An investigation on the use of electrolytic manganese residue as filler in sulfur concrete

Utilization of sulfate-rich industrial residue building materials can reduce both the production cost and the environmental impact of the solid wastes. In this paper, the possibility of using electrolytic manganese residues filler for sulfur cement concrete has been investigated and compared with those of the relevant mortar samples. Mechanical properties, microstructure and durability of the sulfur concrete samples prepared with the above mentioned waste filler has been discussed. The microstructure results indicate that electrolytic manganese residue and aggregates were tightly wrapped by hydrophobic modified sulfur forming particle packing structure. The new sulfur concrete samples showed high mechanical strength and excellent environmental durability. Leaching test showed that the leaching concentrations of the heavy metal ions were far below the regulatory limits of National Integrated Waste water Discharge Standards in China (GB 8978-1996). Therefore, the results obtained in this study established a technical suitability of electrolytic manganese residue as raw material for sulfur cement concrete.