Recycling paper industry effluent sludge for use in mortars: A sustainability perspective

Abstract The paper and cellulose manufacturing industry generates significant quantities of waste, including an extremely humid sludge, which is considered to be an effluent with high environmental liability for the manufacturer. Studies have shown that this waste sludge may be utilized in construction material, such as mortar for fixing blocks, as well as for ceiling and wall coatings that use ceramic masonry as a sealant. The recycling of pulp and paper industry waste sludge has important environmental benefits, by preventing soil and water pollution caused by inadequate disposal and by reducing the depletion of natural resources, such as lime, used in cementitious materials. This study analyzed the sustainability of incorporating such waste into cement-based mortars. Tests were conducted replacing lime, one of the most expensive mortar components with high environmental impact, with waste sludge in contents of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. Analysis was then performed on the samples to assess the primary technical characteristics of these incorporated mortars, such as the consistency index, heat of hydration, content of incorporated air, water retention, mechanical strength and the capillarity coefficient. The results were compared with the results of the characterization tests that were performed on the waste material. The results showed that for use in wall and ceiling mortar coatings, the level of incorporation should not exceed 10%, because higher levels yield lower values of mechanical strength resistance, incompatible with market requirements. This result is probably due to the low heat of hydration of the waste material which generates slower reactions. On the other hand, higher levels of waste material content, above 10%, are appropriate convenient for mortar used to fill small repairs in masonry that do not require control of properties.

[1]  B. Samet,et al.  Durability of mortars made with sand washing waste , 2016 .

[2]  Xinping Li,et al.  Pozzolanic reaction of lightweight fine aggregate and its influence on the hydration of cement , 2017 .

[3]  Caijun Shi,et al.  A review on mixture design methods for self-compacting concrete , 2015 .

[4]  J. Hanson,et al.  Compaction Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste , 2010 .

[5]  Zainab Abbas,et al.  Study of heat of hydration of Portland cement used in Iraq , 2017 .

[6]  Ippei Maruyama,et al.  A new model for the C-S-H phase formed during the hydration of Portland cements , 2017 .

[7]  Afonso Rangel Garcez de Azevedo,et al.  Assessment of the durability of grout submitted to accelerated carbonation test , 2018 .

[8]  Experimental study of effects of water–cement ratio and curing time on nonlinear resonance of concrete , 2015 .

[9]  J. Brito,et al.  Mechanical performance of concrete made with aggregates from construction and demolition waste recycling plants , 2015 .

[10]  X. Gu,et al.  Multi-walled carbon nanotube reinforced mortar-aggregate interfacial properties , 2017 .

[11]  C. Hall,et al.  Water sorptivity of mortars and concretes: a review , 1989 .

[12]  V. Mymrin,et al.  Construction material from construction and demolition debris and lime production wastes , 2015 .

[13]  S. Monteiro,et al.  Clay bricks added with effluent sludge from paper industry: Technical, economical and environmental benefits , 2016 .

[14]  F. Cohen Tenoudji,et al.  Mechanical properties of cement pastes and mortars at early ages: Evolution with time and degree of hydration , 1996 .

[15]  Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas,et al.  Evaluating construction projects of hotels based on environmental sustainability with MCDM framework , 2017 .

[16]  Maria Rosaria Boni,et al.  Environmental quality of primary paper sludge. , 2004, Journal of hazardous materials.

[17]  A. Cavdar,et al.  Cement type composite panels manufactured using paper mill sludge as filler , 2017 .

[18]  M. Frías,et al.  Paper sludge, an environmentally sound alternative source of MK-based cementitious materials. A review , 2015 .

[19]  S. Kelham,et al.  A WATER ABSORPTION TEST FOR CONCRETE , 1988 .

[20]  A. Verdú-Vázquez,et al.  Effects of the addition of inertized MSW fly ash on calcium aluminate cement mortars , 2017 .

[21]  Evina Katsou,et al.  Municipal solid waste management and waste-to-energy in the context of a circular economy and energy recycling in Europe , 2017 .

[22]  C. Soriano,et al.  Incorporation of paper sludge in clay brick formulation : ten years of industrial experience , 2015 .

[23]  A. Mukherjee,et al.  Synergistic chemical and microbial cementation for stabilization of aggregates , 2017 .

[24]  M. Zając,et al.  Hydration of quaternary Portland cement blends containing blast-furnace slag, siliceous fly ash and limestone powder , 2015 .

[25]  Chin-Tson Liaw,et al.  A novel method to reuse paper sludge and co-generation ashes from paper mill , 1998 .

[26]  Morton A. Barlaz,et al.  Composition of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States and Implications for Carbon Sequestration and Methane Yield , 2009 .

[27]  V. Papadakis,et al.  Effect of lime putty addition on structural and durability properties of concrete , 2002 .

[28]  J. Labrincha,et al.  Waste-containing clinkers: Valorization of alternative mineral sources from pulp and paper mills , 2017 .

[29]  Hak Lae Lee,et al.  Upgrading waste paper by in-situ calcium carbonate formation , 2017 .

[30]  Robert Zeman,et al.  Managerial Preferences in Relation to Financial Indicators Regarding the Mitigation of Global Change , 2015, Sci. Eng. Ethics.

[31]  Nick R. Buenfeld,et al.  Determining the water–cement ratio, cement content, water content and degree of hydration of hardened cement paste: Method development and validation on paste samples , 2009 .

[32]  Mohammad Shekarchi,et al.  Studying effects of chemical admixtures on the workability retention of zeolitic Portland cement mortar , 2014 .

[33]  Josef Maroušek,et al.  Economically oriented process optimization in waste management , 2014, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[34]  Makoto Hisada,et al.  FREEZING AND THAWING RESISTANCE OF AIR-ENTRAINED CONCRETE INCORPORATING RECYCLED COARSE AGGREGATE: THE ROLE OF AIR CONTENT IN DEMOLISHED CONCRETE , 2004 .

[35]  Ali GhaffarianHoseini,et al.  Sustainable energy performances of green buildings: a review of current theories, implementations and challenges , 2013 .

[36]  Ivana Bolanča Mirković,et al.  Ecological Sustainability and Waste Paper Recycling , 2015 .

[37]  Rafael Mattos Deus,et al.  Current and future environmental impact of household solid waste management scenarios for a region of Brazil: carbon dioxide and energy analysis , 2017 .

[38]  T. Park,et al.  Enhancement of microwave effect with addition of chemical agents in solubilization of waste activated sludge , 2015 .

[39]  P. Prakash,et al.  Effects of elevated temperature and water quenching on strength and microstructure of mortars with river sand substitutes , 2016 .

[40]  S. Sasmal,et al.  Physico-chemical and mechanical characterization of high volume fly ash incorporated and engineered cement system towards developing greener cement , 2016 .

[41]  Agata Mesjasz-Lech,et al.  Municipal waste management in context of sustainable urban development , 2014 .

[42]  J. Sanjayan,et al.  Converting hydration heat to achieve cement mixture with early strength and low hydrating-thermal dissipation , 2017 .

[43]  K. Balen,et al.  Measuring the Water Capacity and Transfer Properties of Fresh Mortar , 2010 .

[44]  P. Lourenço,et al.  Influence of aggregates grading and water/cement ratio in workability and hardened properties of mortars , 2011 .

[45]  Gong Cheng,et al.  Alkaline solubilization of excess mixed sludge and the recovery of released phosphorus as magnesium ammonium phosphate. , 2018, Bioresource technology.

[46]  Radka Vaníčková,et al.  Techno-economic assessment of processing the cellulose casings waste , 2015, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy.

[47]  M. Contreras,et al.  Recycling of construction and demolition waste for producing new construction material (Brazil case-study) , 2016 .

[48]  J. Kočí,et al.  Multi-parameter optimization of lime composite design using a modified downhill simplex method , 2016 .

[49]  B. Ahmadi,et al.  Utilization of paper waste sludge in the building construction industry , 2001 .

[50]  M. P. Luxán,et al.  Rapid evaluation of pozzolanic activity of natural products by conductivity measurement , 1989 .

[51]  Luca Pelà,et al.  Combining Brazilian tests on masonry cores and double punch tests for the mechanical characterization of historical mortars , 2016 .

[52]  M. Lanzón,et al.  Evaluation of capillary water absorption in rendering mortars made with powdered waterproofing additives , 2009 .

[53]  Roger Flanagan,et al.  Model for calculating the sustainable building index (SBI) in the kingdom of Bahrain , 2008 .

[54]  Afonso Rangel Garcez de Azevedo,et al.  Influence of incorporation of glass waste on the rheological properties of adhesive mortar , 2017 .

[56]  M C Monte,et al.  Waste management from pulp and paper production in the European Union. , 2009, Waste management.

[57]  A. Govin,et al.  Modification of water retention and rheological properties of fresh state cement-based mortars by guar gum derivatives , 2016 .

[58]  Kannan Govindan,et al.  Sustainable material selection for construction industry – A hybrid multi criteria decision making approach , 2016 .

[59]  Rui Cunha Marques,et al.  Assessing efficiency drivers in municipal solid waste collection services through a non-parametric method , 2017 .

[60]  H. Brouwers,et al.  Characterization and application of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash and waste granite powder in alkali activated slag , 2017 .

[61]  P. Coussot,et al.  How water retention in porous media with cellulose ethers works , 2012 .

[62]  M. Benzaazoua,et al.  Reuse of base-metal tailings as aggregates for rendering mortars: Assessment of immobilization performances and environmental behavior , 2015 .

[63]  Z. Ranachowski,et al.  The contribution of fiber reinforcement system to the overall toughness of cellulose fiber concrete panels , 2017 .

[64]  Goran Turk,et al.  Possibilities of using the ultrasonic wave transmission method to estimate initial setting time of cement paste , 2008 .

[65]  A. Govin,et al.  Importance of coil-overlapping for the effectiveness of hydroxypropylguars as water retention agent in cement-based mortars , 2014 .

[66]  Renata Toczyłowska-Mamińska,et al.  Limits and perspectives of pulp and paper industry wastewater treatment – A review , 2017 .

[67]  A. Benli,et al.  Influence of ground pumice powder on the mechanical properties and durability of self-compacting mortars , 2017 .

[68]  V. Varshney,et al.  Potential use of waste paper for the synthesis of cyanoethyl cellulose: A cleaner production approach towards sustainable environment management , 2017 .

[69]  Yannick Sieffert,et al.  Sustainable construction with repurposed materials in the context of a civil engineering–architecture collaboration , 2014 .

[70]  Sidney Diamond,et al.  Expression and analysis of pore fluids from hardened cement pastes and mortars , 1981 .