Economic characteristics of concrete production from fly ash as a way of land recultivation

Abstract

Application of fly ash in the construction industry is particularly significant in the terms of environmental protection and in the terms of improvement opportunities of certain properties of cement mortar and concrete. In addition to this, it is possible to perform the recultivation of significant area of agricultural land. Concrete production precedes the production of lightweight aggregate which is then used as an aggregate. Calculated costs of concrete production using lightweight aggregate were 70.52 €/m3. Most of these costs are energy costs in the sum of 85% of total costs. In the situation when the costs of concrete production using lightweight aggregate are compared to the concrete price at the market, or produced with the use of construction gravel, estimation of the economic viability gives a negative result. This result is caused by the high cost of the aggregate. The observed calculation did not include an improved thermal-insulating property of concrete and reduce pollution through binding of waste ash. According to this, final assessment can only be made after extensive technological, macroeconomic and environmental analysis. Economic analysis should be primarily based on the value of land that can be recultivation in this way.

Keywords

• fly ash
• agriculture land
• recultivation
• concrete production