Utilization of paper waste sludge in the building construction industry

This paper reports on the results of an investigation of utilization of paper waste sludge obtained from a paper manufacturing industry, as a replacement to the mineral filler material in various concrete mixes. The physical and chemical properties of the waste material were studied. Concrete mixes containing various contents of the waste were prepared and basic strength characteristics, such as compressive strength, splitting, flexural, water absorption, and density were determined and compared with a control mix. Five concrete mixes containing various contents of the waste, 0 (control mix), 3, 5, 8 and 10%, as a replacement to the fine sand were prepared with ratios of 1:3:6 by weight of cement, sand and aggregate, respectively. The test results revealed that as the content of the waste increased the water to cement ratio for the mix was also increased, since the waste has a high degree of water absorption. Therefore, additional amount of water was required for cement hydration. The results obtained showed that as the amount of the waste increased the basic strengths, such as compressive strength were decreased. A maximum of 5% content of the waste as a replacement to the fine sand in concrete mix can be used successfully as construction materials, such as in concrete masonry construction with a compressive strength of 8 MPa, splitting strength of 1.3 MPa, water absorption of 11.9%, with a density of 20 KN/m(3) (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.