Abstract
Aggregate sludge is a waste product produced from crushing, screening, and washing processes at aggregate plants. Because of the large quantity and high treatment cost of this sludge, it cannot be disposed of as landfill, and thus, has caused environmental concern over the years in Taiwan. In this preliminary study, the recycled aggregate sludge was reutilized for construction applications through the geopolymerization process. The ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and fly ash (FA) were selected as alkaline activated materials for the fabrication of sludge geopolymer. Several process parameters that may affect the mechanical and physical properties of geopolymer were investigated. These parameters are sludge/GGBFS/FA ratios, solid/liquid (alkali solution) ratio, the molarity of NaOH, and curing time. According to the test results, the compressive strength of geopolymer specimens (70/30 sludge/GGBFS ratios) made with 4 M and 6 M NaOH can reach 39.17 MPa and 43.6 MPa after 28 days of curing. The specimen made with 60/40 sludge/GGBFS ratios has a strength of 61.3 MPa. After replacing GGBFS with 10% fly ash (70/20/10 sludge/GGBFS/FA), the strength of the specimen can also reach 43 MPa. According to the test results obtained in this study, it was found that the higher the NaOH concentration, the higher the strength of the geopolymer, and the GGBFS also can contribute more to the mechanical properties of geopolymer than fly ash. This preliminary study suggests that it is possible to reutilize aggregate sludge for construction applications and solve its environmental disposal problem.
Highlights
Over the past decades, the sludge waste produced from aggregate crushing plants can only be retained on-site and causes environmental problems
The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using aggregate sludge (AS), fly ash (FA), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) to prepare cement mortar for construction applications
This study deals with the influence of the ratio of AS, FA, and GGBFS, as well as the concentration of alkaline solutions on the mechanical and physical properties of aggregate sludge-based geopolymer (AG) and
Summary
The sludge waste produced from aggregate crushing plants can only be retained on-site and causes environmental problems. The treatment cost of the sludge is estimated to be between 100 to. A low-cost way to reutilize the sludge needs to be developed for the treatment of sludge. Besides the cement solidification of the sludge, the geopolymer process is considered as another alternative to convert the sludge waste into a useful resource and greatly alleviate its disposal problem. Several studies have investigated various building materials using sludge [1,2,3]
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