Red mud (RM) is a strongly alkaline waste residue produced during alumina production, and its high alkali and fine particle characteristics are prone to cause soil, water, and air pollution. Phosphogypsum (PG), as a by-product of the wet process phosphoric acid industry, poses a significant risk of fluorine leaching and threatens the ecological environment and human health due to its high fluorine content and strong acidic properties. In this study, RM-based cemented paste backfill (RCPB) based on the synergistic curing of PG and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was proposed, aiming to achieve a synergistic enhancement of the material's mechanical properties and fluorine fixation efficacy by optimizing the slurry concentration (63-69%). Experimental results demonstrated that increasing slurry concentration significantly improved unconfined compressive strength (UCS). The 67% concentration group achieved a UCS of 3.60 MPa after 28 days, while the 63%, 65%, and 69% groups reached 2.50 MPa, 3.20 MPa, and 3.40 MPa, respectively. Fluoride leaching concentrations for all groups were below the Class I groundwater standard (<= 1.0 mg/L), with the 67% concentration exhibiting the lowest leaching value (0.6076 mg/L). The dual immobilization mechanism of fluoride ions was revealed by XRD, TGA, and SEM-EDS characterization: (1) Ca2(+) and F- to generate CaF2 precipitation; (2) hydration products (C-S-H gel and calixarenes) immobilized F- by physical adsorption and chemical bonding, where the alkaline component of the RM (Na2O) further promotes the formation of sodium hexafluoroaluminate (Na3AlF6) precipitation. The system pH stabilized at 9.0 +/- 0.3 after 28 days, mitigating alkalinity risks. High slurry concentrations (67-69%) reduced material porosity by 40-60%, enhancing mechanical performance. It was confirmed that the synergistic effect of RM and PG in the RCPB system could effectively neutralize the alkaline environment and optimize the hydration environment, and, at the same time, form CaF2 as well as complexes encapsulating and adsorbing fluoride ions, thus significantly reducing the risk of fluorine migration. The aim is to improve the mechanical properties of materials and the fluorine-fixing efficiency by optimizing the slurry concentration (63-69%). The results provide a theoretical basis for the efficient resource utilization of PG and RM and open up a new way for the development of environmentally friendly building materials.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a cemented void filling method gaining popularity over traditional hydraulic or rockfill methods. As mining depth increases, CPB-filled stopes are subjected to higher confining pressures. Due to the soil triaxial apparatus limitations, as the conventional method of triaxial testing on CPB, no confining pressures higher than 5 MPa can be applied to CPB over a range of curing time. This lack of data introduces uncertainty in predicting CPB behavior, potentially leading to an overestimation of the required strength. To address this, this study introduces a new testing method that allows for higher confinement beyond traditional limitations by modifying the Hoek triaxial cell to accommodate low-strength materials. This study then investigates the coupled influence of confining pressure and curing time (hydration) on CPB characteristics, specifically examining the impacts of different curing times and confining pressures on the mechanical and rheological properties of CPB. A total of 75 triaxial tests were conducted using 42 mm cylinder shape samples at five various curing times from 7 to 96 days, and applied at low and high confinement condition levels (0.5 to 30 MPa). The results reveal that hydration and confinement positively impact the CPB strength. The modified structured Cam-Clay model was selected to predict the behavior, and its yield surface was updated using the experimental results. The proposed yield model can be utilized to describe CPB material subjected to various curing and pressure conditions underground.

Flocculent is commonly used in mining activities to improve the concentration of tailing slurry by enhancing the sedimentation process of small tailings particles. The presence of flocculent in thickened tailings is unavoidable, and it affects the heavy metal leaching performances and mechanical and rheological characteristics of tailing-based cemented paste backfill (CPB). This study is carried out to investigate the physicochemical and leachability of CPB amended with flocculants and lime-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). The stabilized samples were subjected to a series of model tests, including toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) and pH, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction. Moreover, the CPB amended with anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) demonstrated better performance in terms of a decrease in heavy metal leachability besides higher mechanical strength than poly aluminum chloride (PAC) and poly ferric chloride (PFC) samples. Furthermore, the UCS results showed that increasing binder content up to 15% negatively influences strength improvement of all stabilized samples because of weak connections between soil particles and cementitious material, resulting in high leachability of heavy metals. The analysis of XRD and SEM showed that anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) cases exhibited more voluminous hydration products, resulting in a compact stabilized matrix and substantially reduced heavy metal leachability.