ABSTRACT
Concrete industry is responsible for 8% of CO2 emissions (primarily related to cement production) and for about 20 billion tons of natural aggregate consumption. On the other side, it is worth noticing that around 35% of waste generated in Europe is Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW). To reduce the amount of waste generated and prevent raw material consumption, coarse recycled concrete aggregates (CRCA) are a smart solution that can replace natural aggregates without affecting mechanical performance significantly. Furthermore, incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a good option to reduce the volume of waste and generate electric energy in the process. However, this process produces ash that needs to be disposed of, and usually includes heavy metals and toxic organic components. A feasible way to treat ash is vitrification, which allows using it as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) without risks to humans and the environment. In this research, CRCA and vitrified ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) were used as coarse aggregate (25 and 50%) and cement (10%) replacement, respectively, and then an experimental analysis of fresh state properties and mechanical performance of the developed eco-concretes is presented.
