Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208

www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Chemical–mineralogical characterisation of coarse recycled

concrete aggregate
a,*
M.C. Limbachiya , E. Marrocchino b, A. Koulouris a

a
Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2EE, UK
b
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44 100, Ferrara, Italy

Accepted 11 January 2006

Available online 29 March 2006

Abstract

The construction industry is now putting greater emphasis than ever before on increasing recycling and promoting more sustainable
waste management practices. In keeping with this approach, many sectors of the industry have actively sought to encourage the use of
recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as an alternative to primary aggregates in concrete production. The results of a laboratory experi-
mental programme aimed at establishing chemical and mineralogical characteristics of coarse RCA and its likely influence on concrete
performance are reported in this paper. Commercially produced coarse RCA and natural aggregates (16–4 mm size fraction) were tested.
Results of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses showed that original source of RCA had a negligible effect on the major elements and a
comparable chemical composition between recycled and natural aggregates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses results indicated the pres-
ence of calcite, portlandite and minor peaks of muscovite/illite in recycled aggregates, although they were directly proportioned to their
original composition. The influence of 30%, 50%, and 100% coarse RCA on the chemical composition of equal design strength concrete
has been established, and its suitability for use in a concrete application has been assessed. In this work, coarse RCA was used as a direct
replacement for natural gravel in concrete production. Test results indicated that up to 30% coarse RCA had no effect on the main three
oxides (SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO) of concrete, but thereafter there was a marginal decrease in SiO2 and increase in Al2O3 and CaO contents
with increase in RCA content in the mix, reflecting the original constituent’s composition.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction offers an environmentally responsible and economically

With the introduction of waste legislation in the form of
regulations and directives in many parts of world, a signif-
icant move towards the sustainable management of con-
struction and demolition (C&D) waste is becoming a
legal requirement. In response, different sectors of the con-
struction industry are undertaking various initiatives to
minimise waste generation and improve the management
of C&D waste to maximise economic and environmental
benefits, generally by placing emphasis on increasing recy-
cling for reuse.
Indeed, it is now widely accepted that recycling of C&D
wastes for reuse as aggregate in new concrete production
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 208 547 2000; fax: +44 208 547 7971.
E-mail address: m.limbachiya@kingston.ac.uk (M.C. Limbachiya).
viable route to convert this material into a valuable
resource (Dhir et al., 1999; Poon et al., 2002; Sagoe-Crent-
sil et al., 2001). In fact, suitability of coarse recycled aggre-
gates for use in normal grade concretes meeting
requirements for a range of applications has been proven
in a number of studies (Limbachiya, 2004; Meinhold
et al., 2001). (Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is defined
as a minimum of 95% crushed concrete, and recycled
aggregate (RA) is defined as maximum of 100% crushed
masonry (BS 8500, 2002).) As a direct result of these stud-
ies, the technical and application aspects of using recycled
aggregates in concrete are now reasonably well understood.
With a better understanding of the chemical–mineralogical
characteristics of RCA and its influence on concrete perfor-
mance, this material can be used confidently in different
value-added concrete outlets.

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2006.01.005
202 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208

Against this background, the study was undertaken to Table 2

investigate the chemical and mineralogical composition of Constituent materials of coarse RCAs (sources 1, 2 & 3) used in the study
according to BS 8500-2
coarse (16–4 mm size fraction) recycled concrete and natu-
ral aggregates (16–4 mm size fraction), and natural sand Constituents present Proportions % (m/m) BS 8500 limits
(<4 mm), which included the examination of the likely Test sample (particle fraction
influence on engineering properties and durability perfor- 16–4 mm)
mance of concrete. RCA 1 RCA 2 RCA 3
Concrete 92.4 92.1 85.5 –
2. Experimental details Masonry 1.9 1.6 5.3 5.0
Asphalt 4.9 1.4 3.3 5.0
Lightweight material 0.0 0.6 0.5 0.5
To ensure that the study covered a range of potential (q <1000 kg/m3)
material supply, C&D debris obtained from three different Fines 0.2 3.4 4.4 –
construction sites, within the Greater London area, were Foreign materialsa 0.5 0.9 1.0 1.0
used to produce coarse RCA. The C&D debris selected a
Glass, timber, plastic, metal etc.
were clean and free from detrimental levels of chemical
impurities and harmful constituents. An existing commer- ment and other metals were cleared using an electromagnet
cial recycling plant for the production of quality recycled belt. The larger material was then passed through a second-
aggregates, comprised of primary jaw and secondary cone ary cone crusher in order to reduce the size to 16 mm max-
crushers, electromagnetic and air separation systems and imum and screened into 16–8 and 8–4 mm size fractions, to
screens, was used. In essence, large pieces of C&D debris give clean coarse RCAs with grading corresponding to
arrived from various sites and they were reduced to 0.4 m those for crushed rock to BS 882. In general, the RCA used
maximum size, and the reinforcement was cut by hydraulic was found to be coarser, porous and rougher but equidi-
shears where required. During this stage, large pieces of mensional to that of natural gravel. Portland cement
wood, steel, plastics etc. (foreign materials) were removed (PC) of Grade 42.5 N conforming to BS EN 197-1, used
by manually. Thereafter, material was crushed in a primary for concrete production, was also tested.
crusher and the debris was reduced to 75 mm maximum RCA samples were delivered to Kingston University
size. The products from the primary crusher were then laboratory in batches of 10 tonnes per delivery. Thereafter,
screened on a deck typically consisting of a 10 mm scalping in order to obtain a homogeneous and representative sam-
screen. At this stage, fine materials were discharged by an ple of the aggregate population, a quartering method was
air blower to eliminate dirt, soil and gypsum and reinforce- used as suggested by Goodsall and Mathews (1970). In this
study, the samples of 80 kg of each type of aggregate
Table 1 (coarse and fine NA, coarse RCAs) were reduced to
XRF chemical composition of the main concrete constituents used in the 10 kg samples and 42.5 N PC to 5 kg using this method.
study Aggregate samples were further reduced to 5 kg and PC
Main constituents to 2 kg. Samples were then powdered using an agate mill,
PC Coarse aggregates Natural
sand
Natural RCA 1 RCA 2 RCA 3
gravel
SiO2 (wt%)
SiO2 20.60 97.03 65.37 68.43 63.61 88.54
NA coarse
TiO2 0.22 0.01 0.22 0.39 0.17 0.05
NA Sand
Al2O3 5.47 0.34 5.33 5.49 3.57 1.21
Fe2O3 3.31 0.10 2.16 2.40 2.03 0.76
RCA 2
MnO 0.06 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.02
MgO 2.26 0.65 1.91 2.84 2.62 0.42 RCA 1
RCA 3
CaO 62.50 0.26 13.93 11.19 16.86 5.33
Na2O 0.65 0.16 1.19 0.94 0.87 0.33
K2O 1.71 0.01 0.61 0.62 0.51 0.31
P2O5 0.21 0.02 0.11 0.10 0.49 0.08
LOI 1.64 1.41 9.12 7.56 9.19 2.95
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Pba 19 – 50 47 30 6
Zna 53 – 31 29 37 4
Ni 21 – – 9 10 2
Co – 418 55 111 – –
Total Cr 42 8 21 29 52 5
V 134 5 42 62 47 15 Al2 O3
Th – 2 2 1 1 2 CaO
(wt%) (wt%)
S 59,690 – 2879 1698 2964 360
Major oxides expressed in wt%, trace elements expressed in ppm. Fig. 1. Position of the NA and RCA on the CaO–SiO2–Al2O3 ternary
a
Semi-quantitative analysis. diagram.
 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208 203

reducing to 10 g samples suitable for the chemical–mineral-
ogical analysis.
RCA composition was determined in accordance with
BS 8500; Part 2 and results obtained were found to be well
within the standard specified limits, Table 1. The natural
aggregates (NA) used were Thames Valley gravel of
16 mm maximum size and sand (<4 mm size medium grad-
ing ‘‘MP’’) to EN 12620. In the first part of the study, RCA
and NA size fractions were examined through X-ray flores-
cence (XRF) spectrometry and X-ray diffractometry
(XRD) techniques to establish the chemical, as well as min-
eralogical, composition of 42.5 N PC used in concrete pro-
duction. For these tests, test samples were prepared by
grinding and obtaining grading suitable for XRD and
XRF analysis.
Major elements (SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MnO, MgO,
CaO, Na2O, K2O, P2O5, in % weight) and Pb, Zn, Ni, Co,
Cr, V (in ppm) were determined by XRF on pressed pow-
der pellets using an ARL Advant-XP spectrometer, follow-
ing the full matrix correction method proposed by

7000
S
RCA 1
6000 RCA 2
RCA 3

5000
Mu/Il=Muscovite/Illite
Fd=Feldspar
4000 S=SiO
2
C=CaCO
Counts

3000

2000 Fd
S
C
S S
Mu/Il S S S S
1000 Mu/Il S S

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
a 2 (angle)

4
2 10
S

RCA 1
NA Sand
NA Coarse
4
1.5 10

S=SiO
2
C=CaCO
3
Fd=Feldspar
4
1 10
Counts

Fd
5000 S

S
S
S S
C S S S

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
b 2 (angle)

Fig. 2. (a). XRD patterns of RCA samples (RCA1, RCA2 and RCA3). (b) XRD patterns for recycled coarse aggregates RCA1 and natural aggregates
(coarse and fine) used in the study.
204 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208
Lachance and Traill (1966). Volatiles were determined as
loss on ignition (LOI) at 1000 °C. The XRD analysis on
the same samples was performed using a Phillips
PW1860/00 diffractometer, with graphite-filtered Cu Ka
radiation (1.54 Å), allowing determination of the mineral-
ogical phases within the constituents. Diffraction patterns
were collected in the 2h angular range 5–50°, with a 5 s/step
(0.02° 2h).
The NA concrete mixes were proportioned following a
conventional BRE mix design method (Teychenne et al.,
1998). These mixes were designed for 75 mm nominal
slump and 20 N/mm2 compressive cube strength at 28-
day, meeting BS EN 206-1 and BS 8500 requirements for
GEN3 designated concrete suitable for blinding, mass fill,
foundations and general applications. RCA concrete mixes
were proportioned using NA and RCA blends with up to
100% coarse RCA, used as direct replacement of coarse
NA. ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma-atomic emis-
sion spectrometry) analysis of the leachate of concrete sam-
ples and their constituent materials was carried out at
Kingston University using a Jobih-Yvoh Horiba Ultima
2c, to determine the release of the most representative sol-
uble ions concerning aggregates and cementitious materials
in accordance with UNI 11087. This required preparation
of 2 g of powder and dilution in 100 ml of distilled water,
followed by storage in sealed beaker and continued agita-
tion for 1 h. Thereafter, the test solution was left to rest
for 24 h and then filtered using medium grade paper before
conducting ICP-AES analysis to assess composition of the
leachate.
3. Results and discussion
The chemical composition obtained using XRF analysis
for PC, RCA obtained from three different sources and
natural aggregates are given in Table 1. Table 2 gives pro-
portions of different materials present in the coarse RCA
selected in this study. Data obtained for natural and recy-
cled concrete aggregates are shown plotted as the ternary
phase diagram for the system CaO–Al2O3–SiO2 in Fig. 1.
Coarse NA was found to be at the top of the triangle,
revealing an almost pure SiO2 composition. In comparison,
fine NA (natural sand) shows a richer composition in CaO.
It also shows a comparable composition with coarse RCA
obtained from three different C&D sources of RCA, with a
richer composition in Al and Ca oxides when compared to
coarse and fine NAs. However, it is important to note sim-
ilar compositions for all of the RCA, showing negligible
influence of original source.
Chemical analysis of the data obtained for RCA pat-
terns (Fig. 2a) shows a predominance of SiO2 peaks, fol-
lowed by minor feldspar and CaCO3 peaks. Although the
XRD technique provides a qualitative analysis, the rela-
tively low height of feldspar and CaCO3 peaks (compared
to SiO2 major peaks) suggests their low contents. The only
mineralogical distinction between RCA samples was iden-
tified in RCA3, as minor peaks of muscovite/illite, indicat-
ing the presence of low content in bricks/ceramics bearing
phyllosilicate phases. This is related to the recycling process
at the stage of removal of bricks and other ceramics present
in the C&D waste. This is confirmed by the results of RCA
constituents shown in Table 2 obtained according to BS
8500, were the content of masonry (bricks/ceramics) is
4–5 times higher for RCA3 when compared to RCA1
and RCA2 samples.
It was decided to compare the mineralogical composi-
tion of RCA 1 and natural coarse and fine aggregates
(Fig. 2b) in order to better define their similarities and dis-
similarities. XRD analyses have shown a clear accordance
between the coarse and fine aggregate patterns, and in turn
compared to RCA 1 pattern it was identified an overall
accordance except for the peaks of feldspar and CaCO3.
It could be hypothesised that the presence of feldspar
may be related to the brick/ceramic content, where this alu-
mino-silicate phase is usually used, or to sands containing
feldspar and used in the original concrete. CaCO3 presence
may directly be related to the original cement paste
adhered on the surface of RCA particles (Dhir et al.,
1999) or due to the carbonation process during service life
within the original concrete.
Having characterised the chemical–mineralogical fea-
tures of the main concrete constituents, it was decided to
produce concrete specimens to undergo the same XRF
chemical analysis. Concrete was produced, according to
EN 206 using these aggregates and complying with BS
8500; Part 1 requirement for RCA. In order to assess the
effect of coarse RCA on chemical composition of
20 N/mm2 concrete, specimens were produced blending
30%, 50% and 100% coarse RCA, as a direct replacement
for natural gravel. For these mixes, relationships between
28-day strength and water/cement ratio were used to estab-
lish the adjustment necessary to w/c ratio to take account
of the effect of RCA content, as described previously (Lim-
bachiya et al., 2000). The w/c ratio of these mixes was
reduced, via increase in cement content, to achieve equal
28-day strength. In order to ensure that representative sam-
ples are being analysed, dust samples taken, by means of
100
28-day design strength = 20 N/mm2
90
80
70 SiO2
Wt (%)
60 0-5 mm
5-10 mm
50
10-15 mm
40 15-20 mm
30
20 CaO
10
Al2O3
0
0 30 50 100
% Coarse RCA
Fig. 3. Effect of coarse RCA content on major oxides within the concrete
at different depths from the finished surface.
 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208 205

0-5 mm 5-10 mm
19.5 21
18.5 19
17.5
CaO (%)

CaO (%)
17
16.5
15.5 15
14.5 13
R2 = 0.48 R2 = 0.99
13.5 11
12.5
9
11.5
10.5 7
9.5 5
64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86
SiO2 (%) SiO2 (%)

10-15 mm 15-20 mm
21 23

19 21
19
17
CaO (%)

CaO (%)
17
15
15
13 R2 = 0.98
R2 = 0.99 13
11
11
9 9
7 7
5 5
65 70 75 80 85 90 65 70 75 80 85 90

SiO2 (%) SiO2 (%)

0-5 mm 5-10 mm
19.5 21.5
18.5
17.5 19.5
16.5 R2 = 0.58
CaO (%)

CaO (%)

17.5 R2 = 0.91
15.5
14.5 15.5
13.5
12.5 13.5
11.5 11.5
10.5
9.5 9.5
1.5 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.3 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Al2O3 (%) Al2O3 (%)

10-15 mm 15-20 mm
21.5 26.5
19.5
21.5
17.5
CaO (%)

CaO (%)

R2 = 0.99 16.5
15.5
R2 = 0.82
13.5 11.5
11.5
6.5
9. 5
7. 5 1.5
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
Al2O3 (%) Al2O3 (%)
R2 = Coefficient of correlation
Fig. 4. Correlations between CaO, Al2O3, SiO2 contents in concrete samples at different depths.

drilling, from three locations and at four different depths SiO2, content was observed, coupled with a slight increase
(0–5, 5–10, 10–15 and 15–20 mm) were selected from each in Al2O3, CaO contents. This behaviour is related to the
concrete type. proportions of the cement constituent used to prepare the
Further analysis of results obtained was focused on the concrete specimen. Observations based on Fig. 3 are fur-
three main oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, CaO), Fig. 3. It was clear ther investigated by establishing the correlation between
that the use of up to 30% coarse RCA, as currently permit- the behaviour of the contents of the three major oxides.
ted within the BS8500, has a negligible effect on SiO2, Results (Fig. 4) revealed that a clear relationship exists
Al2O3, CaO contents, regardless of depth. Increasing the between some of the major oxides contents, highlighting
RCA content to 50% and 100%, a marginal decrease in a negative correlation between Al2O3–SiO2 and SiO2–
206 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208

Concrete 20 N/mm2

Constituent materials: NA Coarse

RCA
100
(a) (d) 1.6
NA Sand
1.4
80
X PC
1.2

MgO %
SiO2 %

60 1.0

0.8
40
0.6

0.4
20
0.2

0 0.0
5.0 9000

8000
(b)
4.0 (e) 7000

Sr (ppm)
6000
Al2O3 %

3.0 5000

4000
2.0
3000

2000
1.0
1000

0.0 0
25 400
350
20 (c) (f)
300

Sr (ppm)
CaO %

250
15
200
10 150
100
5
50
0 0
0 30 50 100 0 30 50 100
% Coarse RCA % Coarse RCA

Fig. 5. Mass balance analysis, referred to 15–20 mm depth samples, for selected major oxide and trace element components.

Table 3
CaO, as well as a positive correlation between Al2O3–CaO.
Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES)
The high correlation factors ranged from 0.82 to 0.99 for water soluble elemental contents (mg/l)
depths greater than 5 mm, providing confidence to the
Main constituents (mg/l)
results. However, at a depth of 0–5 mm, results produced
PC Coarse aggregates Natural
overall low correlation factors, which can be related to
sand
the non uniform surface finishes of concrete. Natural gravel RCA 1 RCA 2 RCA 3
On the whole, XRF results showed that for powder sam- Si 1.01 44.5 16.7 16.6 9.95 9.15
ples obtained from different depths, there was no signifi- Ti 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03
Al 0.34 0.39 0.33 0.36 0.3 0.63
cant variation in oxide contents. Given this, further
Fe 0.01 0.45 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.75
detailed analysis was undertaken on results of test samples Mn – 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02
obtained from a depth of 15–20 mm. In order to establish Mg 0.08 4.38 0.95 0.75 0.81 1.36
the relationship between the bulk composition of concrete Ca 542 7.64 22.6 14.3 25.7 23.2
and proportions of constituents, a mass balance calculation Na 15.7 0.74 2.54 1.56 2.56 2.1
Pb 0.04 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.12
approach was then adopted (Fig. 5). Fig. 5a considers the
Zn – 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
various elements in question as the content of the concrete Ni 0.01 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.04
sample. The behaviour of the SiO2 content of concrete Co 0.01 0.14 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02
(Fig. 5a) shows a decreasing pattern directly related to Cra 0.22 0.05 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.04
the increase of RCA content. On the other hand, Al2O3, V – 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.03 0.02
S 56.8 0.45 7.08 4.81 8.90 1.24
CaO, MgO, Sr, S patterns (Fig. 5b–f) show an increase
Cu 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.04
directly related to the increase of the coarse RCA/NA Sr 2.63 0.03 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.12
ratio, due to the RCA’s richer composition in these oxides. Zr 0.01 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03
As for PC and natural sand, it is clear that they do not Cement limitation for Cr(VI) content is 0.0002% (2 ppm) when hydrated
influence the content of the elements (SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, according to Directive (2003/53/EC).
a
MgO, S, and Sr). Total chromium content detected.
 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208 207

To consider the environmental impact related to ions It is important to note that the Cr listed in Table 3 is
leaching from cement-based products, ICP-AES analysis the total chromium content detected. Given the limit on
of leaching solutions was performed on all of the main con- Chrome VI in cement within the draft new EU legisla-
stituents and the concrete samples tested. The pH of the tion, the amount of RCA allowed for use in concrete pro-
leachates ranged between 10.4 and 11.2, remaining alkaline duction may be restricted in the future based on this. In
throughout the testing. In comparison of coarse NA and order to assess the leachability of the elements in solid
RCAs results (Table 3), it was clearly identified that the form, the content of selected elements in the solid
higher Ca release of the RCAs was attributed to portlan- (XRF results) were compared with contents of the same
dite content, and therefore to a greater content of soluble elements in the eluates (Fig. 6). The results highlight that
Ca, associated to the cement paste present. As for the finer ion leachability is related to the chemical composition of
fraction aggregate (natural sand), the high content of solu- the solid as shown from the positive correlations
ble Ca is related to the presence of Ca carbonate minerals. discussed.

4.0 4.5
4.0
3.5
3.5

Al2O3 (%)
3.0 3.0
Al2O3 (%)

2.5
2.5 R2 = 0.8699
R2 = 0.802
2.0
2.0 1.5
1.0
1.5
0.5
1.0 0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0
Al (ppm) Al (ppm)

4500 5000
4500
4000
4000
S (ppm)

3500 3500
S (ppm)

R2 = 0.9857 3000
3000 R2 = 0.9742
2500
2500
2000
2000 1500
1500 1000
4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0

S (ppm) S (ppm)

20 21
19 19
18
17
CaO (%)

CaO (%)

17
16 15
15 13 R2 = 0.5696
14 R2 = 0.7559
11
13
9
12
11 7
10 5
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Ca (ppm) Ca (ppm)

90 90

85
85
80
SiO2 (%)

SiO2 (%)

R2 =0.9495
80
75 R2 = 0.9843
75
70

65 70

60 65
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Si (ppm) Si (ppm)

Fig. 6. Correlations of selected elements in solid samples (Y axis) obtained through XRF analysis and ion concentration in the eluates (X axis) obtained
using ICP-AES technique.
208 M.C. Limbachiya et al. / Waste Management 27 (2007) 201–208
Although XRF and ICP-AES techniques are well estab-
lished and valid methods in the study of earth materials,
their use in the characterisation of concrete constituents
has not been fully exploited yet. The results of this investi-
gation and reported correlations clearly suggest that the
reported methodologies are useful in characterising con-
crete and its constituents, and can provide much needed
technical information in predicting its likely performance.
Moreover, such data can help in determining water soluble
contents of various chemical elements of concrete constitu-
ents and prove that their contributions are within the rec-
ommended limits set by the British, European and many
other concrete standards.
4. Conclusions and practical implications
This study shows that commercially produced coarse
RCA has chemical and mineralogical characteristics suit-
able for use in new concrete production, and therefore help
to reduce inhibition of some consulting engineers towards
specifying this material in a range of concrete applications.
Results also indicate that for coarse RCA samples obtained
by crushing C&D debris from different sites, there was no
significant variation in these characteristics, indicating no
significant effect if adequate quality control criteria during
RCA production are being adopted.
Clearly, this information could encourage demolition
contractors to direct demolished debris for production of
RCA for use in new concrete, whilst reducing disposal to
landfill. Furthermore, this is of importance to aggregate
suppliers and concrete producers who wish to produce
RCA and supply RCA concrete, and may draw recycled
aggregate from different sources. On the whole, X-ray dif-
fraction (XRD) analysis results indicated the presence of
calcite, portlandite and minor peaks of muscovite/illite in
recycled aggregates, although they were directly propor-
tioned to their original composition.
Test results also show that up to 30% coarse RCA (when
used as direct replacement of natural gravel) has no influ-
ence on the main three oxides (SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO) of
concrete, but thereafter there is a marginal reduction in
SiO2 and increase in Al2O3 and CaO contents with increase
in RCA content, reflecting the composition of the original
material. Similar trends were observed in concrete pro-
duced using RCA samples obtained from three different
C&D sources. Moreover, a comparison between XRF
chemical and ICP-AE analysis of eluates of concrete sam-
ples revealed a direct correlation between chemical compo-
sition of solids and ion leachability. This highlights the
importance of a correct characterisation of leaching behav-
iours of these new materials.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the Day Group Ltd. for par-
tial funding the work reported and supplying recycled
aggregates. The technical advice and support received from
Dr. Renzo Tassinari (for XRF/XRD analysis) at the Earth
Sciences Department of Ferrara University and Mr. Simon
DeMars (for ICP- AES analysis) at the Faculty of Science
of Kingston University is gratefully acknowledged.
References
British Standard Institution, BS EN 197-1, 2000. Cement-composition,
specification and conformity criteria for common cements, London.
British Standard Institution, BS 8500, 2002. Part 2 – Specification for
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