Exploring the potential of incorporating plastic waste, textile sludge, and construction and demolition waste into concrete: a comparative study

Abstract

Waste is considered a significant environmental issue in modern times thus the purpose of this paper is to compare the use of different waste materials in replacing aggregates in concrete. This study investigates the potential of incorporating plastic waste (PW), textile sludge (TS), and construction and demolition waste (CDW) into concrete as sustainable alternatives to traditional construction materials, by evaluating its mechanical, durability characteristics as well as the cost related to different process of the project. The study focuses on the use of PW and TS as a replacement for fine aggregate, and CDW as replacements for coarse aggregate. Thus, four concrete mixes incorporating PW and TS were prepared, using 0% 10%, 25%, 40% replacement levels. The compressive strength of concrete with 10% plastic waste as fine aggregate was 32.49 N/mm² showing higher results than that of TS. Furthermore, another four concrete mixes incorporating CDW were prepared, using 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% replacement levels. The compressive strength of concrete with 25% CDW was 30.90 N/mm² indicating an increase of 2% than the control block. The study concluded that the best strategy is to incorporate construction and demolition waste as a replacement for coarse aggregate in concrete. This is because it resulted in an increase in compressive strength as well as a decrease in cost.

Public Interest Statement

• This article is discussing the validation of the usage of various waste materials in place of aggregates in concrete, as waste is now considered as a major environmental issue. This study examines the viability of using construction and demolition waste (CDW), textile sludge (TS), and plastic waste (PW) in concrete as sustainable substitutes for conventional building materials, which will be a milestone in reaching the concept of sustainable housing. This will be reached by assessing the material's durability and mechanical properties as well as the associated costs of various project processes. The study focuses on replacing the coarse aggregate which is the dolomite with construction and demolition and replacing fine aggregate which is the sand in this case, with Plastic waste and Textile Sludge.

Keywords:

• Sustainable construction
• waste materials
• waste incorporation
• plastic waste
• textile sludge
• construction and demolition waste
• waste utilization in concrete

Reviewing Editor:

• Sanjay Kumar Shukla, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Subjects:

• Environmental Management
• Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing
• Civil, Environmental and Geotechnical Engineering

Data availability statement

Data available on request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper is based upon the work supported by Science, Technology & Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) of Egypt, under grant no. 43204.

Notes on contributors

Hagar Hammad

Hagar Hammad, Architect and research assistant, Smart engineering systems Research centre (SESC), Nile University, Cairo, Egypt. In 2021 earned the BSC degree in Architecture Engineering, Ainshams University, Egypt.

Yasmin Elhakim

Yasmin Elhakim, Research Assistant, SESC, Nile University, PhD student at the AUC. involved in multiple research topics in the construction industry. won the Mohamed Bin Abdulkarim A. Allehedan Award in 2020 for demonstrating excellence in sciences and engineering studies from the AUC.

Tawfik Ismail

Tawfik Ismail, Associate Professor at NILES, Cairo University, Egypt. manages several types of research in implementing optical transceivers for FSO and PON.

Irene S. Fahim

Irene S. Fahim, the Director for Smart engineering systems Research centre, Nile University, Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering and Management department, Nile University Cairo, Egypt. the Director for SESC, Nile University. won the state encouragement award for women 2020, Hazem Ezzat Research excellence award, 2021 and Loreal UNESCO for Women in Science 2021 Egypt young talents program.

Mohamed Mahmoud

Mohamed Mahmoud, Assistant professor at the Architecture and Urban Design Program, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University. 31 years of in-depth experience in Engineering firms, project Management and General management experience in consultant engineering offices and contracting companies. finished the BSc degree. in Civil Engineering, Cairo university, Egypt in 1991, then earned the master's and PhD. in Architectural Engineering, Cairo university, Cairo, Egypt.