Abstract
Construction and demolition waste (CDW) constitutes an increasingly significant problem in society due to the volume generated, rendering sustainable management and disposal problematic. The aim of this study is to identify a possible reuse option in the concrete manufacturing for recycled aggregates with a significant ceramic content: mixed recycled aggregates (MixRA) and ceramic recycled aggregates (CerRA). In order to do so, several tests are conducted in accordance with the Spanish Code on Structural Concrete (EHE-08) to determine the composition in weight and physic-mechanical characteristics (particle size distributions, fine content, sand equivalent, density, water absorption, flakiness index, and resistance to fragmentation) of the samples for the partial inclusion of the recycled aggregates in concrete mixes. The results of these tests clearly support the hypothesis that this type of material may be suitable for such partial replacements if simple pretreatment is carried out. Furthermore, this measure of reuse is in line with European, national, and regional policies on sustainable development, and presents a solution to the environmental problem caused by the generation of CDW.
Highlights
The construction sector’s important contribution to the development of society is widely acknowledged, the construction industry is perceived as a major cause of environmental degradation.Special concern rests in the European construction industry, as, besides being one of the largest consumers of natural resources—more than 50% of European natural resources [1], it is a major contributor in the waste scenario—about 33% of the waste generated annually [2], as large quantities of the raw minerals employed end up in landfills
Numerous studies have investigated the possibilities of using recycled aggregates in concrete mixes as partial replacement of the conventional coarse aggregate, the majority of them have basically focused on the use of aggregates recovered from concrete (RCA) [4,5,6,7,8,9,10], as their properties do not differ as much of the natural aggregates, and their use is supported by most of the standards which allow the use of secondary materials in the concrete manufacture, i.e., in Spain, the current legislation—the Spanish Code on Structural Concrete (EHE-08) [11] only allows this type of recycle aggregate for its inclusion up to 20% in concrete mixes, excluding the mixed recycled aggregates (MixRA), even for non-structural concretes
In terms of gypsum content, the values ranged between 0.09% and 4.12%, which could generate some problems, in Samples CDW2, CDW10, and CDW12, since, in a study conducted by Agrela et al [9], it was found that recycled aggregates with a gypsum content, higher than 1.67%, should be rejected due to the lack of compliance with the 0.8% content limit for soluble sulphates in acid established in the Spanish and Lastly, some of the recycled aggregates (CDW2, CDW6, CDW7, CDW8, CDW10, CDW12, and CDW13) contained more than 1% of impurities (X1 + X2), a pretreatment to remove the mentioned contaminations is necessary in order to comply with the EHE-08 requirements
Summary
The construction sector’s important contribution to the development of society is widely acknowledged, the construction industry is perceived as a major cause of environmental degradation.Special concern rests in the European construction industry, as, besides being one of the largest consumers of natural resources—more than 50% of European natural resources [1], it is a major contributor in the waste scenario—about 33% of the waste generated annually [2], as large quantities of the raw minerals employed end up in landfills. The construction sector’s important contribution to the development of society is widely acknowledged, the construction industry is perceived as a major cause of environmental degradation. Construction and demolition waste (CDW) constitutes an increasingly significant problem in society, not so much because of its hazardous nature, as it can be inert, but because of the volume generated, which renders sustainable management and disposal problematic. This waste has a very high potential for recovery, Spain (30%) is still situated behind other European countries in terms of sustainable CDW management [3]. Recycled aggregates obtained from crushed concrete, which despite having received most attention, only account for 15% of the CDW generated, and 30% of the CDW marketed [3]
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