Influence of the use of sanitary ware waste in self-compacting concrete production

Abstract

In the production of concrete and mortar, fine and coarse aggregates from non-renewable natural resources are normally consumed. In order to minimize the environmental impacts caused by the extraction of these resources, recycled aggregates of different natures and granulometries has been use in the production of cement composites. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the influence of replacing natural sand by sanitary ware waste (SWW) on the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Concretes were produced with replacement of fine sand by SWW in 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%. The SCC had their properties evaluated in the fresh and hardened state. The results shows that the increase in replacement teres reduces the scattering, fluidity and passing ability of the SCC. There was an increase in compressive strength from 30.1 MPa to 35.3 MPa at 28 days, when considering the 20% and 40% replacement mixes. The replacement contents of 60% and 80% had very similar values. The tensile tests by diametrical compression showed statistically equal values for all analyzed traits. Water absorption increased with higher levels of residues in concrete. The set of tests performed allow to affirm that replacements between 20% and 60% of SW resulted in concretes according requirements for self-compacting concretes, with structural application recommendation for various situations. For classification and indication of use, the tests results should be observed in each of the mixtures. In this way, sanitary were waste have the potential to be used as a substitute for natural sand, reducing the consumption of natural resources.