Brazil is among the top six worldwide responsible by the production of ornamental rocks, being the richest production center in granite. The sector of ornamental rocks generates during the cutting and beneficiation processes huge amounts of pollutants solid waste, in such way that the amounts of such solid wastes are expected to increase more and more. The Espírito Santo state is the largest national producer and exporter of ornamental rocks. In cutting and beneficiation processes of ornamental rocks huge amounts of solid wastes that need to be reused are generated, otherwise they cause damage of difficult remediation to the environment. Depending on the type of rock and the type of cutting and beneficiation process, wastes with different characteristics can be generated. In this context, this work aims to characterize four ornamental rocks wastes generated in different cutting and beneficiation processes denominated as shot waste, diamond waste, levigation waste, and polishing waste. The ornamental rock wastes samples were characterized in terms of chemical composition, morphology, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermal analysis (TGA/TGD). The experimental results indicated that the studied ornamental rock wastes presented different chemical and physical characteristics. The levigation, polishing, and shot wastes are rich in K2O, CaO and Fe2O3, while the diamond waste is rich in SiO2. The ornamental rock wastes also presented different granulometric and thermal behaviors.
Ornamental rock waste; characterization; recycling
