Promoting sustainable materials using recycled rubber in concrete: A review

A rapid hike in demand for vehicle tires has been observed in recent decades, consequently increasing the quantity of waste rubber worldwide. The present state of waste rubber recycling is not sustainable, and dumping it in landfills generates various human health and environmental issues. Waste rubber has been investigated by several scholars for its potential use as aggregate in cementitious materials. However, it is vital to grasp the numerous facets of its application and the related obstacles. This article performed a keywords analysis of documents in the relevant research field retrieved from the Scopus database to assess the various aspects of the literature using a computational tool. In addition, a critical review of the application of recycled rubber as an aggregate substitute in cement-based composites was carried out. The various influential factors were identified, and their influence on the resulting material was described. Incorporating recycled rubber as aggregate in cement-based composites might produce sustainable construction materials. The use of recycled rubber has a damaging impact on composites' strength. However, the utilization of recycled rubber has the potential to improve several material properties and might be utilized in sound-insulating, lightweight, freeze-thaw, and thermal resistant composites. Moreover, the current state applications of recycled rubber aggregate cementitious composites were highlighted, as well as future research directions. In addition, the literature data were used to construct prediction models for rubberized concrete's strengths, which showed good agreement with the experimental results. These prediction models might be used to evaluate a material's strength, saving experimental time and cost.

Automated summary

There has been a significant increase in demand for vehicle tires in recent decades, leading to a rise in waste rubber globally. The current state of waste rubber recycling is unsustainable, with landfill dumping causing various health and environmental issues. This article analyzed relevant research papers and conducted a critical review to assess the application of recycled rubber as aggregate in cement-based composites. The study identified influential factors and their impact on the resulting material, highlighting the potential for sustainable construction materials and the need for further research in this area.