Immobilization of chromite ore processing residue with alkali-activated blast furnace slag-based geopolymer

Chromite ore processing residue (COPR) is an industrial waste produced in the chromic salts production process and contains a small portion of leached Cr(VI), which is highly toxic and is listed as a hazardous waste. The immobilization of COPR using a blast furnace slag-based geopolymer has been investigated in this study. The optimum parameters for preparing the blast furnace slag-based geopolymer using an orthogonal experiment were obtained. COPR was used to replace the amount of blast furnace slag for the preparation of the geopolymer. The COPR-bearing blast furnace slag-based geopolymer has potential application as a construction material and for geological disposal. The combined effect of physical fixation, adsorption and ion exchange in the geopolymeric and CSH (calcium silicate hydrate) gel is considered to be the main mechanism, and the reduction of S2− in the blast furnace slag played a significant role in the solidification of the COPR.