Use of waste marble dust and recycled glass for sustainable concrete production

Abstract

Abstract Commitments on reducing embodied CO2 emissions and declining available natural resources puts pressure on the concrete sector to produce more sustainable approaches. Waste materials are widely being used in concrete production. Feasibility and practicality of waste materials on concrete properties are mainly associated with fresh and hardened properties. The use of waste materials can be feasible only under the condition of successful satisfaction of environmental and economic sustainability. In this respect, this research aimed to investigate fresh and hardened properties of equal 28 d design strength (45 MPa) concretes made with natural aggregates and 5% and 10% marble dust as a replacement of Portland cement and Portland cement mix containing 20% recycled glass sand as a replacement to natural sand. Then, a further detailed investigation was carried out to assess the environmental and economic sustainability of laboratory mixes. The results showed that the use of waste materials provided similar fresh properties as control mix. The 28 d compressive cube strength decreased by 10%–19% for recycled glass sand and marble dust added mixes. Studies assessing other engineering properties, including sound permeability, thermal conductivity and water permeability showed enhanced performances for waste incorporated mixes. Regarding sustainability performance, marble dust and recycled glass sand mixes had a lower environmental footprint and higher cost compared to conventional concrete. Considering overall performance analysis, marble dust and recycled glass sand showed 17% and 8% improvement, respectively, revealing a promising solution for sustainable concrete production.