Utilization of tailings in concrete products: A review

Abstract

Many properties of concrete with tailings have been examined in the literature, but it is seen that there are not many studies on the environmental properties of these concretes. It is thought that the environmentally risky properties of these concretes limit the use of tailings. Due to the environmental risks of tailings, the concrete with these tailings also has the potential to cause environmental damage. For this reason, in addition to the me-chanical properties of the concrete with tailings, the environmental properties are also discussed as a separate topic, and the methods and studies used in this subject in the literature are presented in detail. Also, this study investigated the use of mining process tailings in concrete production instead of fine aggregate and cement. Thus, it was emphasized that evaluations should not only be made according to the mechanical properties of the concrete with tailings but also concrete's environmental characteristics should be taken into consideration. This study is designed to be used as a literature study for the use of different tailings instead of fine aggregate or cement in concrete and to determine tailings rates. In this context, the results of the mechanical and environ-mental (pH and heavy metals) studies of tailings with concrete products in the literature are given. The rela-tionship between the mechanical results in the study and the tailings rates was evaluated in terms of physical and chemical properties. As a result, the ratio of tailings to optimum use as fine aggregate was found to be substituted at between 10 and 40%. The amount of tailings substituted in cement, however, was estimated to be between 5 and 20%. In addition, in the studies, it was observed that the pH of metallic tailings varied between 5 and 8.3, while the heavy metal ions of the concrete containing the tailings were found below the drinking water and toxicological limits.