Assessment of the mechanical properties of a concrete made by reusing both: Brewery spent diatomite and recycled aggregates

• Several amounts of brewery spent diatomite have been used for cement replacement.
• Recycled aggregates have been used as substitutes of natural aggregates.
• Mechanical properties of concrete made by using both materials together has been tested.
• Replacement of 5% of cement and 25% of natural aggregates does not influence in concrete.

Since last decades, building construction materials have been widely developed by adding different residues as substitutes of traditional raw materials. This with the aim of both: reducing environmental impact of certain residues and decreasing the carbon foot print regarding to building materials. This paper contributes to such trend by showing the effect of brewery spent diatomite and recycled aggregates on the mechanical properties of concrete when both matters are used together. Therefore mechanical and physical properties of concrete are tested and compared to concrete manufactured by replacing different amounts of cement and natural coarse aggregates with brewery spent diatomite (BSD) and recycled aggregates (RA), respectively. The combined effect of two residues on compressive strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity are highlighted. Results show that a 5% of BSD and a 25% of RA can be used as replacement of cement and natural coarse aggregates without significant loss in the mechanical properties when compared to a control concrete.