Abstract
In the Republic of Macedonia, construction and demolition (C&D) waste is often dumped, underestimating the potential recycling and re-use as raw materials for civil engineering works and/or cement/ceramic industries. SAMCODE (Sustainable Approach to Managing Construction and Demolition Waste) is a know-how exchange program, the focus of which is chemical characterisation in terms of major and trace elements in order to evaluate the possible Macedonian C&D waste recycling. Thirty-nine C&D waste samples were collected from different dumps in Skopje and surroundings. X-ray fluorescence analyses, carried out on powdered samples, show i) highly variable concentrations, indicative of the heterogenous nature of C&D waste, and ii) high concentration in Cr, Ni, and Zn with respect to Italian, Chinese, and Dutch tolerance limits, probably due to the presence of these elements in ophiolitic rocks and sulphide-bearing deposits, used as raw material in building activity. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses of leachates, performed to assess the mobility of heavy metals, show significant concentrations of Cr, and to a lesser extent, Ni. Results suggest that homogenisation processes of the recycled materials should be implemented and preliminary screening of C&D waste should be performed to eliminate heavy metals-bearing components.
Highlights
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is the solid debris resulting from municipal activities
The present research aims at characterising C&D waste samples on the basis of the major and trace elements composition, following the analytical methods used by Bianchini et al [5] and Limbachiya et al [9], and to define the potential release of hazardous heavy metals in the environment in order to evaluate their possible recycling
The adopted leaching protocol was modified from the UNI EN 12457-Part 2 (2004) methodology (“Characterisation of waste—leaching—compliance test for leaching of granular waste materials”): 1 g of C&D waste powder was soaked with 10 ml of deionised water for 24 h and the obtained solution was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 min and filtered at 45 μm (Minisart®NML syringe cellulose acetate filters)
Summary
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is the solid debris resulting from municipal activities.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
