Stabilization and Solidification of Iron Ore Tailings Using Alkali-Activated Geopolymer

Stabilization and Solidification of Iron Ore Tailings Using Alkali-Activated Geopolymer | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Stabilization and Solidification of Iron Ore Tailings Using Alkali-Activated Geopolymer Arash Ghorbanipour, Amir Hamidi, Elham Fini This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9269444/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 16 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Iron ore mining operations generate considerable quantities of tailings each day. However, these by-products typically exhibit weak mechanical behavior and raise serious environmental concerns, making them unsuitable for immediate use in civil engineering projects. In this research, the tailings were chemically activated using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions of varying molarities (0–5 M), either alone or in combination with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) at substitution ratios ranging from 0% to 9%. The aim was to investigate how these treatments influence the mechanical performance and environmental behavior of the modified tailing materials. Triaxial compression test results clearly showed that NaOH activation substantially improved the undrained shear strength. Moreover, the simultaneous incorporation of GGBFS and NaOH led to a marked synergistic enhancement, yielding stronger and more stable structures. For instance, at a constant NaOH molarity of 5 M and a confining pressure of 200 kPa, increasing slag content from 0% to 9% boosted undrained shear strength from 1,265 to 5,824 kPa. A greater NaOH concentration, combined with a higher slag dosage intensified geopolymerization reactions, refined the microstructure, and improved bonding strength. Consequently, cohesion nearly doubled, while the internal friction angle rose by around 20% relative to the untreated tailings. A life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed that using geopolymer-based tailings could lower the global warming potential and energy demand by approximately 35% compared to Portland cement. Beyond the reductions in energy use and CO 2 emissions, the stabilization method also dramatically suppressed heavy metal mobility, up to a 95% reduction in certain specimens. These combined improvements demonstrate the firm promise of this alkali-activated approach for developing durable and sustainable geotechnical construction materials. Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Physical sciences/Materials science iron ore tailings sodium hydroxide GGBFS shear strength life cycle assessment leaching Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 16 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9269444","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629654159,"identity":"32932f9c-41a1-4b06-9d1a-d92d15887882","order_by":0,"name":"Arash Ghorbanipour","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kharazmi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arash","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghorbanipour","suffix":""},{"id":629654161,"identity":"f0089633-3742-4887-8551-387d1a609702","order_by":1,"name":"Amir Hamidi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAyA+wGNgY2AA4UsQrSWNRC0MPAyHYVqIAObspxMPvCk4b2wukcD44QeDRT5BLZY9uRsOzjG4bWY5I4FZsodBwrKBoMMO5G44zGNw28bgRgKDNNAvhB1ocP4tSMs5kBbm38RpuQG25YAZUAsbkbbceAvyS7KxwZmHbZY9BkQ5LHfzhzd/7Aw3HE8+fONHRR3xgQ0EjA3QaBoFo2AUjIJRQDEAAKiyO3kv1emNAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Kharazmi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amir","middleName":"","lastName":"Hamidi","suffix":""},{"id":629654162,"identity":"e05e5a7b-5bc3-4030-a5a3-bf836ddb16cf","order_by":2,"name":"Elham Fini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arizona State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elham","middleName":"","lastName":"Fini","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-30 16:06:58","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9269444/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9269444/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108181549,"identity":"d91bdf85-7760-4b8b-a230-6aa513f05271","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-30 08:58:45","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1512902,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FinalManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9269444/v1_covered_092b1038-6a6c-4df7-8f60-67a4bdb52109.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Stabilization and Solidification of Iron Ore Tailings Using Alkali-Activated Geopolymer","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"iron ore tailings, sodium hydroxide, GGBFS, shear strength, life cycle assessment, leaching","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9269444/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9269444/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIron ore mining operations generate considerable quantities of tailings each day. However, these by-products typically exhibit weak mechanical behavior and raise serious environmental concerns, making them unsuitable for immediate use in civil engineering projects. In this research, the tailings were chemically activated using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions of varying molarities (0\u0026ndash;5 M), either alone or in combination with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) at substitution ratios ranging from 0% to 9%. The aim was to investigate how these treatments influence the mechanical performance and environmental behavior of the modified tailing materials. Triaxial compression test results clearly showed that NaOH activation substantially improved the undrained shear strength. Moreover, the simultaneous incorporation of GGBFS and NaOH led to a marked synergistic enhancement, yielding stronger and more stable structures. For instance, at a constant NaOH molarity of 5 M and a confining pressure of 200 kPa, increasing slag content from 0% to 9% boosted undrained shear strength from 1,265 to 5,824 kPa. A greater NaOH concentration, combined with a higher slag dosage intensified geopolymerization reactions, refined the microstructure, and improved bonding strength. Consequently, cohesion nearly doubled, while the internal friction angle rose by around 20% relative to the untreated tailings. A life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed that using geopolymer-based tailings could lower the global warming potential and energy demand by approximately 35% compared to Portland cement. Beyond the reductions in energy use and CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e emissions, the stabilization method also dramatically suppressed heavy metal mobility, up to a 95% reduction in certain specimens. These combined improvements demonstrate the firm promise of this alkali-activated approach for developing durable and sustainable geotechnical construction materials.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Stabilization and Solidification of Iron Ore Tailings Using Alkali-Activated Geopolymer","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-29 08:30:09","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9269444/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-13T14:37:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-12T22:42:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-12T19:04:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-02T12:56:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"151485078809346398262910574289903194293","date":"2026-04-26T06:32:51+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"251251742447561998346042884547483161838","date":"2026-04-25T14:25:14+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"313098398959531152656744059559878336579","date":"2026-04-23T17:45:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"154730002494733298839940721400723113402","date":"2026-04-23T04:56:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"254975688249465546992881180290587249054","date":"2026-04-22T06:38:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"273379453999048595370989156202563377597","date":"2026-04-21T19:33:48+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"135950379963328421473578894777005407791","date":"2026-04-21T12:43:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T14:20:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T14:18:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T13:42:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-16T09:14:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-04-16T07:56:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"6746e1e7-5675-4c72-b591-efb49d7930ee","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 29th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-13T14:37:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-12T22:42:33+00:00","index":38,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-12T19:04:36+00:00","index":37,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-02T12:56:45+00:00","index":36,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":67019817,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":67019818,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":67019819,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-13T15:15:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-29 08:30:09","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9269444","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9269444","identity":"rs-9269444","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}