Feasible Construction Applications for Different Sizes of Recycled Construction Demolition Wastes

Abstract

Although construction and demolition wastes (CDW) has been recycled widely in many industrial countries, such application is still limited in many under development countries. Efficient recycling and more possible applications for different parts of the crushed CDW materials provided more added values to these environmentally harmful wastes and hence encourage their recycling efforts. The main objective of this study is to propose sustainable construction utilizations of common CDW materials usually found in developing countries. The influence of two different crushing techniques, on various particles size’s properties of the recycled CDW samples, was investigated. In addition, performance of some construction materials, made of different particle sizes of the recycled CDW, was studied. Coarse particles of crushed CDW were used as coarse aggregates for concrete and the fine particles were proposed for producing cement bricks. On the other hand, very fine particles were assessed as pozzolanic materials or as mineral filers for asphalt. Jaw technique was found more efficient, to recycle the investigated CDW materials, than hammer technique. On the other hand, proposed optimum construction applications, for different particle sizes of the recycled materials, were ranked based on the performance of the proposed construction materials. Keywords: Construction and demolition wastes, Crushing techniques, Pozzolanic activity, Crushed concrete, Crushed clay bricks, Crushed tiles, Cement bricks, Asphalt filler, Cement brick, Aggregate