Properties of Concrete Mixes with Carwash Wastewater

Abstract

The rapid growth of the car wash industry today results in the need for wastewater reclamation. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the effect of using car wash wastewater on concrete properties in terms of mechanical properties. The basic characteristics of wastewater were investigated according to USEPA (Method 150.1 & 3 00.0) while the mechanical properties of concrete with car wash wastewater were compared according to ASTM C1602 and BS EN 1008 standards. In this research, the compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and tensile strength were studied. The percentages of wastewater replaced in the concrete mix ranged from 0% up to 40%. In addition, the results also suggest that the concrete with 20% car wash wastewater achieved the highest compressive strength and modulus of elasticity compared to other compositions of wastewater. Moreover, the results also recommended that concrete mixed with car wash wastewater has better compressive strength compared to conventional concrete.