Environmental impacts and performance assessment of recycled fine aggregate concrete

Mudassar Munir Shah; Usama Khalid; Hassan Mujtaba; Syeda Areej Zahra Naqvi; Salman Masood

doi:10.1007/s11356-024-33590-6

Environmental impacts and performance assessment of recycled fine aggregate concrete

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 May 17. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-33590-6. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mudassar Munir Shah¹, Usama Khalid², Hassan Mujtaba³, Syeda Areej Zahra Naqvi⁴, Salman Masood⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Infrastructure, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
² National Institute of Transportation (NIT-Risalpur), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan. usama.khalid@nit.nust.edu.pk.
³ Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, 54980, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of City and Regional Planning, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Lahore, 44444, Pakistan.
⁵ School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.

PMID: 38758437
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33590-6

Abstract

Natural disasters and human demolition create vast amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW), with a substantial portion being concrete waste. Managing this concrete waste is a daunting challenge for developing countries with limited resources, aiming to mitigate its harmful environmental effects. Therefore, the proposed approach involves using recycled fine aggregates (RFA) instead of fresh fine aggregates (FFA) in concrete, which aligns closely with achieving sustainable environmental objectives. Extensive laboratory tests were conducted to assess the effects of adding RFA to concrete. The influence of 0 to 100% RFA replacement and different curing times was investigated on compressive strength, tensile strength, resistance against chloride ion penetration and chemicals exposure, and quality of aggregates. So, around 30%, 35%, 20%, and 79% reductions in compression strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and workability were estimated when 100% RFA was used in recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). However, according to results analyses, the performance of RAC is reliable up to 50% of RFA in proposed conditions and mix design. In addition, major environmental impacts such as global warming potential, aquatic eutrophication, and aquatic acidification were reduced by 47%, 40%, and 18%, respectively, for concrete having 50% RFA than concrete having 100% FFA.

Keywords: Chlorine ion penetration resistance; Concrete durability and strength; Construction and demolition waste; Environmental impacts assessment; Recycled fine aggregates; Resistance against chemicals exposure.