ABSTRACT
As a solid waste in the process of coal mining and coal washing, coal gangue is mainly composed of inorganic minerals (alumina and silica), a small amount of organic matter, and traces of rare elements. In this paper, the main components of coal gangue (alumina and silica) can react with an alkali activator to form a geopolymer after activation, and coal gangue is used as a new choice for loess solidification treatment. In this study, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric tests were carried out on coal gangue. The unconfined compressive strength test was carried out on loess solidified by coal gangue-based geopolymer binder. The effects of the coal gangue content, the alkali activator modulus, and the concentration and dosage on the mechanical properties of geopolymer solidified soil were analyzed. The test results show that the ideal mix ratio is that the modulus of the alkali activator is 1.2, the concentration is 50%, the content is 27% of the dry soil mass, and the content of coal gangue is 54% of the dry soil mass. This experimental study shows that coal gangue-based geopolymer can be an effective soil stabilizer for loess.
