Use of Waste from Ornamental Stones Processing in Landscaping Blocks

Abstract

The State of Espírito Santo (Southeastern Region of Brazil) produces about 80% of Brazilian exports of natural Stones, which are mainly directed to European countries and the USA. The city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim and the surroundings account for about 90% of the State’s production. The mineral sector is the main economic activity in the area and responsible for the generation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Before the finished products reach the market, blocks, extracted from the quarries, go through several processes as splitting, cutting and polishing. Each one of those stages generates a substantial quantity of waste in the form of mud. Estimation for Cachoeiro de Itapemirim is around 60,000 tons/month of that kind of waste. The main objective of this work was the construction of low cost landscaping blocks, using residues of marbles and granites processing, from companies located in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim. It also aims to test their use in degraded areas, with a high degree of slope that are resulting from erosion and human activity, thus stabilizing the slope and minimizing future landslides. Waste was used in the form of mud, with fine particle size, mixed with cement and sand, in varying proportions to produce landscaping blocks. Physical indexes, visual inspection, dimensional verification, compression strength, flexural strength, and mineralogical and chemical analyses were obtained for the blocks. The results are positive regarding mechanical resistance.