APPLICATIONS OF WASTE MATERIALS IN CIVIL

ENGINEERING
A.DHANUSHRAJ
R.SATHYANAND
2nd year, Civil
S.V.C.E.T,THIRUPACHUR,
Abstract:
Urbanization/industrialization in the past few decades has produced waste products of
unmanageable magnitude and characteristics. Therefore, disposal of these waste
products is a major challenge. Some of these materials are not biodegradable and often
lead to waste disposal crisis and environmental pollution. Due to considerable usage of
various naturally occurring materials for building road and other infrastructures, these
have started depleting gradually. The cost of procurement and processing of such
materials are increasing day by day. At the same time, large amount of industrial and
domestic wastes are causing serious environmental problems in terms of disposal or
safe storage. It is in this connection, researches have been trying to find out possible
ways to use some of the waste materials (after due processing) as alternative materials
for construction. Therefore, some of the waste materials that we get from industries
such as fly ash, bottomash, colliery ash, blast furnace slag, waste glass, foundry sand,
spent oil shale, cement kiln dust, marble dust, incinerated residue of domestic waste,
sewage sludge, roofing shingles, polyethylene waste, waste tyres, etc. are finding many
applications in civil engineering, so that its use may reduce cost and make it efficient.

 Fly Ash Applications in Civil Engineering:

Fly ash, also known as flue-ash, is one
of the residues generated
in combustion, and comprises the fine
particles that rise with the flue gases.In
an industrial context, fly ash usually
refers to ash produced during
combustion of coal.
Fly ash is generally captured
by electrostatic precipitators or other
particle filtration equipment before the
flue gases reach the chimneys of coal-
fired power plants.
(i)Portland cement:
Owing to its pozzolanic properties, fly
ash is used as a replacement for some
of the Portland cement content
of concrete.Use of fly ash as a partial
replacement for Portland cement is
particularly suitable but not limited to
Class C fly ashes. Class "F" fly ashes
can have volatile effects on the
entrained air content of concrete,
causing reduced resistance to
freeze/thaw damage. Fly ash often
replaces up to 30% by mass of Portland
cement, but can be used in higher
dosages in certain applications. Fly ash
can add to the concrete’s final strength
and increase its chemical resistance
and durability. Fly ash can significantly
improve the workability of concrete.
(ii)Flowable fill:
Fly ash is also used as a component in
the production of Flowable fill (also
called controlled low strength material,
or CLSM), which is used as self-
leveling, self-compacting backfill
material in lieu of compacted earth or
granular fill. The strength of flowable fill
mixes can range from 0.3 to 8.3 MPa,
depending on the design requirements
of the project in question. Flowable fill
includes mixtures of Portland cement
and filler material, and can contain
mineral admixtures. Fly ash can replace
either the Portland cement or fine
aggregate (in most cases, river sand) as
a filler material. High fly ash content
mixes contain nearly all fly ash, with a
small percentage of Portland cement
and enough water to make the mix
flowable. Low fly ash content mixes
contain a high percentage of filler
material, and a low percentage of fly
ash, Portland cement, and water. Class
F fly ash is best suited for high fly ash
content mixes, whereas Class C fly ash
is almost always used in low fly ash
content mixes.
(iii)Asphalt concrete:
Asphalt concrete is a composite material
consisting of an asphalt binder and
mineral aggregate. Both Class F and
Class C fly ash can typically be used as
a mineral filler to fill the voids and
provide contact points between larger
aggregate particles in asphalt concrete
mixes. This application is used in
conjunction, or as a replacement for,
other binders (such as Portland cement
or hydrated lime). The hydrophobic
nature of fly ash gives pavements better
resistance to stripping. Fly ash has also
been shown to increase the stiffness of
the asphalt matrix, improving rutting
resistance and increasing mix durability.
(iv)Geopolymers:
More recently, fly ash has been used as
a component in geopolymers, where the
reactivity of the fly ash glasses is used
to generate a binder comparable to a
hydrated Portland cement in
appearance and properties, but with
possibly reduced CO2 emissions
(v) Roller compacted concrete:
For roller-compacted concrete (RCC)
[used in dam construction], replacement
values of 70% have been achieved with
processed fly ash at the Ghatghar dam
project in Maharashtra, India. Due to the
spherical shape of fly ash particles, it
can increase workability of cement while
reducing water demand. Proponents of
fly ash claim that replacing Portland
cement with fly ash reduces
the greenhouse gas "footprint" of
concrete, as the production of one ton of
Portland cement generates
approximately one ton of CO2,
compared to no CO2 generated with fly
ash.
(vi)Bricks:
There are several techniques for
manufacturing construction bricks from
fly ash, producing a wide variety of
products. One type of fly ash brick is
manufactured by mixing fly ash with an
equal amount of clay, then firing in a kiln
at about 1000 °C.This approach has the
principal benefit of reducing the amount
of clay required. Another type of fly ash
brick is made by mixing soil, plaster of
Paris, fly ash and water, and allowing
the mixture to dry. Because no heat is
required, this technique reduces air
pollution. More modern manufacturing
processes use a greater proportion of fly
ash, and a high pressure manufacturing
technique, which produces high strength
bricks with environmental benefits. In
the United Kingdom, fly ash has been
used for over fifty years to make
concrete building blocks. They are
widely used for the inner skin of cavity
walls.
(vii) Metal matrix composites:
Hollow fly ash can be infiltrated by
molten metal to form solid, alumina
encased spheres. Fly ash can also be
mixed with molten metal and cast to
reduce overall weight and density, due
to the low density of fly ash.Research
is underway to incorporate fly ash into
lead acid batteries in a lead calcium tin
fly ash composite in an effort to reduce
weight of the battery.
(viii) Waste treatment and
stabilization:
Fly ash, in view of its alkalinity and
water absorption capacity, may be used
in combination with other alkaline
materials to transform sewage
sludge into organic fertilizer or biofuel.
(ix) As a catalyst:
Fly ash, when treated with sodium
hydroxide, appears to function well as
a catalyst for
converting polyethylene into substance
similar to crude oil in a high-temperature
process called pyrolysis.  mixed with lime and sewage sludge.
 SEWAGE SLUDGE ASH
Sewage sludge ash is the by-product
produced during the combustion of
dewatered sewage sludge in an
incinerator. Sewage sludge ash is
primarily a silty material with some
sand-size particles. The specific size
range and properties of the sludge ash
depend to a great extent on the type of
incineration system and the chemical
additives introduced in the wastewater
treatment process.
Applications in Civil Engineering:
(i) Asphalt Concrete Aggregate and
Mineral Filler:
Sludge ash has been used in asphalt
paving mixes to replace both fine
aggregate and mineral filler size
fractions in the mix. A number of test
pavements have been successfully
placed in Minnesota. Sludge ash can
also be vitrified to produce a frit for use
as an aggregate substitute material. A
plant operated in New York State for
approximately 3 years, but closed in
1995. It produced a vitrified frit-like
product that was approved by the New
York State Department of
Transportation for use as fine aggregate
substitute in paving mixes.
(ii) Others:
Sludge ash has been previously used as
a raw material in Portland cement
concrete production, as aggregate in
flowable fill, as mineral filler in asphalt
paving mixes, and as a soil conditioner
 
Some California sludge ash with high
copper content has reportedly been sent
to an Arizona smelter for copper
recovery.Sludge ash has also been
proposed as a substitute lightweight
aggregate product, produced by firing
sludge ash or a mixture of sludge ash
and clay at elevated or sintering
temperatures. Other potential uses that
have been reported include the use of
ash in brick manufacturing and as a
sludge dewatering aid in wastewater
treatment systems.Applications that
could potentially make use of sewage
sludge ash in highway construction
include the use of ash as part of a
flowable fill for backfilling trenches or as
a substitute aggregate material or
mineral filler additive in hot mix asphalt.
 BLAST FURNACE SLAG
Blast furnace slag is generated during
the melting process in steel making
operations. The slag is a fairly complex
mass that is relatively inert. It is
composed of metal oxides (produced as
a result of the oxidation of the metal
during the melting process), melted
refractory, sand from recycled scrap
castings, coke ash, and other materials.
Blast furnace slag has been beneficially
used in a number of applications. The
most significant factor that determines
whether or not blast furnace slag is
suitable for use is the particle size. Most
of the blast furnace slag that has been
used has either been generated as part
of a wet quenching collection system, or
if collected dry, has undergone some
particle size reduction.
Applications in Civil Engineering:
(i) Use of blast furnace slag as a
cementitious binder for applications
in highway construction:
Blast furnace slag has been used as a
cementitious binder in road construction.
The properties of blast-furnace slag
have been developed in France under
the title gravel-slag to stabilize gravel
and sands for sub-base and base
construction. Gravel-slag is the most
widely used road base material in
France and it is estimated that 65
percent of French roads have a
pavement layer composed of gravel-
slag. Following are the advantages of
blast furnace slag as a cementitious
binder:
• There is a development of better
strength;
• It can be used in labor intensive
construction, the slag would be mixed in
a locally based central mixing plant, and
then hauled, spread, shaped,
compacted and cured using labor
intensive methods;
• Low energy requirement – only
grinding of material is needed;
• Significant lower capital requirements
as compared to cement;
• Mixing lime and granulated blast
furnace slag with 7.5 percent gypsum
can be used for making mortars;
• It can be used for making concrete
mixes for use in road bases and
composite pavements;
• This provides a great potential for
profitable use of this waste material and
produces alternate binder to cement.
(ii) Use of blast furnace slag as a
coarse aggregate for asphalt for
applications in highway construction:
Just as foundry slag has been used as a
substitute for native coarse aggregate in
concrete mixtures, it has also been used
in asphalt mixtures. Here again, the slag
is usually crushed to achieve the
desired particle size. In general, the slag
is crushed so that it will pass the ¾ inch
sieve. Inaddition to the larger aggregate,
the desired mix will alsocontain about 7
to 8 percent fines that pass the 200
sieve.
The advantages of blast furnace slag as
a coarse aggregatefor asphalt which are
mentioned in the following:
• Lower cost than other mineral fillers;
and
• Suitable for roads near the locality of
the steel plants.
(iii) Use of blast furnace slag as a
coarse aggregate for sub base for
applications in highway construction:
Many steel plants have used their slag
as a substitute for coarse aggregate in
road construction projects in and around
the steel plants for a number of years. In
many cases, it has been used as the
single source of material for gravel road
construction. In other instances, it is
used for roadbed, base course, or sub
base material. Blast furnace slag
provides the following advantages when
used as a coarse aggregate for sub-
base:
• Slag that has been water quenched
tends to have a lowered wear resistance
and soundness;
• For most sub base applications in
which above two properties are critical,
air-cooled, as opposed to water
quenched, slag is used. Most often, air-
cooled slag is crushed to a ¾inch
particle size or less in order to meet
most state coarse aggregate
specifications. Once properly sized,
these byproducts can serve as suitable
substitutes for native coarse aggregate
in this application; and
• The sections of roadway in which blast
furnace slag was used as a means of
providing soft ground stabilization
provided a degree of stabilization
equivalent to that of the traditional
method of using rock aggregate.
 CEMENT KILN DUST
Cement kiln dust (CKD) is the finely
divided dry alkaline particulate matter
carried from a cement kiln by the
exhaust gas, and captured by the kiln’s
air pollution control system. In general,
however, the composition of cement kiln
dust is similar to that of cement and
consists of calcium carbonate, calcite,
silicate, potassium sulphate, calcium
sulphate, aluminium oxide, iron oxide,
potassium chloride, magnesium oxide,
sodium sulphate, and potassium
fluoride. Cement kiln dust has a
chemical composition similar to that of
cement; therefore, the primary value of
cement kiln dust is its cementitious
properties. Its alkalinity and particle size
also provide value for a variety of
beneficial use options.
Application in Civil Engineering:
(i)Use of cement kiln dust for soil
stabilization for applications in
highway construction:
Cement kiln dust can be used to
improve the properties of soil in situ, and
as an activator in pozzolanic stabilized
base mixtures. The adsorptive capacity
and cementitious properties of cement
kiln dust allow it to reduce the moisture
content and increase the bearing
capacity of the soft soil. Cement kiln
dust for soil stabilization have
advantages which are shown below:
• Cement kiln dust effectively improves
soil strength and also reduces
construction time and costs;
• When lime is used as a stabilizing
agent, the soil must be remixed and
compacted 48 hours after the lime is
first applied;
• When cement kiln dust is used as a
stabilizing agent, the mixing and
compacting of cement kiln dust are
completed when it is initially applied or
within 24 hours; and
• Cement kiln dust can be mixed with
soil to modify plastic limits or moisture
content to provide the desired stabilized
properties.
(ii)Use of cement kiln dust as mineral
filler in asphalt paving for
applications in highway construction:
Hot-mixed asphalt (HMA) is a common
paving material:
Hot-mixed asphalt is made by coating of
dried coarse and fine aggregates with
hot asphalt cement, which acts as a
binder. Cement kiln dust can be used to
replace a portion of the mineral filler
used in hot-mixed asphalt. Cement kiln
dust as mineral filler in asphalt paving
have following advantages:
• Current specifications for mineral filler
in hot mixed asphalt (AASHTO M17) are
for material passing the No. 50 sieve to
be between 95 and 100 percent.
Typically, the maximum particle size of
cement kiln dust is about 0.3 mm (No.
50 Sieve), which conforms to the
mineral filler top size requirements; and
• Its desirable physical properties, the
cementitious properties of cement kiln
dust have been shown to increase the
stability and stiffening of hot-mixed
asphalt.
 Granulated Blast Furnace
Slag (GBS)
Granulated Blast Furnace Slag can be
used in its raw/unprocessed form as a
slow setting binder in hydraulically
bound road construction materials. It
generally requires an alkali activator
such as hydrated lime or steel slag to be
added to the product for this purpose.
Applications in Civil Engineering:
(i)Ground Granulated Blast Furnace
Slag (GGBS):
Granulated blast furnace slag is highly
cementitious and after drying and
grinding to a fine powder, it can be used
as a replacement for conventional
cement.  The first commercially
available Blast furnace cement (a blend
of Portland cement and GGBS) was
produced in Germany in 1865 and
currently over 200 million tonnes/annum
of Blast furnace slag cement are used
worldwide.
In the UK, GGBS is normally supplied
as a separate material, conforming to
EN 15167-1 ‘Ground granulated blast
furnace slag for use in concrete, mortar
and grout’.  GGBS is blended with
cement at the concrete mixer and its
major use is in ready-mixed concrete. 
Typically the replacement level is about
50% but in some applications, GGBS
can replace over 80% of the Portland
cement.  Specifies of concrete are well
aware of the many benefits of GGBS
(e.g. it increases the durability of
concrete and greatly reduces its carbon
footprint) and about a third of all UK
‘ready-mix’ deliveries contain GGBS.   It
is also used in site-batched and precast
concrete and for the in-situ stabilization
of soils.
 (ii)Air-cooled Blast Furnace Slag
(ABS):
Once processed (crushed and
screened) the abs is used as aggregate
in many construction materials for civil
engineering in both bound and unbound
applications.
The principal use is in asphalt and
surface dressing in accordance with EN
13043 and in unbound road construction
materials in accordance with EN 13242.
In addition to this, ABS is the preferred
material for percolating filter beds for
waste water treatment due to its
vesicular nature, which provides high
surface area, maximizing biological
activity. It is used in Scandinavian
countries as an insulation layer in road
construction to prevent the formation of
ice lenses in the foundations. It can also
be used to supplement the raw feed
material for the manufacture of both
mineral wool and cement. Steel Making
Slag
 (iii)Basic Oxygen Steel Slag (BOS)
and Electric Arc Furnace Slag (EAF):
Both BOS and EAF slag are very similar
in their basic properties and are
generally used in the same applications,
with the exception of but a few. The
main difference; highlighted in the
section by Lewis Juckes, is the lime/
silica ratio. As BOS slag has a higher
lime silica ratio than EAF slag, it usually
contains a higher proportion of un-
combined (free) lime. This increases the
potential for expansion, through
hydration and therefore requires a
longer weathering (conditioning) period
than EAF slag, to ensure compliance
with European standards. It also means
that on cooling, the BOS slag tends to
produce larger volumes of finer material
that satisfy requirements of markets that
cannot be met by EAF slag.
Both air-cooled BOS and EAF slag
provides a high quality aggregate for
most construction applications where
natural aggregate would be used.
(iv)Road Construction:
Steel slag can be used in both bound
and unbound road construction
products, which generally comprise
asphalt and surface dressing in
accordance with EN 13043 and sub-
base, capping and fill materials in
accordance with EN 13242.
Steel slag is an ideal aggregate for use
in asphalt surfacing materials due to the
following properties: -
 Cubical shape – forms
interlocking structures in the
asphalt material, providing
excellent resistance to
deformation
 Basic in nature - having a strong
affinity to the bitumen binders
therefore resisting stripping
 High resistance to abrasion –
durability of aggregate
 Good skid resistance – frictional
properties maintained throughout
the whole life of the surfacing
(v)Hydraulic Engineering:
As steel slag is hard and dense, it
provides an excellent material in
hydraulic engineering as armour stone
for the protection against both river and
sea coastal erosion.
(vi)Raw Feed for Manufacturing:
As with ABS, steel slag has the
necessary elements required for the
manufacture of cement clinker and
mineral wool. It can therefore be used
as a supplementary feed for both these
processes.
(vii) Railway Ballast:
Steel slag is hard dense and resistant to
both attrition and abrasion making it a
suitable for use as railway ballast
aggregate.
(viii)Stone Column Ground
Stabilization:
In areas where the ground conditions
are not suitably strong for standard
foundations for buildings, stone column
piling can be implemented to stabilize
the ground. Steel slag is an ideal
material for this application as it is
strong, has a cubical shape, which helps
the interlock and has excellent
resistance to abrasion.
Over one million tonnes of steel slag
has been used extensively in Saudi
Arabia in this application and is the
preferred material due to both its
physical and chemical stability.
(ix)Agriculture:
As a result of acid rain, many fields
require pH adjustment to enable healthy
and productive growth from the crops.
BOS slag is used as a basic soil
conditioner with the added benefit of the
release of several trace elements
essential to life.
 (x)Environmental Land Remediation:
In addition to utilization on agriculture, a
relatively new application has been
developed to help remediate brown field
sites incapable of plant growth. The
BOS slag fines release calcium oxide
and other trace elements, slowly into the
soil enabling the growth of grasses and
trees in soft landscaping.
 WASTE GLASS
Glass is a product of the super cooling
of a melted liquid mixture consisting
primarily of sand (silicon dioxide) and
soda ash (sodium carbonate) to a rigid
condition, in which the super cooled
material does not crystallize and retains
the organization and internal structure of
the melted liquid. When waste glass is
crushed to sand like particle sizes,
similar to those of natural sand, it
exhibits properties of an aggregate
material.
In 1994 approximately 9.2 million metric
tons (10.2 million tons) of postconsumer
glass was discarded in the municipal
solid waste stream in the United States.
Approximately 8.1 million metric tons
(8.9 million tons) or 80 percent of this
waste glass was container glass.
Applications in Civil Engineering:
(i)Asphalt Concrete Aggregate:
Waste glass has been used in highway
construction as an aggregate substitute
in asphalt paving. Many communities
have recently incorporated glass into
their roadway specifications, which
could help to encourage greater use of
the material.
(ii)Granular Base or Fill:
Crushed glass or cullet, if properly sized
and processed, can exhibit
characteristics similar to that of a gravel
or sand. As a result, it should also be
suitable for use as a road base or fill
material.

 RECOMENDATOINS:
 CONCLUSION:
We, hereby by conclude that use
of waste material ,that we get
from industries such as fly ash
,bottom ash ,cement kiln dust
,blast furnace slag can be used in
many developmental projects
such as construction of roads and
embankments in our country.
following are the applications
were the waste product were
been used:
We recommend that the waste
material that we get from thermal
power plant(fly ash),glass
industries(waste glass) from all
over the country can be
processed and used in these
developmental projects. so ,that
the depleting rate of natural
resources can be reduced and
pollution created by these waste
material can be prevented.

 usage of roller compacted

concerete with fly ash in dam
constructions in India as
achieved 70% of replacement
values (components).
 A sludge ash plant operated in
New York State for 3 years, but
closed in 1995. It produced a
vitrified frit-like product that was
approved by the New York State
Department of Transportation for
use as fine aggregate substitute
in paving mixes.
 Gravel-slag is the most widely
used road base material in
France and it is estimated that 65
percent of French roads have a
pavement layer composed of
gravel-slag.