Young scientist from TSC SB RAS will develop a technology for producing flame-proof building blocks from industrial and household waste

Among the winning finalists of the “Student Startup” competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and the Foundation for Assistance to Innovation is Pavel Vashurkin, a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Functional Ceramic Materials at Tomsk Scientific Center of SB RAS and a postgraduate student at Tomsk State University. The idea behind the project Pavel is spearheading is in recycling slag and aluminum waste into SiAlON refractory building blocks. Both feedstock and an energy-efficient technology (combustion) that are used to produce them are expected to bring the cost of this building material down considerably as compared to existing alternatives.

Waste volumes are increasing every year, making it crucial to develop new recycling methods that produce valuable, in-demand products, such as heat-insulation materials. Our approach uses raw materials that are abundant and inexpensive – aluminum waste (such as beverage cans) and slag from burning fuel at CHP plants. These materials will undergo self-sustaining high-temperature synthesis (SHS), where the product with the desired properties forms during combustion in nitrogen, – explains Pavel.

The procedure of turning empty cans and slag from ash dumps into building blocks is as follows: first, the aluminum waste is shredded into small pieces (< 1 mm) and rinsed to get rid of contaminants. Then it is mixed with slag and ash, followed by molding so as to get a product the size of a standard brick. Basalt fiber and liquid sodium silicate are used as reinforcing additives.

The young scientist will need to optimize component ratios and consider the drying regime options to make sure the blocks don’t crack. Once that is done, the mixture goes into a reactor, where in pressurized nitrogen at 1800°C aluminum and oxygen atoms partially substitute silicon and nitrogen atoms as SHS turns waste into valuable SiAlON-based material.

No other similar product, thanks to the SiAlON phases, can withstand as many thermal cycles. These building blocks could be used for industrial furnace lining, as well as for building brick stoves, saunas, and fireplaces, – explains the young scientist.

The development of the project is scheduled for 12 months, during which time, the grant recipient must establish a legal entity, develop a startup business plan, and present a report on its progress. Other projects supported within Tomsk Scientific Center include those of junior researcher Andrey Udalov from the Institute of Atmospheric Optics and Dmitry Larkin, an engineer-researcher at Tomsk Scientific Center./

© TSC SB RAS Press Center