using Pliolite AC-4 compared to Acronal 290 D. It was shown that the developed material is distinguished by decorative (red color) and physical-technical characteristics that are important for modern architecture, which contributes to solving comprehensively the tasks on extending the range of composites and on the industrial waste disposal.