Sustainable management and utilisation of concrete slurry waste: A case study in Hong Kong

With the promotion of environmental protection in the construction industry, the mission to achieve more sustainable use of resources during the production process of concrete is also becoming important. This study was conducted to assess the environmental sustainability of concrete slurry waste (CSW) management by life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques, with the aim of identifying a resource-efficient solution for utilisation of CSW in the production of partition wall blocks. CSW is the dewatered solid residues deposited in the sedimentation tank after washing out over-ordered/rejected fresh concrete and concrete trucks in concrete batching plants. The reuse of CSW as recycled aggregates or a cementitious binder for producing partition wall blocks, and the life cycle environmental impact of the blocks were assessed and compared with the conventional one designed with natural materials. The LCA results showed that the partition wall blocks prepared with fresh CSW and recycled concrete aggregates achieved higher sustainability as it consumed 59% lower energy, emitted 66% lower greenhouse gases, and produced lesser amount of other environmental impacts than that of the conventional one. When the mineral carbonation technology was further adopted for blocks curing using CO2, the global warming potential of the corresponding blocks production process was negligible, and hence the carbonated blocks may be considered as carbon neutral eco-product.