CHARACTERISATION OF COAL GANGUE AND FABRICATION OF POROUS CERAMIC MATERIALS

This study explores a sustainable recycling technique for converting coal gangue, an abundant industrial waste, into high-value porous ceramics, aiming to mitigate environmental hazards while contributing to materials science. By characterising the waste's composition, the research outlines a detailed methodology for ceramic synthesis, which includes calcination, grinding, and sintering at varying temperatures with the incorporation of chemical additives. The findings reveal that a sintering temperature of 1250 °C is optimal for producing ceramics with desirable porosity and strength. Additionally, additives, such as NaOH, KOH, and Ca(OH)₂, are shown to enhance the formation of mullite, gehlenite, and calcium silicate phases, thus improving the mechanical properties of the final product. The study concludes with a successful demonstration of a scalable process for manufacturing porous ceramics from coal gangue, providing a new application for waste utilisation and a new pathway to produce advanced materials with significant industrial applications.