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Home > News and Events > News > News Detail
11/8/2015
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All recycled materials starting from recycled water and recycled waste by-product materials could be implemented in the concrete industry. This was the theme of “Concrete with Recycled Materials,” a two-part session at The Concrete Convention and Exposition in Denver, CO. Attendees heard how to evaluate concrete mixtures with various waste by-product and recycled materials, as well as the various methods to design and validate the concrete produced by new recycled materials. Different types of testing and emerging technologies in the concrete produced by recycled materials were also discussed. Presenters noted that concrete is considered a sustainable material due to its very low inherent energy requirement, is produced to order as needed with very little waste, is made from some of the most plentiful resources on earth and can be made with recycled materials, and is completely recyclable. Environmental issues are an important factor in the sustainable development of the cement and concrete industry, with a sustainable concrete structure categorized as one which is constructed so that the total environmental impact during its entire life cycle, including during its use, is minimum. Medhat Shehata of Ryerson University noted in his presentation, “Role of Quality of Recycled Concrete Aggregate on Durability and Long Term Performance of Concrete,” that recycling old concrete as aggregate in new concrete is a sustainable solution that saves land space and reduces the consumption of non-renewable resources such as natural aggregates. Also under discussion—the quality of recycled concrete aggregate affects the fresh and hardened properties of concrete, and test methods and preventive measures pertaining to recycled concrete aggregate produced from alkali–silica reaction. Even though significant strides have been made in recovering glass waste from municipal solid waste and recycling it to produce new glass, recent statistics released by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as several states suggest that a substantial amount of glass is still disposed of in landfills. Employing glass as either an aggregate or cementitious material in portland cement concrete can not only eliminate waste glass from landfills, but also reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by minimizing the usage of portland cement and quarried aggregate. In “The Sustainable Use of Waste Glass in Portland Cement Concrete,” Kaveh Afshinnia of Clemson University presented a study on the use of recycled glass as a finely ground material or as a crushed aggregate in Portland cement concrete. Tests were conducted on the fresh properties of concrete containing glass, the workability, density, and air content. To address the hardened properties of concrete, the compressive and tensile strength of concrete were evaluated. Results from this investigation showed that the mechanical properties of concrete containing glass aggregate are comparable with conventional concrete. Other presentations included: Recycled Concrete Aggregate: A Sustainable Choice for Unbound Base Benefits of Saturated Recycled Concrete Aggregate Inclusion in Concrete Self-Consolidating Concrete Prepared with Recycled Concrete Aggregate and Recycled Asphalt Pavement Performance of Concrete Incorporating Various Types of E-Waste Structural Performance of Recycled Asphalt Pavement Self-Consolidating Concrete Durability and Characteristics of Recycled Aggregates Concrete Produced in Kuwait Development of a Stress-Strain Diagram for Recycled Concrete Concrete Plates Made with Fiber-Reinforced Rubber Concrete Life Cycle Analysis of Recycled and Natural Coarse Aggregates in Structural Concrete for the New York City Region Recent research on recycled concrete Explore ACI Resources on Recycled Concrete Explore ACI Resources on Sustainability
All recycled materials starting from recycled water and recycled waste by-product materials could be implemented in the concrete industry.
This was the theme of “Concrete with Recycled Materials,” a two-part session at The Concrete Convention and Exposition in Denver, CO. Attendees heard how to evaluate concrete mixtures with various waste by-product and recycled materials, as well as the various methods to design and validate the concrete produced by new recycled materials. Different types of testing and emerging technologies in the concrete produced by recycled materials were also discussed.
Presenters noted that concrete is considered a sustainable material due to its very low inherent energy requirement, is produced to order as needed with very little waste, is made from some of the most plentiful resources on earth and can be made with recycled materials, and is completely recyclable.
Environmental issues are an important factor in the sustainable development of the cement and concrete industry, with a sustainable concrete structure categorized as one which is constructed so that the total environmental impact during its entire life cycle, including during its use, is minimum.
Medhat Shehata of Ryerson University noted in his presentation, “Role of Quality of Recycled Concrete Aggregate on Durability and Long Term Performance of Concrete,” that recycling old concrete as aggregate in new concrete is a sustainable solution that saves land space and reduces the consumption of non-renewable resources such as natural aggregates. Also under discussion—the quality of recycled concrete aggregate affects the fresh and hardened properties of concrete, and test methods and preventive measures pertaining to recycled concrete aggregate produced from alkali–silica reaction.
Even though significant strides have been made in recovering glass waste from municipal solid waste and recycling it to produce new glass, recent statistics released by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as several states suggest that a substantial amount of glass is still disposed of in landfills. Employing glass as either an aggregate or cementitious material in portland cement concrete can not only eliminate waste glass from landfills, but also reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by minimizing the usage of portland cement and quarried aggregate.
In “The Sustainable Use of Waste Glass in Portland Cement Concrete,” Kaveh Afshinnia of Clemson University presented a study on the use of recycled glass as a finely ground material or as a crushed aggregate in Portland cement concrete. Tests were conducted on the fresh properties of concrete containing glass, the workability, density, and air content. To address the hardened properties of concrete, the compressive and tensile strength of concrete were evaluated. Results from this investigation showed that the mechanical properties of concrete containing glass aggregate are comparable with conventional concrete.
Other presentations included:
Recent research on recycled concrete
Explore ACI Resources on Recycled Concrete
Explore ACI Resources on Sustainability
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