Recycling of bone china ceramic waste as cement replacement to produce sustainable self-compacting concrete

Abstract

Ceramic waste (CW) is produced during the cutting and polishing stage in the ceramic industry, which is hazardous to the environment and requires a large area for its disposal. This study aims to see the incorporation of bone china ceramic waste (BCCW) in self-compacting concrete (SCC) as a partial substitution for cement. BCCW was used at a percentage of 0 to 40% with an improved step level of 10% through mass of cement. Different properties of SCC were examined for the fresh and hardened state. Various fresh properties of SCC as slump flow, V-funnel, L-box height, J-ring, and T500 were examined, and results are found acceptable within the EFNARC limitation. To assess the hardened property of concrete, compressive strength, flexural strength, water absorption and ultrasonic pulse velocity experiments were performed. The experimental results exhibited that incorporating up to 10% BCCW in SCC enhanced the compressive and flexural strength. However, on further inclusion of BCCW (beyond 10%), decrease in the strength of modified SCC was observed. Moreover, superior ultrasonic pulse velocity and better resistance to water absorption were found on the inclusion of up to 20% BCCW in SCC. The experimental results of scanning electron microscopic and X-ray diffraction also showed the dense concrete matrix and higher hydration products on the inclusion of up to 10% BCCW in SCC. Study concluded that the inclusion of up to 10% BCCW in SCC increases the fresh and hardened characteristics of concrete and can be effectively used in the concrete industry as a substitute material for natural sources.