ABSTRACT
The paper presents results of physical-chemical and mineralogical characterization analysis performed on a waste material from the paper industry and discusses results of tests performed to obtain the water retention curve and evaluate shrinkage characteristics of the waste. The waste comprises 30% of organic fibers and 70% of minerals; the predominant minerals being calcite and aragonite. The filter paper technique was used to determine the water retention curve. The presence of fungi and sample preparation are studied in relation to the results of the water retention curve. It is shown that the material is quite different from others found in the literature, presenting a fairly high air-entry value (order of 1.000 kPa) and high shrinkage without cracking.
