The present paper probes into the influence of the steel slag particle size on the mechanical properties and microstructure of concrete, with steel slag serving as the primary raw material. Steel slag with different particle sizes was selected as the partial substitute material for concrete by mechanical grinding. The influence of steel slag on the compressive strength, bending strength, and microstructure of concrete was determined by laser particle size analyzer, specific surface area analyzer, strength experiment, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that mechanical grinding has significant effects on the particle size distribution and specific surface area of the steel slag. The optimal grinding time is 20 min and the specific surface area is 0.65 m²/g. D10, D50 and D90 are 0.91 μm, 16.57 μm and 46.40 μm, respectively. The steel slag with a fine particle size can better fill the pores in concrete and improve the compactness, thus enhancing the mechanical properties of concrete. The change in the steel slag particle size does not change the type of hydration products, but the smaller the particle size of steel slag, the better the gelling activity, the larger the hydration products, the denser the structure, and the better the mechanical properties. Therefore, the present study provides an important theoretical basis and practical guidance for the application of steel slag as an additive in the concrete industry.

The change law of alkaline steel slag cementitious activity was investigated by mechanical excitation, alkaline excitation, and salt excitation methods. The effect of grinding time, chemical activators, and content of steel slag on the properties of cement replaced by steel slag was studied. The hydration products of cement replaced by steel slag were analyzed by XRD and SEM. The results show mechanical excitation can effectively improve the particle size distribution and cementitious activity of steel slag. The best mechanical properties are obtained when grinding for 20 min and adding 10% steel slag. Chemical excitation can further improve the cementitious activity of steel slag based on mechanical stimulation. The optimal mechanical properties are obtained when the dosage of sodium hydroxide is 1.0%, the dosage of early strength agent is 2.0%, and the dosage of steel slag is 25%. The main hydration products of cement replaced by steel slag are calcite (CaCO₃), calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂), dicalcium silicate (Ca₂SiO₄), and C-S-H gel. The microstructure presents a fibrous network structure, laying the foundation for improving mechanical properties.

Soil-coated fabrics were fabricated by scrape-coating of soil slurry onto cotton fabrics. The raw materials, soil, and cotton fabrics were, respectively, obtained from farmland and waste bed sheets, making the method a zero-material cost way to produce superwetting membrane. The superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic soil-coated fabrics exhibit high efficiency (>99%), ultra-high flux (~45,000 L m⁻² h⁻¹), and excellent antifouling behavior for separating water from various oils driven by gravity. The simple fabrication and superior performance suggest that the soil-coated fabric could be a promising candidate as a filtration membrane for practical applications in industrial oily wastewater and oil spill treatments.

A novel clay-coated mesh was fabricated via a simple brush-coating method without the use of special equipment, chemical reagents, and complex chemical reactions and operation processes. Possessing superhydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, the clay-coated mesh can be used for efficiently separating various light oil/water mixtures. The clay-coated mesh also exhibits excellent reusability, maintaining a high separation efficiency of 99.4% after 30 repeated separations of the kerosene/water mixture.