Utilization of drinking water treatment sludge in concrete paving blocks: Microstructural analysis, durability and leaching properties

Yue Liu; Yan Zhuge; Christopher W K Chow; Alexandra Keegan; Danda Li; Phuong Ngoc Pham; Jianyin Huang; Rafat Siddique

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110352

Utilization of drinking water treatment sludge in concrete paving blocks: Microstructural analysis, durability and leaching properties

J Environ Manage. 2020 May 15:262:110352. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110352. Epub 2020 Mar 3.

Authors

Yue Liu¹, Yan Zhuge², Christopher W K Chow³, Alexandra Keegan⁴, Danda Li¹, Phuong Ngoc Pham⁵, Jianyin Huang³, Rafat Siddique⁶

Affiliations

¹ Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, School of Natural and Built Environment, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
² Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, School of Natural and Built Environment, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia. Electronic address: Yan.Zhuge@unisa.edu.au.
³ Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, School of Natural and Built Environment, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia; Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
⁴ Australian Water Quality Centre, South Australian Water Corporation, Adelaide, Australia.
⁵ Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, School of Natural and Built Environment, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia; Faculty of Bridge and Road Engineering, The University of Danang - University of Science and Technology, 54 Nguyen Luong Bang, Danang, Viet Nam.
⁶ Civil Engineering Department, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India.

PMID: 32250823
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110352

Abstract

The management of abundant drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) in landfill remains an important issue. The reuse of DWTS as construction material could contribute to the development of greener concrete product and to mitigating the detrimental environment effect from excessive production of DWTS. This paper investigates the potential of using DWTS as sand replacement in Concrete Paving Blocks (CPB). Five CPB mixtures were designed and the replacement ratios of sand by DWTS were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, by weight. Properties of CPB such as compressive strength, water absorption, abrasion resistance, sulfate attack and metal leachability were determined. The results indicated that above 10% of DWTS, the replacement was detrimental to such properties of the CPB. Microstructure analysis proved the addition of DWTS could result in ettringite formation and the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the cement matrix and DWTS was more porous than that of sand. In addition, the metal leachability test of CPB demonstrated that the addition of high-copper DWTS into CPB was safe.

Keywords: Concrete; Drinking water treatment sludge; Durability properties; Leaching ability; Microstructural analysis; Paving blocks.

MeSH terms

Construction Materials
Drinking Water*
Sewage
Waste Disposal Facilities
Water Purification*

Substances

Drinking Water
Sewage