Abstract
Demand for fresh water by the construction sector is expected to increase due to the high increase in the growth of construction activities in Jordan. This study aims to evaluate the potential of scale-up of the application of treated domestic wastewater in concrete from bench-scale to a full-scale. On the lab scale, concrete and mortar mixes using Primary and Secondary Treated Wastewater (PTW, STW) and Distilled Water (DW) were cast and tested after various curing ages (7, 28, 120, and 200 days). Based on wastewater quality, according to IS 456-2000, the STW is suitable for mortar and concrete production. Mortar made with STW at curing time up to 200 days has no significant negative effect on the mortar’s compressive strength. Conversely, the PTW exceeded the maximum permissible limits of total organic content and E coli. for concrete mixing-water. Using PTW results, a significant increase in the initial setting time of up to 16.7% and a decrease in the concrete workability are observed. In addition, using PTW as mixing water led to a significant reduction in the compressive strength up to 19.6%. The results that came out from scaling up to real production operation of ready-mix concrete were in harmony with the lab-scale results.
Highlights
Wastewater reuse is seen as the main long-term strategy for the conservation of limited freshwater resources
The results showed that the Total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations of Primary Treated Wastewater (PTW) and Secondary Treated Wastewater (STW) (900 and 974 mg/L)
This study has evaluated the use of PTW and STW for concrete and mortar production in bench and full scales
Summary
Wastewater reuse is seen as the main long-term strategy for the conservation of limited freshwater resources. In Jordan, the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation has been practiced since the 1980s in a bid to overcome severe water shortage [1]. Treated wastewater has been officially regulated by the Water Authority as a resource by adopting standards regulating the reuse of treated domestic wastewater for irrigation since 1995 [2]. One of the main objectives of the existing water demand management policy is to expand the reuse of treated wastewater and the exploitation of new water resources in order to have a positive influence on the water sector and other important sectors in Jordan’s development (i.e., industry and construction) [5]
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