Recycling of PET bottles as fine aggregate in concrete

An attempt to substitute in concrete the 5% by weight of fine aggregate (natural sand) with an equal weight of PET aggregates manufactured from the waste un-washed PET bottles (WPET), is presented. The WPET particles possessed a granulometry similar to that of the substituted sand. Specimens with different cement content and water/cement ratio were manufactured. Rheological characterization on fresh concrete and mechanical tests at the ages of 28 and 365 days were performed on the WPET/concretes as well as on reference concretes containing only natural fine aggregate in order to investigate the influence of the substitution of WPET to the fine aggregate in concrete. It was found that the WPET concretes display similar workability characteristics, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength slightly lower that the reference concrete and a moderately higher ductility.     

An investigation on the use of shredded waste PET bottles as aggregate in lightweight concrete

In this work, the utilization of shredded waste Poly-ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle granules as a lightweight aggregate in mortar was investigated. Investigation was carried out on two groups of mortar samples, one made with only PET aggregates and, second made with PET and sand aggregates together. Additionally, blast-furnace slag was also used as the replacement of cement on mass basis at the replacement ratio of 50% to reduce the amount of cement used and provide savings. The water–binder (w/b) ratio and PET–binder (PET/b) ratio used in the mixtures were 0.45 and 0.50, respectively. The size of shredded PET granules used in the preparation of mortar mixtures were between 0 and 4 mm. The results of the laboratory study and testing carried out showed that mortar containing only PET aggregate, mortar containing PET and sand aggregate, and mortars modified with slag as cement replacement can be drop into structural lightweight concrete category in terms of unit weight and strength properties. Therefore, it was concluded that there is a potential for the use of shredded waste PET granules as aggregate in the production of structural lightweight concrete. The use of shredded waste PET granules due to its low unit weight reduces the unit weight of concrete which results in a reduction in the death weight of a structural concrete member of a building. Reduction in the death weight of a building will help to reduce the seismic risk of the building since the earthquake forces linearly dependant on the dead-weight. Furthermore, it was also concluded that the use of industrial wastes such as PET granules and blast-furnace slag in concrete provides some advantages, i.e., reduction in the use of natural resources, disposal of wastes, prevention of environmental pollution, and energy saving.     

Assessment of the recycling potential of fresh concrete waste using a factorial design of experiments

Recycling of industrial wastes and by-products can help reduce the cost of waste treatment prior to disposal and eventually preserve natural resources and energy. To assess the recycling potential of a given waste, it is important to select a tool capable of giving clear indications either way, with the least time and work consumption, as is the case of modelling the system properties using the results obtained from statistical design of experiments. In this work, the aggregate reclaimed from the mud that results from washout and cleaning operations of fresh concrete mixer trucks (fresh concrete waste, FCW) was recycled into new concrete with various water/cement ratios, as replacement of natural fine aggregates. A 3² factorial design of experiments was used to model fresh concrete consistency index and hardened concrete water absorption and 7- and 28-day compressive strength, as functions of FCW content and water/cement ratio, and the resulting regression equations and contour plots were validated with confirmation experiments. The results showed that the fresh concrete workability worsened with the increase in FCW content but the water absorption (5–10 wt.%), 7-day compressive strength (26–36 MPa) and 28-day compressive strength (32–44 MPa) remained within the specified ranges, thus demonstrating that the aggregate reclaimed from FCW can be recycled into new concrete mixtures with lower natural aggregate content.     

全废砖再生轻骨料混凝土试验研究

将废粘土砖加工成粗细骨料,用于配制全废砖再生轻骨料混凝土.检测结果表明：所用废砖粗细骨料属轻骨料范畴,但其吸水率较大,且细骨料级配不良.试验表明：本试验配合比体系中,净水灰比为0.42,体积砂率为50％时最佳;以全废砖配制的再生砖轻骨料混凝土的强度发展规律与普通轻骨料混凝土类似,均有随水泥用量提高而强度提高的趋势,但随着所配制的混凝土强度等级的提高,再生轻骨料混凝土的强度提高趋势下降.以全废砖为骨料适合配制强度等级LC30及以下的再生轻骨料混凝土.     

Properties of Distillers Grains Composites: A Preliminary Investigation

Interest in renewable biofuel sources has intensified in recent years, leading to greatly increased production of ethanol and its primary coproduct, Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS). Consequently, the development of new outlets for DDGS has become crucial to maintaining the economic viability of the industry. In light of these developments, this preliminary study aimed to determine the suitability of DDGS for use as a biofiller in low-cost composites that could be produced by rapid prototyping applications. The effects of DDGS content, particle size, curing temperature, and compression on resulting properties, such as flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, water activity, and color were evaluated for two adhesive bases. The composites formed with phenolic resin glue were found to be greatly superior to glue in terms of mechanical strength and durability: resin-based composites had maximum fiber stresses of 150–380 kPa, while glue composites had values between 6 kPa and 35 kPa; additionally, glue composites experienced relatively rapid microbial growth. In the resin composites, both decreased particle size and increased compression resulted in increased mechanical strength, while a moderate DDGS content was found to increase flexural strength but decrease Young’s modulus. These results indicate that DDGS has the potential to be used in resin glue-based composites to both improve flexural strength and improve potential biodegradability.     

Evaluating the strength development of mortar using clinker fine aggregate with a combination of fly ash and its inhibitory effects on alkali–silica reaction and delayed ettringite formation

The aggregate composed of cement clinker, an intermediate cement product, improves strength development and mass transfer resistance of concrete. Fly ash (FA) is a supplementary cementitious material that can be substituted by cement. This study investigated the strength development of highly FA-substituted mortar mixed with cement clinker fine aggregate (CL) and tested its inhibitory effect against the alkali–silica reaction (ASR). In addition to these, this study provides the testing results of evaluating the effects of using cement clinker fine aggregate on delayed ettringite formation (DEF), which can be problematic for precast concrete products. The study results revealed that at 91 days of age, in the case of 80% replacement ratio of fly ash to cement, using CL exhibited similar strength development as mortar with limestone fine aggregate and no FA substitution. Furthermore, mortars with 70% and 80% FA substitution did not exhibit clear ASR-induced expansion even at 182 days of age. Lastly, mortar using clinker fine aggregate could suppress DEF-induced expansion at 182 days of age, which was similar to the effect obtained using FA. These results can promote the utilization of CL resources for concrete and using clinker as fine aggregate in precast concrete products.

     

Recycling municipal incinerator fly- and scrubber-ash into fused slag for the substantial replacement of cement in cement-mortars

Fly- and scrubber-ash (weight ratio of approximately 1:3) from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) are a major land-fill disposal problem due to their leaching of heavy metals. We uniformly mixed both types of ash with optimal amounts of waste glass frit, which was then melted into a glassy slag. The glassy slag was then pulverized to a particle size smaller than 38 μm for use as a cement substitute (20–40% of total cement) and blended with sand and cement to produce slag-blended cement-mortar (SCM) specimens. The toxicity characteristics of the leaching procedure tests on the pulverized slag samples revealed that the amount of leached heavy metals was far below regulatory thresholds. The compressive strength of the 28-day cured SCM specimens was comparable to that of ordinary Portland cement mortars, while the compressive strength of specimens cured for 60 or 90 days were 3–11% greater. The observed enhanced strength is achieved by Pozzolanic reaction. Preliminary evaluation shows that the combination of MSWI fly- and scrubber-ash with waste glass yields a cost effective and environmentally friendly cement replacement in cement-mortars.     

Cement based solidification/stabilization of arsenic-contaminated mine tailings

Cement was used to solidify/stabilize the abandoned mine tailings contaminated primarily with arsenic (up to 88 mg/kg) and lead (up to 35 mg/kg). Solidified/stabilized (s/s) forms with a range of cement contents, 5–30 wt%, were evaluated to determine the optimal binder content. Unconfined compression strength test (UCS), Korean standard leaching tests, toxicity characteristic leaching procedures (TCLP), and synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) were used for physical and chemical characterization of the s/s forms. Addition of 5% cement was enough for the s/s forms to satisfy the UCS requirements (0.35 MPa). The addition of 7.5% cement remarkably reduced the leachability of arsenic in tailings. However, that of lead tends to increase slightly with increase of cement content due to its amphoteric nature. The discussions were made for determination of optimal binder content and for results from different evaluation procedures.     

Influence of moisture content,particle size and forming temperature on productivity and quality of rice straw pellets

A large amount of rice straw is generated and left as much in paddy fields, which causes greenhouse gas emissions as methane. Rice straw can be used as bioenergy. Rice straw pellets are a promising technology because pelletization of rice straw is a form of mass and energy densification, which leads to a product that is easy to handle, transport, store and utilize because of the increase in the bulk density. The operational conditions required to produce high quality rice straw pellets have not been determined. This study determined the optimal moisture content range required to produce rice straw pellets with high yield ratio and high heating value, and also determined the influence of particle size and the forming temperature on the yield ratio and durability of rice straw pellets. The optimal moisture content range was between 13% and 20% under a forming temperature of 60 or 80 °C. The optimal particle size was between 10 and 20 mm, considering the time and energy required for shredding, although the particle size did not significantly affect the yield ratio and durability of the pellets. The optimized conditions provided high quality rice straw pellets with nearly 90% yield ratio, ?12 MJ/kg for the lower heating value, and >95% durability.     

Natural Weathering of Polypropylene and Waste Tire Dust (PP/WTD) Blends

Three series of polypropylene and waste tire dust (PP/WTD) blends using three different WTD sizes were prepared, compression-molded and cut into dumbbells. The specimens were exposed to natural weathering in the northern part of Malaysia for a period of 6 months. The results show that at the same blend composition, blends with fine WTD size exhibit higher mechanical properties than that of blends with coarse WTD after exposure to natural weathering. Regardless of WTD size, the retention of tensile strength and elongation at break, E_b increases with the increase in WTD content. From the exposed surface morphology, it is apparent that the blends with fine WTD and WTD-rich blends were able to withstand weathering better than blends with coarse WTD and PP-rich blends. The DSC thermograms suggest that the overall drop in melting temperature (T_m) of the exposed blends decreases as the WTD content increases.     

Cement‐based solidification/stabilization of phenol‐contaminated soil by bentonite and organophilic clay

The performance of ordinary and organophilic clays in the solidification and stabilization process was investigated with respect to the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and leaching of phenol‐contaminated soil. The samples contained 2,000 mg/kg of phenol. White cement (15 and 30 percent by weight [wt%]) was used as binder, while ordinary and organophilic clays (8, 15, and 30 wt%) were applied as additives for reducing the harmful effects of phenol interference in cement hydration with a 28‐day curing time. The results revealed that the UCS is reduced by increasing the amount of clays. The values of UCS of all samples met the minimum standards specified for disposal in sanitary landfills determined by developed countries. The leaching test demonstrated that the degree of leaching diminished with increased clay content in all samples of both clay types. This reduction was observed to be greater in samples containing organophilic clay than in bentonite clay samples. Furthermore, the best composition of the materials tested was determined to be 30 wt% white cement plus 13.3 wt% organophilic clay with a compressive strength of 3,839 kPa, phenol removal percentage of 80 percent, and a cost of $67 per ton of contaminated soil.     

Preparation and performance of arsenate (V) adsorbents derived from concrete wastes

Solid adsorbent materials, prepared from waste cement powder and concrete sludge were assessed for removal of arsenic in the form of arsenic (As(V)) from water. All the materials exhibited arsenic removal capacity when added to distilled water containing 10–700 mg/L arsenic. The arsenic removal isotherms were expressed by the Langmuir type equations, and the highest removal capacity was observed for the adsorbent prepared from concrete sludge with heat treatment at 105 °C, the maximum removal capacity being 175 mg-As(V)/g. Based on changes in arsenic and calcium ion concentrations, and solution pH, the removal mechanism for arsenic was considered to involve the precipitation of calcium arsenate, Ca₃(AsO₄)₂. The enhanced removal of arsenic for the adsorbent prepared from concrete sludge with heat treatment was thought to reflect ion exchange by ettringite. The prepared adsorbents, derived from waste cement and concrete using simple procedures, may offer a cost effective approach for arsenic removal and clean-up of contaminated waters, especially in developing countries.     

CePO4-TiO2固溶体的NH3-SCR活性

采用共沉淀法合成了不同Ce与Ti摩尔比的CePO₄-TiO₂复合材料,利用XRD、TEM、NH₃-TPD和H₂-TPR技术对其物理化学性质进行了表征,并对其NH₃-SCR活性进行了评价。实验结果表明：随着CePO₄含量的增加,催化剂的活性提高;当Ce与Ti的摩尔比为8:2时催化剂的活性最高,230 ℃的NO转化率达到100%,且具有更广的温度窗口,优于纯CePO₄。表征结果显示,CePO₄与TiO₂形成固溶体后,颗粒尺寸较为均匀,强酸位的数量增多,氧化还原性能提升,从而提高了催化剂的SCR反应活性,同时改善了其抗水抗硫性能。     

Characterization of metal concentration,heavy metal elution,and desalination behavior of municipal solid waste incineration bottom and grate sifting deposition ash based on particle size

Resource and environmental safety protocols of incineration residues were evaluated by analyzing the metal concentration, heavy metal elution, desalination behavior, and chlorine removal ratio owing to particle size differences between bottom ash (BA) and grate sifting deposition ash (GA). In the total content test, Cl, Zn, and Cr in the incinerator BA exceeded the cement acceptance standard (Cl: 1000 mg/kg; Zn: 1700 mg/kg, and Cr: 170 mg/kg) at almost all of the particle sizes, while Au, Ag, Pd, and Zn had high contents in the GA. When using BA as a construction material, heavy metal elution values and contents are restricted as per the product quality standards based on the Japanese soil pollution control law. Lead within the BA and GA exceeded the standard values for most particle sizes. We predicted that there would be a limit on the elution of K by only washing with water. The removal ratio of total chlorine by particle size was approximately 20–70%, where the effect of the particle size on the removal ratio was small, suggesting that the elution of chlorine was complete in approximately 6 hours. These results contribute to information on the recycling of BA and GA.

     

Bio-drying and size sorting of municipal solid waste with high water content for improving energy recovery

Bio-drying can enhance the sortability and heating value of municipal solid waste (MSW), consequently improving energy recovery. Bio-drying followed by size sorting was adopted for MSW with high water content to improve its combustibility and reduce potential environmental pollution during the follow-up incineration. The effects of bio-drying and waste particle size on heating values, acid gas and heavy metal emission potential were investigated. The results show that, the water content of MSW decreased from 73.0% to 48.3% after bio-drying, whereas its lower heating value (LHV) increased by 157%. The heavy metal concentrations increased by around 60% due to the loss of dry materials mainly resulting from biodegradation of food residues. The bio-dried waste fractions with particle size higher than 45 mm were mainly composed of plastics and papers, and were preferable for the production of refuse derived fuel (RDF) in view of higher LHV as well as lower heavy metal concentration and emission. However, due to the higher chlorine content and HCl emission potential, attention should be paid to acid gas and dioxin pollution control. Although LHVs of the waste fractions with size <45 mm increased by around 2× after bio-drying, they were still below the quality standards for RDF and much higher heavy metal pollution potential was observed. Different incineration strategies could be adopted for different particle size fractions of MSW, regarding to their combustibility and pollution property.     

Leaching behavior of copper from waste printed circuit boards with Brønsted acidic ionic liquid

In this work, a Brønsted acidic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([bmim]HSO₄), was used to leach copper from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs, mounted with electronic components) for the first time, and the leaching behavior of copper was discussed in detail. The results showed that after the pre-treatment, the metal distributions were different with the particle size: Cu, Zn and Al increased with the increasing particle size; while Ni, Sn and Pb were in the contrary. And the particle size has significant influence on copper leaching rate. Copper leaching rate was higher than 99%, almost 100%, when 1 g WPCBs powder was leached under the optimum conditions: particle size of 0.1–0.25 mm, 25 mL 80% (v/v) ionic liquid, 10 mL 30% hydrogen peroxide, solid/liquid ratio of 1/25, 70 °C and 2 h. Copper leaching by [bmim]HSO₄ can be modeled with the shrinking core model, controlled by diffusion through a solid product layer, and the kinetic apparent activation energy has been calculated to be 25.36 kJ/mol.     

Use of waste rubber as concrete additive.

For resource reutilization, scrap tyres have long been investigated as an additive to concrete to form 'Rubcrete' for various applications and have shown promising results. However, the addition of rubber particles leads to the degradation of physical properties, particularly, the compressive strength of the concrete. In this study, a theoretical model was proposed to shed light on the mechanisms of decrease in compressive strength due to the addition of rubber particles as well as improvement in compressive strength through modification of particle surfaces. The literature suggests that the compressive strength can be improved by soaking the rubber particles in alkaline solution first to increase the inter-phase bonding between the rubber particles and cement. Instead, we discovered that the loss in compressive strength was due to local imperfections in the hydration of cement, induced by the addition of heterogeneous and hydrophobic rubber particles. Microscopic studies showed that the rubber particles disturbed the water transfer to create channels, which were prone to cracking and led to a loss in the compressive strength. Unexpectedly, no cracking was found along the surfaces of the rubber particles, indicating that the bonding strength between the rubber particles and cement phases was not the critical factor in determining the compressive strength. Therefore, a theoretical model was proposed to describe the water transfer in the Rubcrete specimens to explain the experimental data. In the model, the local water available for hydration (Q) is: Q = -A(slv)/6piv, where Q, A(slv), and v are mass flow rate (kg s(-1)), Hamaker constant (J), and dynamic viscosity (m2 s(-1)), respectively. By maximizing the quantity Q and, in turn, the Hamaker constant A(slv), the compressive strength could be improved. The Hamaker constant A(slv) for water film on rubber particle surfaces was smaller than that for the hydrated cement particles; the water transfer rate was lower in the presence of rubber particles because the Hamaker constant A(slv) for water film on rubber particle surfaces was smaller than that on the hydrated cement particles. Thus, the compressive strength of Rubcrete could be improved by increasing the Hamaker constant of the system. This was achieved by increasing the refractive indices of the solids (n(s)). The refractive indices of materials increase with increases in functional groups, such as OH and SH on the surface. The model provided a possible mechanism for the efficacy of treating rubber particles with NaOH in improving the compressive strength. By using NaOH solution treatment, an oxygen-containing OH group was formed on the rubber surface to increase the Hamaker constant of the system, leading to higher compressive strength. Based on this mechanism, a novel method for modification of the rubber particles was also proposed. In this process, the rubber particles were partially oxidized with hot air/steam in a fluidized bed reactor to produce the hydrophilic groups on the surface of the particles. Preliminary results obtained so far are promising in accordance with the theory.     

Quick monitoring of pozzolanic reactivity of waste ashes

This article proposes a quick method of monitoring for pozzolanic reactivity of waste ashes by investigating the electrical conductivity of the suspension at an elevated temperature. This suspension is obtained by mixing tested pozzolan with an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) solution produced by mixing ordinary Portland cement with water. For comparison, silica fume, metakaolin, rice husk ash and river sand – whose pozzolanic reactivities range from reactive to inert – were used in the experimental investigation. The electrical conductivity of the suspension was continually recorded by using an electrical conductivity meter and stored by using a personal computer for a period of slightly over 1 day. The indicative parameters that can be related to pozzolanic reactivity were discussed and analyzed in detail. It was found that it is possible to determine the pozzolanic reactivity of fly ash within 28 h by using the proposed technique, as compared to 7 or 28 days for the determination of strength activity index according to ASTM. This technique would help concrete technologists to speedily investigate the quality of fly ash for use as a cement replacement in order to alleviate pollution caused by cement production and solve disposal problems of waste ashes.     

Crystallization and Mechanical Properties of Recycled Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Toughened by Styrene–Ethylene/Butylenes–Styrene Elastomer

Recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (R-PET) was blended with 15–30 wt% of styrene–ethylene/butylenes–styrene (SEBS) block copolymer and maleic anhydride grafted SEBS (SEBS-g-MA). Effects of nucleation and toughening of the elastomers were evaluated systematically by study of morphology, crystallization, thermal and mechanical properties of the blend. The addition of 30 wt% SEBS promoted the formation of co-continuous structure of the blend and caused the fracture mechanism to change from strain softening to strain hardening. Addition of SEBS-g-MA resulted in significant modification of phase morphology and obviously improved the impact strength. The compatibilization reaction of PET with SEBS-g-MA accelerated the crystallization of PET and increased the crystallinity. The shifts in glass transition temperature of PET towards that of SEBS-g-MA and the higher modulus for R-PET/SEBS-g-MA (70/30) blend found by DMA are also indications of better interactions under the conditions of compatibilization and interpenetrating structure.