Giga-scale disposal: a real frontier for ceramic research

摘要

Industry is faced with the environmental prob- lem of finding a home for materials that are generated as a result of manufacturing processes, so-called by-prod- ucts or industrial wastes. As long as cheap ``Iandfill'' costs are available, these materials, which are generated in the giga-tons/yr quantities, will continue to adversely impact our environment. The goal of these activities fo- cuses on applying knowledge, normally concentrated on ``high-tech'' materials, to address the utilization of the overwhelming volumes of industrial by-products in the manufacture of ``low-tec'' solutions to environmental problems. One such successfol application of coal de- rived fiv ash for the manufacture of controlled low- strength structural fills for the reclamation of open pit coal mines is discussed in detail. These projects demon- strate that chemical and physical aspects of materials re- acted at the ``nano-scale'' enable the developments of successful ``giga-scale'' technologies.