Preparation of briquettes from the Golden Horn bottom sediments by hydro-thermal agglomeration process.

The Golden Horn (GH) sediments, which consist mainly of clay, organic substances and heavy metals, are formed with the contribution of industrial and domestic wastes released in the Golden Horn Estuary. On account of their mineralogical and chemical composition, these sediments may be regarded as a suitable raw material for briquette production. In this study, the utilization of GH dredged bottom sediments was investigated for preparation of briquettes. Dried GH sediments were mixed with lime and sand in different percentages, moulded at various squeezing pressures and hardened under several steam pressure values by autoclaving. The briquettes produced through these different process conditions were tested for compressive strength according to the Turkish standards (TS705). It was found that variations in compressive strength were dependent on the amount of lime (Ca(OH)2) and sand (SiO2) added. Results show that the compressive strength increased with increasing lime and decreasing sand in the mixtures prepared for briquettes. It is concluded that briquettes with a compressive strength value of 294 kgf cm(-2) can be produced. This allows the GH sediments to be taken into account as a raw material in brick production, as far as compressive strength requirements are concerned. This possibility may represent an important way either for reducing environmental pollution or for recycling waste materials in industrial applications.