Utilization of municipal solid waste bottom ash and recycled aggregate in concrete

In the combustion process of municipal solid waste (MSW), bottom ash (BA) represents the major portion of the solid residue. Since BA is composed of oxides, especially SiO2 and CaO, the feasibility of its application in concrete as a substitute for cement was tested. It was found that at the age of 28 days, the flexural and compressive strengths of the binder linearly decrease at the rate of 0.03 and 0.02 MPa per wt% of BA in the binder, respectively. According to the results it may be recommended to replace up to 15 wt% of cement by BA and to use such binder where a low strength of concrete elements is required. Furthermore, the aggregate used for low strength concrete need not be of a very good quality. Therefore, gravel aggregate was partially replaced by recycled aggregate (RA). Consistency measured by slump was significantly reduced (>50%) when BA or/and RA were introduced into the mixture. However, concrete density and compressive strength were not affected and were ∼2300 kg/m3 and ∼40 MPa, respectively.