Study on Preparation and Performances of Microcrystalline Foam Glass from Titanium Tailings

Using Panzhihua ilmenite tailings as raw materials and borax as fluxing reagent,the microcrystalline foam glass was prepared successively through melting,water quenching,foaming,microcrystallization and annealing processes.The effects of foaming agent species and amount,foam stabilizer amount,foaming temperature and time,microcrystallization temperature and time,on the apparent density,compressive strength and water absorption of the obtained microcrystalline foam glass were investigated.From SEM of the prepared microcrystalline foam glass,it presents an inflated porous structure with interconnected closed-irregular bubbles in the interior.It is shown that the microcrystalline foam glass having 1.8~2.2 mm of pore diameter,1.31 g/cm³ of apparent density,16.7 MPa of compressive strength and 11.3% of water absorption can be obtained by foaming at 840 ℃ for 20 min and microcrystallization at 550 ℃ for 90 min with addition of 2% CaCO₃ and 5% Na₃PO₄·12H₂O as foaming agent and foam stabilizer,respectively.