INRTU Uses Sustainable Materials from Metallurgical Byproducts
The team of INRTU's Youth Integrated Waste Processing Laboratory for the Energy and Metallurgy Complex (The Baikal Research and Education Center) fulfills the state order, aimed at improving the properties of polymers, building materials and adsorbents by use of various materials. Fundamental and applied research is carried out under the supervision of Igor Petrushenko, Candidate of Chemical Sciences.
INRTU experts are developing technologies for the recycling and use of microsilica, a finely dispersed amorphous silicon dioxide. The primary source of the raw material is the sludge fields of metallurgical enterprises in the Irkutsk Region. To carry out the experiments, the scientific team cleaned the waste from water-soluble impurities in order to create modifiers, or templates, based on these materials.
The researchers replaced part of the Portland cement in the concrete with microsilica and studied mixtures with different component substitution and water balance. Tests were conducted to measure the setting time of the building material after seven and 28 days. The experiments showed that the strength of concrete with microsilica additives exceeded the specified properties by up to 30%, facilitating the industrial use of the product.
"In addition, finely dispersed mesoporous spheres were made from sleeve dust, a waste product of silicon production, and carbonized on templates. The template serves as the basis for creating mesoporous carbon nanostructures by hydrothermal synthesis. In the future, they can be used in the production of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries," said Igor Petrushenko.
The Laboratory team succeeded in obtaining chitosan-based quantum dots. Carbon nanostructures have intense luminescence (glow) and can be used as biomarkers.
Using microwave radiation, the INRTU researchers synthesized different forms of magnesium hydroxide.
"We consider a substance with a large specific surface area as a sorbent for wastewater treatment, and a small one as a flame retardant that suppresses combustion reactions. Such magnesium hydroxide should be added to polymers to increase the safety of their use," Igor Petrushenko added.The theoretical aspect of the project is the study of adsorption of organic pollutants, such as benzene, on microsilica clusters using quantum chemical methods.
Igor Petrushenko and his colleagues have presented the results of the state order in four articles published in Web of Science journals and at three conferences in Russia and abroad. The most active participants are junior researcher Sergey Nebogin, research engineer Vladislav Galeyev, and research assistant Alexander Shabalin.
INRTU experts plan to analyze the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of polymers obtained with the addition of microsilica. New equipment will be purchased allowing the work to be carried out in the interests of INRTU's industrial partner - Irkutsk Oil Company (INK).
