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Concrete with Wet and Calcined Water Treatment Plant Waste: Macro and Micro Scale Analysis

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Abstract

The present study evaluates the influence of the replacement of natural sand for different contents of water treatment sludge (in wet and calcined conditions) on the performance of the concrete considering macro and micro scale analyses. Mixtures substituting 5, 7, and 10% of wet sludge (WS) and 5, 10, and 20% of calcined sludge (CS) were produced. For the macro scale analyses, the specimens were tested by water absorption, compressive and tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity. Carbonation, leaching, microtomography 3D, and SEM were carried out for the micro-scale analyses. From the results obtained, it can be observed that the WS significantly reduces the strength of concrete, not being indicated for applications in structural concrete. The replacement of up to 20% of sand with CS. In addition to increasing the compressive strength of the concrete, increased porosity, water absorption, and carbonation depth requires attention to durability aspects for using this residue in the production of structural and non-structural concretes. Using wastewater treatment sludge can contribute to circularity in the construction industry in line with sustainable development goals.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Itaipu Concrete Technology Laboratory for supporting the experimental project and the Sanepar's research support. For research support, to Unila's Performance, Structures, and Materials Laboratory (CNM-LADEMA) and PRPPG. The authors also thank Professor Paulo Rodrigo Stival Bittencourt for his participation in the chemical part.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Latin American Institute of Technology, Infrastructure and Territory, Federal University of Latin American Integration, UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

    Edna Possan

  2. Institute of Business Administration and Economics (ISAE/FGV) and Water and Sanitation Company of Paraná State (SANEPAR), Curitiba, Paraná, CEP: 80215-900, Brazil

    Kleber Gomes Ramirez

  3. Graduate Program of Materials Engineering and Technology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PGETEMA/PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Jairo José de Oliveira Andrade

  4. Departamento de Gestión de la Construcción, Universidad Catόlica del Norte, Angamos, 0610, Antofagasta, Chile

    Gersson F. B. Sandoval

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  1. Edna Possan
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  2. Kleber Gomes Ramirez
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  3. Jairo José de Oliveira Andrade
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  4. Gersson F. B. Sandoval
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Contributions

EP: Funding acquisition; Conceptualization, Supervision, Methodology, writing-original draft preparation, writing- reviewing and editing. KGR: Experimental work and data collection. JJde OA: Discussion of results, writing- reviewing and editing. G F. B. S: writing-original draft preparation, discussion of results, writing-reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Edna Possan.

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Possan, E., Ramirez, K.G., de Oliveira Andrade, J.J. et al. Concrete with Wet and Calcined Water Treatment Plant Waste: Macro and Micro Scale Analysis. Waste Biomass Valor 15, 2611–2623 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-023-02311-4

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