Recycling Iron Ore Waste through Low-Cost Paving Techniques

Abstract

Research on road construction has evolved and advanced. Environmental sustainability considerations are now an integral part of the specific focus of these infrastructure projects. This study investigated the feasibility of recycling on iron ore reject through cost-effective pavement techniques, demonstrating significant improvements in the performance of stabilized mixtures with the addition of anti-dust treatment. The mineralogical and chemical analysis of the reject, coupled with the conducted priming tests (LWT and WTAT), highlighted the effectiveness and promising application of these materials in construction. Under a load of 33 kg, the anti-dust-treated mixture showed a deformation of 5.3 mm, compared to 7.76 mm for the stabilized reject–emulsion mixture. Similar improvements were observed in reject–soil–emulsion mixtures, with a sinking of 4.16 mm for anti-dust-treated specimens compared to 6.99 mm for stabilized mixtures. The results of the WTAT test corroborated the effectiveness of the layer formed by the anti-dust treatment; in all cases, the mass loss was less than 2%. These findings have significant implications for sustainability in construction, contributing to environmental conservation and resource efficiency.