Investigation of the Induration Mechanism of Red Mud Pellets with Tartaric Acid Additions

ABSTRACT

Herein, tartaric acid (TA) was used as a binder to prepare red mud pellets. The effect of TA on the compressive strength and induration mechanism of the pellets containing TA was analyzed via the changes in crystal structure, functional groups, and valence states of the constituent elements. The induration mechanism of TAPE is likely the chemical reaction between TA and partial calcite along with complexation of TA with minerals containing Ca(II), Al(III), and Fe(III). The density functional theory calculation results revealed that the TA-Ca(II) complexation products in red mud were more stable than those of Al(III) and Fe(III).

KEYWORDS:

• Tartaric acid
• compression strength
• density functional theory calculation
• pellet

Acknowledgements

We thank the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their detailed evaluation and constructive suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

National Water Pollution Control and Treatment Science and Technology Major Project of China [2017ZX07402002-05-02].