Waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) in limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) composites

R. S. Krishna; Subhabrata Mishra; Sibangi Rath; Daud Ahmad; Syed Mohammed Mustakim; Prabhas Chandra Beuria; Cheng Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.143850

Waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) in limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) composites

R. S. Krishna, Subhabrata Mishra, Sibangi Rath, Daud Ahmad, Syed Mohammed Mustakim, Prabhas Chandra Beuria, Cheng Jiang

School of Engineering, Design & Built Environment

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Abstract

This study investigates the compatibility and performance of thermally treated waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) at 800°C, with calcination and reduction roasting methods, as calcined clays in Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) binder system. The reduction roasting of IOTs positively impacted the properties of the LC3 mortar and paste matrix. The replacement of calcined clay in the LC3–75 and LC3–50 binder systems resulted in a 28-day compressive strength of 43.44 MPa and 40.49 MPa, respectively, compared to 34.28 MPa of commercial LC3. Characterisation results disclosed that IOT-RR contributed to the development of AFm phases and C-(A)-S-H gel, which contributed to the development of mechanical strength and pore refinement. This research investigation promotes the effective integration of mine wastes in cement production and offers a novel approach to waste valorisation and obtaining zero waste in the iron mining sector.

Original language	English
Article number	143850
Number of pages	17
Journal	Construction and Building Materials
Volume	497
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.143850
Publication status	Published - 31 Oct 2025

Open Access - Access Right Statement

This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).

Keywords

Calcination
Iron ore tailings
Limestone calcined clay cement
Reduction roasting
Waste recycling

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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title = "Waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) in limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) composites",

abstract = "This study investigates the compatibility and performance of thermally treated waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) at 800°C, with calcination and reduction roasting methods, as calcined clays in Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) binder system. The reduction roasting of IOTs positively impacted the properties of the LC3 mortar and paste matrix. The replacement of calcined clay in the LC3–75 and LC3–50 binder systems resulted in a 28-day compressive strength of 43.44 MPa and 40.49 MPa, respectively, compared to 34.28 MPa of commercial LC3. Characterisation results disclosed that IOT-RR contributed to the development of AFm phases and C-(A)-S-H gel, which contributed to the development of mechanical strength and pore refinement. This research investigation promotes the effective integration of mine wastes in cement production and offers a novel approach to waste valorisation and obtaining zero waste in the iron mining sector.",

keywords = "Calcination, Iron ore tailings, Limestone calcined clay cement, Reduction roasting, Waste recycling",

author = "Krishna, {R. S.} and Subhabrata Mishra and Sibangi Rath and Daud Ahmad and Mustakim, {Syed Mohammed} and Beuria, {Prabhas Chandra} and Cheng Jiang",

year = "2025",

month = oct,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.143850",

language = "English",

volume = "497",

journal = "Construction and Building Materials",

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T1 - Waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) in limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) composites

AU - Krishna, R. S.

AU - Mishra, Subhabrata

AU - Rath, Sibangi

AU - Ahmad, Daud

AU - Mustakim, Syed Mohammed

AU - Beuria, Prabhas Chandra

AU - Jiang, Cheng

PY - 2025/10/31

Y1 - 2025/10/31

N2 - This study investigates the compatibility and performance of thermally treated waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) at 800°C, with calcination and reduction roasting methods, as calcined clays in Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) binder system. The reduction roasting of IOTs positively impacted the properties of the LC3 mortar and paste matrix. The replacement of calcined clay in the LC3–75 and LC3–50 binder systems resulted in a 28-day compressive strength of 43.44 MPa and 40.49 MPa, respectively, compared to 34.28 MPa of commercial LC3. Characterisation results disclosed that IOT-RR contributed to the development of AFm phases and C-(A)-S-H gel, which contributed to the development of mechanical strength and pore refinement. This research investigation promotes the effective integration of mine wastes in cement production and offers a novel approach to waste valorisation and obtaining zero waste in the iron mining sector.

AB - This study investigates the compatibility and performance of thermally treated waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) at 800°C, with calcination and reduction roasting methods, as calcined clays in Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) binder system. The reduction roasting of IOTs positively impacted the properties of the LC3 mortar and paste matrix. The replacement of calcined clay in the LC3–75 and LC3–50 binder systems resulted in a 28-day compressive strength of 43.44 MPa and 40.49 MPa, respectively, compared to 34.28 MPa of commercial LC3. Characterisation results disclosed that IOT-RR contributed to the development of AFm phases and C-(A)-S-H gel, which contributed to the development of mechanical strength and pore refinement. This research investigation promotes the effective integration of mine wastes in cement production and offers a novel approach to waste valorisation and obtaining zero waste in the iron mining sector.

KW - Calcination

KW - Iron ore tailings

KW - Limestone calcined clay cement

KW - Reduction roasting

KW - Waste recycling

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U2 - 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.143850

DO - 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.143850

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105018116263

SN - 0950-0618

VL - 497

JO - Construction and Building Materials

JF - Construction and Building Materials

M1 - 143850

ER -

Waste iron ore tailings (IOTs) in limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) composites

Abstract

Open Access - Access Right Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

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