Evaluation of porosity, mechanical and thermal properties of self-ignition coal gangue-based foams via fast microwave foaming

Recently, the large-scale stock and pollution of solid waste has become a serious environmental and economic problem. Upcycling the solid waste to produce porous materials is a value-added waste management method. Self-ignition coal gangue-based alkali-activated foams were successfully produced via a fast microwave foaming method within a few minutes. The effect of alkali concentration on pore structure, porosity, mechanical and thermal properties of alkali-activated foams was explored. Alkali-activated foams with low bulk density (0.41–0.81 g/cm3), high total porosity (65.6–83.5 vol%), acceptable compressive strength (0.92–4.42 MPa), and low thermal conductivity (0.11–0.14 W/mK) were obtained by a fast microwave foaming method. The foams showed excellent high temperature performance. The compressive strength showed an increasing trend after heat treatment from 500 to 1100 °C. Simultaneously, a low high-temperature volume shrinkage (4.0–4.1%) was achieved. The obtained foams can be used as high-performance proppant materials, thermal insulation building materials, and in fire-resistant applications.