Reuse of thermosetting plastic waste for lightweight concrete

This paper presents the utilization of thermosetting plastic as an admixture in the mix proportion of lightweight concrete. Since this type of plastic cannot be melted in the recycling process, its waste is expected to be more valuable by using as an admixture for the production of non-structural lightweight concrete. Experimental tests for the variation of mix proportion were carried out to determine the suitable proportion to achieve the required properties of lightweight concrete, which are: low dry density and acceptable compressive strength. The mix design in this research is the proportion of plastic, sand, water-cement ratio, aluminum powder, and lignite fly ash. The experimental results show that the plastic not only leads to a low dry density concrete, but also a low strength. It was found that the ratio of cement, sand, fly ash, and plastic equal to 1.0:0.8:0.3:0.9 is an appropriate mix proportion. The results of compressive strength and dry density are 4.14N/mm(2) and 1395kg/m(3), respectively. This type of concrete meets most of the requirements for non-load-bearing lightweight concrete according to ASTM C129 Type II standard.     

Plates made with solid waste from the recycled paper industry

The results of assays carried out on plates used in the construction industry, manufactured entirely with solid wastes of a recycled paper plant, are presented and compared with the results obtained using agglomerated wood and plywood plates. Previous results had shown that wastes are composed essentially of polymers when these wastes are generated by recycled paper produced with the “waved type II” shavings. These solid wastes were placed in a mold that was heated and pressed with a hydraulic press in order to obtain the plates. The waste-produced plates were submitted to tests for humidity, swelling, water absorption, density, modulus of rupture-static bending, modulus of elasticity and direct screw withdrawal. These same assays had been carried out on two types of commercial wood plates, agglomerated wood and plywood, in order to compare the results with those obtained with the waste plate. Waste plates had similar behavior to the agglomerated wood plate, but it was possible to distinguish greater flexibility in the waste-produced plate and a significant difference in the tests for swelling and water absorption which showed the waste plate had a better performance than the agglomerated wood and plywood plates.     

Foamed lightweight materials made from mixed scrap metal waste powder and sewage sludge ash.

The porous properties and pozzolanic effects of sewage sludge ash (SSA) make it possible to produce lightweight materials. This study explored the effects of different metallic foaming agents, made from waste aluminium products, on the foaming behaviours and engineering characteristics, as well as the microstructure of sewage sludge ash foamed lightweight materials. The results indicated that aluminium powder and mixed scrap metal waste powder possessed similar chemical compositions. After proper pre-treatment, waste aluminium products proved to be ideal substitutes for metallic foaming agents. Increasing the amount of mixed scrap metal waste by 10-15% compared with aluminium powder would produce a similar foaming ratio and compressive strength. The reaction of the metallic foaming agents mainly produced pores larger than 10 microm, different from the hydration reaction of cement that produced pores smaller than 1 microm mostly. To meet the requirements of the lightweight materials characteristics and the compressive strength, the amount of SSA could be up to 60-80% of the total solids. An adequate amount of aluminium powder is 0.5-0.9% of the total solids. Increasing the fineness of the mixed scrap metal waste powder could effectively reduce the amount required and improve the foaming ratio.     

Use of waste ash from palm oil industry in concrete

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA), a by-product from the palm oil industry, is disposed of as waste in landfills. In this study, POFA was utilized as a pozzolan in concrete. The original size POFA (termed OP) was ground until the median particle sizes were 15.9 microm (termed MP) and 7.4 microm (termed SP). Portland cement Type I was replaced by OP, MP, and SP of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by weight of binder. The properties of concrete, such as setting time, compressive strength, and expansion due to magnesium sulfate attack were investigated. The results revealed that the use of POFA in concretes caused delay in both initial and final setting times, depending on the fineness and degree of replacement of POFA. The compressive strength of concrete containing OP was much lower than that of Portland cement Type I concrete. Thus, OP is not suitable to be used as a pozzolanic material in concrete. However, the replacement of Portland cement Type I by 10% of MP and 20% of SP gave the compressive strengths of concrete at 90 days higher than that of concrete made from Portland cement Type I. After being immersed in 5% of magnesium sulfate solution for 364 days, the concrete bar mixed with 30% of SP had the same expansion level as that of the concrete bar made from Portland cement Type V. The above results suggest that ground POFA is an excellent pozzolanic material and can be used as a cement replacement in concrete. It is recommended that the optimum replacement levels of Portland cement Type I by MP and SP are 20% and 30%, respectively.     

Valorization of EVA waste from footwear industry as natural aggregates substitutes in mortar: the effect of granulometry

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The increased consumption of polymers and the consequent generation of waste requires the development of efficient recycling strategies. In this...     

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.     

Production of lightweight aggregate from industrial waste and carbon dioxide

The concomitant recycling of waste and carbon dioxide emissions is the subject of developing technology designed to close the industrial process loop and facilitate the bulk-re-use of waste in, for example, construction. The present work discusses a treatment step that employs accelerated carbonation to convert gaseous carbon dioxide into solid calcium carbonate through a reaction with industrial thermal residues. Treatment by accelerated carbonation enabled a synthetic aggregate to be made from thermal residues and waste quarry fines. The aggregates produced had a bulk density below 1000 kg/m³ and a high water absorption capacity. Aggregate crushing strengths were between 30% and 90% stronger than the proprietary lightweight expanded clay aggregate available in the UK. Cast concrete blocks containing the carbonated aggregate achieve compressive strengths of 24 MPa, making them suitable for use with concrete exposed to non-aggressive service environments. The energy intensive firing and sintering processes traditionally required to produce lightweight aggregates can now be augmented by a cold-bonding, low energy method that contributes to the reduction of green house gases to the atmosphere.     

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.     

Characteristics of bricks made from waste steel slag

The characteristics of bricks made from steel slag were investigated in this research. Slag addition was shown to reduce the required firing temperature. When the firing temperature was greater than 1050 degrees C and the slag addition less than 10%, the bricks met ROC national standard CNS 3319 third-class brick for builders. The percentage of slag increased as the quartz and kaolin decreased in the sintered samples while the magnesium aluminum silicate and calcium silicate increased. There were no new crystal phases observed in these samples.     

CO2 emission assessment of lightweight aggregate concrete using artificial lightweight and bottom ash particles

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This paper proposes empirical models to straightforwardly assess the CO2 emissions of artificial lightweight aggregate concrete (ALWC) and bottom...     

Feasibility of incorporating treated lignins in fiberboards made from agricultural waste

This paper studies the feasibility of incorporating treated lignins in fiberboards made from Vitis vinifera as an agricultural waste. The treated lignins are the purified Kraft lignin and the alkaline hydrolyzed Kraft lignin. V. vinifera raw material and its fibers were characterized in terms of chemical composition and the results were compared to other biomass species. The chemical composition of treated lignins shows that they have high purity compared to the lignin raw material. The lignin-V. vinifera fibreboards were produced on laboratory scale by adding powdered treated lignins to the material that had previously been steam exploded. Some of the important properties of fibreboards prepared using the treated lignins as natural adhesives were evaluated. These properties were density, thickness swelling, water absorption, modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, internal bond strength. The explored levels of treated lignins vary from 5% to 20%. The results showed that binderless fibreboards, fibreboards made from V. vinifera fibers and alkaline hydrolyzed Kraft lignin have weaker mechanical properties. However, the fibreboards obtained using purified Kraft lignin have good mechanical and water resistance properties which satisfy the requirements of the relevant standards specifications.     

Recycling of air pollution control residues from municipal solid waste incineration into lightweight aggregates

This work focuses on the assessment of technological properties and on the leaching behavior of lightweight aggregates (LWA) produced by incorporating different quantities of air pollution control (APC) residues from municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration. Currently this hazardous waste has been mostly landfilled after stabilization/solidification. The LWA were produced by pelletizing natural clay, APC residues as-received from incineration plant, or after a washing treatment, a small amount of oil and water. The pellets were fired in a laboratory chamber furnace over calcium carbonate. The main technological properties of the LWA were evaluated, mainly concerning morphology, bulk and particle densities, compressive strength, bloating index, water adsorption and porosity. Given that APC residues do not own expansive (bloating) properties, the incorporation into LWA is only possible in moderate quantities, such as 3% as received or 5% after pre-washing treatment.The leaching behavior of heavy metals from sintered LWA using water or acid solutions was investigated, and despite the low acid neutralization capacity of the synthetic aggregates, the released quantities were low over a wide pH range.In conclusion, after a washing pre-treatment and if the percentage of incorporation is low, these residues may be incorporated into LWA. However, the recycling of APC residues from MSW incineration into LWA does not revealed any technical advantage.     

A novel humidity regulating material hydrothermally synthetized from concrete waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - To promote the recycling of construction wastes, a low temperature (≤ 200 ℃) hydrothermal technology for solidifying...     

Properties of lightweight aggregate concrete prepared with PVC granules derived from scraped PVC pipes

This paper aims to investigate the fresh and hardened properties of lightweight aggregate concretes that are prepared with the use of recycled plastic waste sourced from scraped PVC pipes to replace river sand as fine aggregates. A number of laboratory prepared concrete mixes were tested, in which river sand was partially replaced by PVC plastic waste granules in percentages of 0%, 5%, 15%, 30% and 45% by volume. Two major findings are identified. The positive side shows that the concrete prepared with a partial replacement by PVC was lighter (lower density), was more ductile (greater Poisson's ratios and reduced modulus of elasticity), and had lower drying shrinkage and higher resistance to chloride ion penetration. The negative side reveals that the workability, compressive strength and tensile splitting strength of the concretes were reduced. The results gathered would form a part of useful information for recycling PVC plastic waste in lightweight concrete mixes.     

Chloride extraction for quality improvement of municipal solid waste incinerator ash for the concrete industry.

Coal ash from power stations has long been used successfully in the cement industry as binders in several Portland formulations. This is not the case for municipal solid waste (MSW) ash as chloride concentrations, ranging from 10 to 200 g kg(-1) dry weight in the bottom and fly ash, respectively, exceed the maximum allowable concentration in most cement mixtures. To reduce chloride content in MSW bottom ash, a laboratory investigation was carried out based on the exhaustive washing in tap water. The influence of operative parameters such as temperature, granulometric properties and solid/liquid ratio of extraction was evaluated. In addition to optimization of the mentioned operative parameters for full-scale application, the paper gives preliminary indications on mechanistic aspects of the washing operation.     

Investigation of briquetting of metal waste from the bearing industry.

An economical method to process the metal waste that comes from the ball-bearing industry is presented. The purpose of the study was to determine the physical-chemical properties of the material, to present the most suitable binders and identify the factors that can affect briquette strength. The mechanical strength and resistance to gravitational drop were defined for both fresh briquettes and those that had been seasoned. The briquette structure was also tested. On the basis of the results of experimental studies and laboratory trials two techniques for processing the waste from the ballbearing industry on an industrial technological scale were developed. The economic and ecological impacts of these industrial applications were examined. The results of the investigations suggest that the briquettes might be recycled in steel-making furnaces. The reported solution to the problem of management of this type of waste appears to be universal and could also be applied by other waste-related enterprises.     

Recycled blocks with improved sound and fire insulation containing construction and demolition waste

The environmental problem posed by construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) is derived not only from the high volume produced, but also from its treatment and disposal. Treatment plants receive C&D waste which is then transformed into a recycled mixed aggregate. The byproduct is mainly used for low-value-added applications such as land escape restoration, despite the high quality of the aggregate. In the present work, the chemical composition properties and grading curve properties of these aggregates are defined. Furthermore, the resulting recycled concrete with a high proportion of recycled composition, from 20% to 100% replacement of fine and coarse aggregate, is characterized physically and mechanically. An environmental study of the new construction material when all aggregates are substituted by C&D waste shows a low toxicity level, similar to that of other construction materials. The new material also has improved properties with respect to standard concrete such as high fire resistance, good heat insulation, and acoustic insulation.     

Influence of aggregate pre-wetting and fly ash on mechanical properties of lightweight concrete

This study has examined the mechanical properties of lightweight aggregate concrete with a density of 1800 kg/m3. The effects of the following parameters on the concrete properties have been analyzed: the pre-wetting time of the lightweight aggregate and the percentage of pulverized fly ash used as cementitious replacement material. The strength of the lightweight aggregate was found to be the primary factor controlling the strength of high-strength lightweight concrete. An increase in the cementitious content from 420 to 450 kg/m3 does not significantly increase the strength of lightweight aggregate concrete. The relationship between the flexural and compressive strength at 28 days can be represented by the equation fr=0.69/fck. The elastic modulus was found to be much lower than that of normal weight concrete, ranging from 15.0 to 20.3 GPa. The addition of PFA increases the slump and density of lightweight aggregate concrete.     

生物滴滤塔处理模拟印刷有机废气

选取甲苯、乙酸乙酯为目标污染物模拟印刷有机废气,采用生物滴滤塔对其进行处理。从某污水处理厂曝气池活性污泥中筛选出3株能够高效降解甲苯、乙酸乙酯的优势菌种,经鉴定分别为枯草芽孢杆菌（Bacillus subtilis）、蜡状芽胞杆菌（Bacillus cereus）和嗜麦芽寡养单胞菌（Stenotrophomonas maltophilia）。实验结果表明：增大乙酸乙酯配比对VOCs去除率影响不大,而增大甲苯配比导致VOCs去除率下降明显;在进气VOCs质量浓度为约800 mg/m³（甲苯与乙酸乙酯的体积比1∶1）、气体空床接触时间为300 s、菌液喷淋量为800 L/h、菌液温度为25 ℃的条件下,VOCs去除率可达约99%。生物滴滤塔运行一段时间后,对菌种进行再鉴定,结果与处理前一致。     

Transesterification reaction of the fat originated from solid waste of the leather industry

The leather industry is an industry which generates a large amount of solid and liquid wastes. Most of the solid wastes originate from the pre-tanning processes while half of it comes from the fleshing step. Raw fleshing wastes which mainly consist of protein and fat have almost no recovery option and the disposal is costly. This study outlines the possibility of using the fleshing waste as an oil source for transesterification reaction. The effect of oil/alcohol molar ratio, the amount of catalyst and temperature on ester production was individually investigated and optimum reaction conditions were determined. The fuel properties of the ester product were also studied according to the EN 14214 standard. Cold filter plugging point and oxidation stability have to be improved in order to use the ester product as an alternative fuel candidate. Besides, this product can be used as a feedstock in lubricant production or cosmetic industry.