Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Architectural technologies for life environment: Spent coffee ground reuse

in lime-based mortars. A preliminary assessment for innovative green
thermo-plasters
Manfredi Saeli a, *, Marinélia N. Capela b, Tiziana Campisi a, M. Paula Seabra b,
David M. Tobaldi c, C. Manuela La Fata d
a
Department of Architecture, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Bld 8-14, 90128 Palermo, Italy
b
Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering and CICECO–Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
c
CNR NANOTEC, Institute of Nanotechnology, Campus Ecoteckne, Lecce, Italy
d
Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Bld 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Spent coffee ground, the residue obtained from the brewing process, is the primary unavoidable (inedible) waste
Thermo-plaster from the coffee consumption. As coffee production and beverage consumption are increasing worldwide, a more
Bio-composite mortar sustainable waste management is required since the usual disposal in landfill is a liability to both humans and the
Spent coffee ground recycling
environment. This paper is aimed at showing a possible alternative reuse of coffee ground wastes in novel green
Circular economy
Multi-criteria analysis
building materials intended for thermo-plastering applications in construction, in a circular economy context.
Building energy efficiency Coffee waste was used in various percentages (up to 17.5%) to assess the engineering performance of the pro­
Virtual energy simulation duced bio-composite mortars. The main results showed that just a little amount of coffee waste determines a bulk
density decrease up to 15.4% (making the products comparable to a structural lightweight conglomerate or a
light plastering mortar), an extensive drop in mechanical performance (still maintaining acceptable values for
the considered plastering application) and in thermal conductivity (up to 47%). Moreover, a multi-criteria
analysis, not only able to consider the materials performance, but also aspects related to the environmental
impact and the economic drawback, has been implemented resulting that the preferable mix would contain 10%
waste. Finally, preparatory virtual energy simulations were implemented to analyse the performance of that mix
in a simplified architectural model, revealing a sufficient energy improvement and a more efficacy in cold cli­
mates. All considering, coffee waste can be effectively reused to manufacture green bio-composite thermo-
plasters with adequate energy performance considering the main requirements of a building application.

1. Introduction constructive processing, and buildings maintenance [6–8]. Moreover,

It is worldwide acknowledged that the present industrial system is
highly unsustainable. Increasing depletion of non-renewable resources,
alarming pollution, and important climate changes have reached a
critical level [1]. With such premises, the Agenda 2030 [2,3] indicates a
viable path for a global approach that could consider economic, social
and environmental aspects leading to a real sustainable development
[4,5].
Among the industrial sectors, construction is particularly worrying
being extremely unsustainable in terms of materials manufacturing,
the construction sector is responsible for abundant CO2 emissions [9],
and yearly generates an enormous quantity of wastes of various nature
whose treatment and disposal cause many concerns and a huge energy
waste that is projected to increase by 70% by 2050 [10]. For example, in
the USA buildings account for 70% of the electricity use, and a com­
parable share of CO2 emissions [11]. Besides, if we focus on the Euro­
pean context only, about the 75% of the building stock is not energy
efficient and is predicted that the most of it will be still in use up to 2050
[12–14]. Therefore, construction requires to evolve into a greener di­
rection, by combining energy efficiency and demand flexibility. In this

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: manfredi.saeli@unipa.it (M. Saeli), marinelia.capela@ua.pt (M.N. Capela), tiziana.campisi@unipa.it (T. Campisi), pseabra@ua.pt (M. Paula
Seabra), david.tobaldi@nanotec.cnr.it (D.M. Tobaldi), concettamanuela.lafata@unipa.it (C.M. La Fata).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.126079
Received 9 October 2021; Received in revised form 22 November 2021; Accepted 8 December 2021
Available online 16 December 2021
0950-0618/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Saeli et al.
scenario, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive [15,16] is
pressing for buildings to be nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEB) from
2019 for public buildings and from 2021 for all the new ones [17]. Only
following implemented green solutions, buildings can be remade into a
clean and flexible resource, also contributing in making the whole so­
ciety more sustainable [18].
Research & Development of innovative green materials and pro­
cesses, along with outlining more effective buildings’ life cycles to the
end-of-life, is one of the most attractive way to recover the present sit­
uation, following up the so-called circular economy [19,20]. In this re­
gard, the development of innovative construction and building
materials, more ecological and harmless for the environment as well as
able to improve the building performance are strongly required [21–23].
With this in mind, an alternative way to valorise and reuse organic
wastes from domestic origin was investigated to manufacture greener
materials for innovative products to be used in architecture [24]. In this
regard, spent coffee ground (SCG), deriving from an Italian coffee ma­
chine, found here a novel way to be valorised and reused.
Coffee is probably the most drunk beverage worldwide, in all the
various forms. It was estimated that in 2021 coffee-based beverage
consumption will account about 9,978 million kg [25]. Consequently,
tons of generated coffee wastes are sent to landfill contributing to a
global waste problem that was estimated in an economic loss of $1.5
trillion globally by 2030 [26]. Among the number of the coffee wastes,
SCG are mainly generated from the brewing process and the soluble
coffee industry [27,28]. [29] reported that the yearly SCG production is
around 6 million tons worldwide. That generates a great environmental
concern as SCG are usually sent to landfills generating an excessive
emission of methane and CO2 along with toxic compounds, and a high
risk of spontaneous combustion [30–33].
In such global scenario, in view of the circular economy approach,
many industries started to adapt their development model into reusing
waste resources, like SCGs, to manufacture more sustainable materials
and products [34–39], being understood that there is always the ne­
cessity of preliminary testing and processing before turning a waste into
a real resource. Construction is one of those industrial sectors under­
taking huge efforts to develop more sustainable construction and
building materials and improve the building performance.
SCG is reported to have some interesting applications in civil engi­
neering being its particles as granular as sand, that is one of the most
used aggregates [40], as a filler compound [41], or as asphalt binder
[42]. SCG were also tested in architecture and construction [43] finding
many suitable applications such as clay substitution in brick
manufacturing [44,45], in sound-absorbing panels [46], or fiber-
reinforced bio-composite panels [47]. Finally, in [48] SCG found an
application as insulating additive in gypsum-based plasters, but limiting
the incorporation to 6% and focusing on the materials’ thermal prop­
erties only.
This study is aimed at analysing an additional opportunity of reusing
SCG in the manufacture of novel bio-based building materials, intended
for thermo-plastering applications in construction, by proposing an
alternative potential reverse flow as preliminary demonstrated by [49].
Here, specimens were obtained by incorporating into a Natural Hy­
draulic Lime (NHL)-based mortar various amounts of SCG in substitu­
tion to the aggregate. This study provides a further step in the scientific
and technical knowledge of such interesting and effecting technology
that might deeply improve the construction attitude towards the envi­
ronment. At the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that
a full engineering characterisation of the produced SCG-based products,
specifically intended for applications in architecture, is implemented.
Moreover, a greater quantity (up to 17.5%) of SCG is reused making the
developed bio-mortars more sustainable and effective than the previous
studies. In addition, for the first time a multi-criteria approach is
implemented on such building materials in order to evaluate the best
formulation, intended for the desired application, basing on a series of
weighted criteria. Finally, virtual energy modelling is proposed to
2
Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079
understand the real behaviour of a building model where the developed
SCG-based mortars are applied in the architectural envelope.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Raw materials
In this study, the bio-composite mortar was prepared using com­
mercial raw materials and the SCG as a promising green bio-waste
source in innovative architectural applications.
The used NHL, branded Axton NHL 3.5 by RENOLIT TechnoImac
spa, is CE marked in compliance with the standard UNI EN 15368:2010
and EN 998-2:2016. This NHL product was chosen at this stage not only
to predict applications in contemporary buildings but also in restora­
tion/rehabilitation cases where cementitious materials should be avoi­
ded. The principal NHL features are listed in Table 1.
The used sand, a commercial natural siliceous product by Sabbie di
Parma S.r.l., is CE marked in compliance with the standard UNI EN
13139:2003 and presents a calibrated granulometry of 0.1–4 mm,
suitable for plastering layers. The packed sand presented a moisture
content of about 12 wt% so, to avoid compromising the designed water/
binder ratio, prior to usage it was dried in a conventional oven at 60 ◦ C
for 24 h and subsequently cooled down to room temperature.
In this study, drinkable water from the municipal aqueduct was used,
being clear, pure and free of harmful substances, as ruled by the stan­
dard UNI EN 1008:2003.
A universal ecological releasing agent CS Distak by Gattocel Italia S.
p.A., an emulsion based on resins of natural origin, was used to lubricate
the moulds surfaces and prevent the adhesion of the material, facili­
tating the extraction of the specimens upon dismantling.
2.2. Spent coffee ground
The used SCG was collected as a domestic waste deriving from an
ordinary moka Italian coffee machine and naturally dried to avoid molds
onset that could compromise the integrity of the organic matter. The
residual 8 wt% natural moisture content was further eliminated by
drying SCG in a conventional oven at 60 ◦ C for 24 h; finally, the powder
was grounded in a mortar to dissolve lumps. The used SCGs particle size
distribution was measured by laser diffraction (Coulter LS230 analyser,
Fraunhofer method and Polarisation Intensity Differential Scattering)
and is presented in Fig. 1; the median particle dimension resulted 243.7
µm. Based on the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET), the SCGs
surface area resulted 6.1268 m2/g. The density of the dried particle was
0.4 g/cm3 and, compared to the density of lightweight aggregates, SGCs
might be exploited in lightweight concrete production with unit weight
less than 1,900 kg/m3 [50]. In Fig. 2 the micro-morphological features
were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using a
Hitachi analytical FE-SEM SU-70. SEM reveals a corrugated surface with
jagged and crumpled particles and an overall porous structure.
The SCG chemical composition (major compounds and oxides) as
evaluated by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) using a Panalytical Axios spec­
trometer is presented in Table 2. The SCG mineralogical composition
was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD patterns were collected
at room temperature on samples that were gently grounded and sieved
Table 1
Technical data of Axton NHL 3.5.
Property Value
Colour Light grey powder
Setting time - start ≥2h
Setting time - end ≤ 15 h
Volume stability ≥ 10 mm
Thiness ≤ 2% (m/m)
Water retention ≥ 80% (m/m)
Compressive resistance at 28 days >10 MPa
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

poured into the mixer bowl, the equipment was activated and the

Table 2
Used SCG chemical composition evaluated by XRF.
Major oxides wt.% Major compounds wt.%

CaO 48.81 Ca 34.72

K2O 19.33 O 32.10
SO3 9.97 K 15.84
P2O5 9.35 S 4.08
Fe2O3 4.61 P 4.05
SiO2 1.87 Fe 3.55
CuO 1.58 Cu 0.96
Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of sand (A - red) and SCG (B - blue). (For MnO 1.22 Mn 0.95
MgO 0.84 Si 0.90
interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is
PdO 0.71 Pd 0.56
referred to the web version of this article.) Al2O3 0.67 Cl 0.51
NiO 0.59 Ni 0.50
under 60 µm, and placed on a zero-background sample holder. The used Na2O 0.23 Mg 0.45
ZnO 0.22 Al 0.40
instrument was a θ/θ diffractometer (PANalytical X’Pert Pro, NL),
LOI: 250 ◦ C = 5.94%; 350 ◦ C = 75.64%
equipped with a fast RTMS detector (PIXcel 1D, PANalytical), with Cu
Kα radiation (45 kV and 40 mA, 20–80 ◦ 2θ range, with a virtual step scan
of 0.02 ◦ 2θ, and virtual time per step of 200 s). This is displayed in Fig. 3.
From XRF analysis, K and Ca are the majority elements in SCG, consis­
tent with what has been found in [51]. Presence of other elements like P,
S, Mg, Si, is also expected, as it has been reported in other works [26].
However, the presence of minority element, like Pd has a not straight­
forward explanation. SCG is known to contain various organic com­
pounds: fatty acids, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and other
polysaccharides [52]. Amid polysaccharides, cellulose is the most
abundant of them in SCG [53]. This is revealed in the XRD pattern, as the
reflections of cellulose are visible as reported in [54].

2.3. Mortars mix design

In this study, NHL mortars were manufactured, by following the

aggregate substitution strategy, with various quantities of SCG and Fig. 3. XRD pattern of the used SCG – log-normal scale. The vertical bars are
implementing the substitution rate up to slurry unworkability. Mix the XRD reflections of cellulose (ICDD PDF card n. 00–003-0226).
design was prepared as ruled by the Italian technical norm D.M. 17–01-
2018 and in accordance with EN 998–2:2016 as follows: 1 part of binder,
3 parts of aggregate, 1 part of water (volumetric parts). SCG was added Table 3
by substituting the sand in volume %, with a step of 2.5 V%, to assess the Mix design (volumetric parts) of the produced bio-composite mortars.
influence of the waste addition to the mortars’ features. Seven different Mix design (V.%)
bio-composite mortar formulations were produced according to the n. substitution V.% NHL Aggregate Water
greatest possible SCG substitution, as listed in Table 3, and compared to
Sand SCG
the unmodified reference mortar (n.1, 0 - ref.). The produced specimens’
picture is presented in Fig. 4. 1 0 – ref. 1 3 0 1
2 2.5 1 2.93 0.07 1
3 5.0 1 2.85 0.15 1
2.4. Processing details 4 7.5 1 2.78 0.22 1
5 10.0 1 2.70 0.30 1
6 12.5 1 2.63 0.37 1
The testing specimens were produced according to EN 196–1:2016. 7 15.0 1 2.55 0.45 1
The mixing process was performed using a programmable automatic 8 17.5 1 2.48 0.52 1
mixer Automix mod. 65-L0006/AM by Controls. Once the water was

Fig. 2. Micrograph images of used SCG (from left: 30X, 100X, 500X).

3
M. Saeli et al.
Fig. 4. Image of the produced specimens with SCG relative quantities labelled.
constituents of the mix design gradually added. During the first 30 s NHL
is poured into the loading hopper, immediately followed by the sand,
previously mixed with the SCG, in the next 30 s. In this phase the mixer
rotated at 140 rpm. Subsequently, the mixing speed was increased to
285 rpm for 30 s and then stopped for 90 s to make the slurry rest and the
water perfectly absorbed by the NHL particles. The last 60 s the mixer
started again at the maximum speed of 285 rpm up to completion of the
procedure. This mixing scheduled was in compliance with the
mentioned standard, and is schematised in Table 4.
Following the UNI EN 1015–11:2019, the prepared slurry was
poured into the standard metallic moulds (40x40x160 mm), previously
treated with the releasing agent, and settled with 25 S of a pestle, to well
distribute uniformly the material and avoid the formation of voids that
could negatively influence the specimens testing. Furthermore, to
ensure uniformity slight vibrations were carried out manually for each
filled mould. Finally, the mortar in excess was removed with the aid of a
metallic spatula, leaving the upper surface of the specimens flat, smooth,
and levelled to the upper edge of the mould. The followed
manufacturing process is simple, reproducible and was completely
performed at environmental conditions (20 ± 2 ◦ C, 65 % RH) making the
process highly sustainable.
Following the same standard UNI EN 1015–11:2019, the curing
phase took place at a constant environmental temperature and included
three phases. For the first 2 days, specimens were kept inside the mould,
hermetically sealed inside plastic bags to keep them at 95 ± 5 % RH.
Subsequently, they were extracted from the moulds and kept closed
inside the same bags for the next five days to maintain constant the RH.
Finally, the samples were extracted from the bags and cured at ambient
conditions until testing (28th day).
2.5. Bio-composite mortars characterization
The consistency (spread) of the fresh mortars was estimated by flow
table test following the standard EN 1015–3:2007. An automatic flow
table mod. L0037/E by Controls was used.
Hardened specimens were characterised after 28 days of curing. The
apparent density was calculated by measuring the samples’ weight and
volume. Three specimens were used, and the arithmetic mean value was
presented. The morphology and microstructure were investigated,
respectively, by optical microscopy, using a Leica EZ4HD, and by SEM,
using a Hitachi analytical FE-SEM SU-70. The colour coordinates were
measured by a portable colourimeter Konica Minolta Chroma Meter CR-
400 using DCilluminant and 10◦ standard observer (L*: 94.0, a*: 0.3130,
b*: 0.3191) according to the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage
Table 4
Mixing schedule in time according to EN 196–1: 2016.
Operation Sand feeding
mixing 285 rpm
mixing 140 rpm
Stop
TimeCount down 0240 30210 60180
4
Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079
(CIE).
The watery behaviour was determined according to EN
1015–18:2004: the average water absorption, ΔP/P %, the coefficient of
sorptivity and the coefficient of capillary were calculated on three rep­
licas for each test once specimens had been dried to constant mass at 60
◦
C in a conventional oven. The absorption index is defined as the 65% of
the mass increase caused by water absorption (for common mortars,
different from restoration ones). Each value derives from the average
between three tests conducted on specimens dried for 24 h in a con­
ventional oven set at 60 ◦ C.
The mechanical performance was determined according to EN
1015–1:20191 and EN 196–1:2016 using a universal testing machine
Shimadzu mod. AG-25TA. The bending resistance (BR) was evaluated by
3 points bending test using a 20 kN load cell, running at 0.5 mm/min
displacement rate and supports spaced 100 mm; the uniaxial compres­
sive strength (UCS) was evaluated using a 250 kN load cell, running at
0.5 mm/min displacement rate. For both the tests, the mean values were
obtained from three tests randomly taken from the sample batch.
The thermal conductivity was estimated following the UNI EN
12667:2002 using an HFM-CT 1000 calorimeter equipped with two
horizontal plates placed in contact with the sample surfaces heated at
55 ◦ C the lower plate, and 40 ◦ C the upper one. The sensors detected the
heat flow that crosses the sample; DASYLab 13.0 Net software by Mea­
surement Computing Corporation returned the λ value.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Mortars characterisation
Evaluating the fresh mortars consistency helps in predicting the
materials qualities once set [55]. For the considered plastering appli­
cation, a spread ranging 18–22 cm guarantees a good material work­
ability with suitable compaction and homogeneity [56] (cfr. section 4).
However, consistency can be modified by adding chemicals, but their
use is here avoided to make more evident the SCG influence on the
produced material.
Pictures of the flow table tests and spread values of the tested for­
mulations are presented in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6A, respectively. As it is
observed, from an initial value of 21 cm the spread constantly decreases
to the value of 18.5 cm for the 10% SCG; subsequently, for higher SCG
addition, the decrease rate fasters up to the ultimate value of 10 cm
(limit of workability) for the 17.5% SCG. It is evident that, in any case,
the influence of the increasing SCG addition causes a decrease of the
slurry workability. That is due to some concurrent reasons: first of all,
the SCG thin particles tend to occupy the materials voids thus progres­
sively decreasing the relative particles’ mobility, thus the fluidity of the
material; secondly, due to the organic hygroscopic nature, the SCG
subtracts water from the system. The 15% and 17.5% formulations show
a very little workability generating some concerns in their proper
applicability in real situations without taking measures to improve the
slurry fluidity (i.e. plasticisers).
Fig. 6B shows the bulk density of the hardened (28th day) specimens.
For plastering applications with improved energy features, a lighter
material is preferable for its insulating properties (cfr. section 4). As
expected, increasing the waste amount reduces the bulk density up to a
12.5% addition of SCG. More particularly, it is observed that adding just
a few SCG quantity (2.5% only), there is a drop in the bulk density of
90150 120120 15090 18060 21030 2400
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

Fig. 5. Flow table test photographs of the produced formulations.

Fig. 6. Produced bio-mortars spread value (A) and bulk density (B).

about 11%; subsequently, still maintaining the decreasing behaviour,
the trend is minor for the sequent formulations up to the 12.5% one
(resulting in a drop of 15.4%). Finally, the bulk density increases for the
last two specimens. It is intuitive that, the growing substitution of the
heavier sand with the lighter SCG diminishes the density; the behaviour
of the last two formulations is explainable by analysing their low
workability that generated repercussions on the specimens’ conforma­
tion. That, once again, might be easily solved by using plasticisers.
The morphology and the microstructure of the produced specimens
are shown in Fig. 7. It is observed that increasing the SCG the specimens
surface became rougher, and the structure denser and more compact,
due to the highly thin SCG particles that tend to occupy the voids.
Analogously, the specimens’ colour becomes darker according to the
increasing amount of the dark brown SCG (cfr. Fig. 4). Colour, while
considered secondary in a material physical characterisation, is
extremely important in architecture as it may prevent a real use. Obvi­
ously, it might be stressed that it deeply depends on the specific appli­
cation: highly sensible is the plastering and finishing uses that contribute
in determining the building formal appearance. On the other hand, if the
considered layer must be coated (for any reasons such as technological
or protective motivations, that could be the case) the colour assumes a
secondary aspect as it will never contributes in the formal aspect of the
building. In this study, the impact of SCG in the specimens’ visual
change in colour is reported in Table 5 (CIEL*a*b* colour coordinates)

Fig. 7. Imaging of the reference material (0%) and the modified SCG-based specimens with 5, 10 and 15% waste quantity. Top row: morphology (scale bar 2 mm);
Bottom row: microstructure (scale bar 750 µm).

5
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

and Fig. 8 (chromaticity diagram). It is seen that increasing the SCG

amount in the lime-based mortar led to a decrease in the L* colour co­
ordinate (i.e. a decrease in lightness of the specimens), together with an
increase of a* (more “reddish” colour), and a stronger increase in b*
(more “yellowish” colour) chromatic channels. This trend is better dis­
played in the chromaticity diagram (Fig. 8). Finally, sRGB colour space
values, as displayed on screen, are reported in the last column of Table 5.
It has to be stressed that Microsoft Word does not support the subtractive
colour model CMYK. This is the reason why the visual rendering re­
ported here is based on RGB colour space, which is an additive colour
space, extracted by means of Colour Python package.
Analogously, the specimens’ behaviour towards water strictly de­
pends to the SCG quantity. The water absorption by full immersion, and
the relative indexes, are shown in Fig. 9A, the coefficient of capillary in
Fig. 9B. More particularly, an opposite trend is observed for the two
tests. The water sorptivity by full immersion tends to increase with the
SCG amount, and consequent reversal decrease of the sand. The SCG is
an organic material prone to absorb water – on the opposite sand does
not – thus, the specimens’ overall absorption is only due to the SCG
amount. In reality the binder also is responsible of some absorption but,
as it was invariant in quantity, it does not affect the characterisation.
Fig. 8. Chromaticity diagram of prepared specimens. The black arrow is a
Consequently, increasing the SCG quantity, the mortar becomes more
guide-for-the-eye, pointing to the evolution of the x,y chromaticity coordinates
attractive to water. Opposite is the capillary action that tends to with the increase in SCG amount in the specimens.
decrease with increasing the SCG amount. As it is well known, the
phenomenon strictly depends on the interconnected porosity and, as it
walls (cfr. section 4). The observed specimens’ behaviour is in line with
was observed, the SCG occupies the voids in the matrix, therefore
the real foreseen application. Plasters are usually not subjected to full
occluding the interconnections. A consequent lower coefficient of
immersion neither prolonged contact with water; capillary, conversely,
capillary was observed. As a general concept, plastering materials might
might influence the building finishing durability, especially at the
absorb the less water as possible, still granting transpiration through the
basement, so a greater attention must be put on it.

Table 5 3.2. Mechanical performance

Colour specifications CIEL*a*b* and extracted sRGB colour space.
Specimen L* a* b* sRGB colour spacedisplayed on screen The specimens’ mechanical performance was assessed at 28 days of
0 - ref 76.64 − 0.57 3.73
curing: BR is presented in Fig. 10A, UCS in Fig. 10B. As a general trend, it
is observed that increasing the SCG amount, the mechanical perfor­
mance decreases. More particularly, adding 2.5% SCG the BR increases
of about the 15% compared to the un-modified material, while the 5%
2.5 % 70.21 − 0.48 5.47 formulation recovers the initial loss. Subsequently, from the 7.5% of
SCG the resistance becomes very low, assuming values less then 1 MPa
(40–65% less of the reference formulation). Similar observations could
be done for the UCS. The first two SCG-based mixes lose about 9.5% and
5% 69.43 − 0.16 7.02 12% respectively. Subsequently, the mortars UCS becomes very low,
basically under 1 MPa. It is intuitive that the addition of SCG, in sub­
stitution of the sand, decreases the general mechanical resistance. Sand
is much more consistent against loads, determining the skeleton of the
7.5 % 67.88 1.10 9.05 material itself. Consequently, decreasing the sand quantity, or reversely
improving the SCG, both BR and UCS tend to reduce. Moreover, the
coffee particles are more compressible than the sand’s ones, contrib­
uting in lower resistances.
10 % 63.21 1.60 9.90 In any case, all the produced specimens seem suitable for plastering
applications (cfr. section 4) presenting acceptable mechanical resis­
tance. Indeed, a plaster does not need to resist high external loads.
Moreover, according to EN 998–2:2016 and the D.M. 17–01-2018, for­
12.5 % 58.54 2.75 12.57 mulations with 2.5% and 5% SCG are also suitable for masonry appli­
cations, being class of resistance M 2.5.

3.3. Specimens’ energy performance

15 % 51.49 2.03 11.45

The produced materials’ energy performance is here quantified by

means of the thermal conductivity (λ). Furthermore, especially for
plastering and/or finishing applications, as proposed in this study, λ is
17.5 % 49.40 2.13 11.45
fundamental to assess the energy performance of a whole building.
Indeed, all the envelope’s technological layers (wall, finishing and other
technical elements) are responsible for the heat flow activated between
the outdoor environment and the conditioned indoor spaces (i.e. in a

6
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

Fig. 9. Behaviour towards water of the produced bio-mortars: water absorption and relative index (A), coefficient of capillary (B).

Fig. 10. Mechanical performance of the produced bio-mortars: BR (A); UCS (B).

cold winter day, between the cold outdoor and the warm indoor). This
means that being aware of the thermal characteristics of the used ma­
terials, the overall building energy behaviour can be predicted (cfr. par.
5). In a certain way, it could be stated that the thermal conductivity
returns a material ability to conduct heat: the lower thermal conduc­
tivity, the lower heat transfer rate through a material, quantified in
terms of heat flux per unit area. Thus, in a building scenario, as the one
considered in this paper, a material intended for thermo-plastering
application requires the lower λ values in order to transmit the fewer
thermal loads as possible (cfr. section 4). In turn, it means the possibility
to design a more performing insulation for the inner environments and,
more generally, improve the overall building energy performance. That
will be further discussed in par. 5 where virtual energy simulations are
implemented on a building model.
The produced mortars were tested using the heat flow meter Fig. 11. Tested bio-mortars thermal conductivity.
(following the UNI EN 12667:2002 using an HFM-CT 1000 calorimeter,
cfr. paragraph 2.5). Tests consisted in determining the relationship be­ out the most suitable mix(es) intended for the desired thermo-plastering
tween the heat flow and the temperature gradient that causes a heat application. Under the multi-criteria perspective, alternatives to be
passage through the testing material. Tests were carried out on three ranked are the bio-composite mortars, while parameters used to their
40x40x40 mm specimens for each formulation, cured for 28 days, that characterisation (i.e. spread, bulk density, etc.) represent the decision
were previously dried in a conventional oven at a temperature of 60 ◦ C criteria. Besides the ones fully investigated so far, a further criterion
for 24 h to eliminate the internal moisture that could alter the results. related to the sustainability was added. In this context, sustainability is
Fig. 11 presents the measured thermal conductivity. It is observed that intended as the greenery contribution to the reference NHL-mortar. In
the λ value constantly decreases by improving the SGC amount up to the other words, adding SCG reduces sand usage and helps in saving natural
10% SCG-based formulation. Even the fewest SCG addition (2.5%) resources. Moreover, SCG waste reuse prevents its disposal in landfill,
consequents a λ reduction of about 7%; the 10% mix show a 47% with a positive impact on the environmental pollution, and determines a
decrease, with a λ equal to 0.306 W/mK. That is the lowest obtained λ financial saving in the waste treatment.
value in this study. The following formulation (12.5%) shows a similar In the context of the present paper, the criteria relative importance (i.
value while an opposite trend is shown from the last two formulations e. weight) was evaluated by the Best Worst Method (BWM) [57],
whose λ increases (in any case, about a final 30% decrease is calculated whereas the final ranking of formulations was obtained by the Tech­
from the initial reference value). That is in line with the bulk density nique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS)
behaviour (cfr. Fig. 6B). [58,59]. The hierarchical decomposition of the decision problem to deal
with is reported in Fig. 12.
4. Multi-criteria approach to prioritise NHL-mortars

After the characterisation phase, the produced samples were

explored by a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach to find

7
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

4.1. Best worst method and bio-composite ranking by TOPSIS Table 6

Nine-point evaluation scale.
Proposed by [57], the BWM is a subjective weighting method to Intensity of preference Definition
compute the relative importance of decision criteria. As the Analytic
1 Equal
Hierarchy Process (AHP) [60], it is based on pairwise comparisons. 3 Moderate
However, BWM has been lately preferred to AHP because it is time 5 Strong
saving and it assures several benefits over the AHP [57,61–63]. First, 7 Very strong
BWM requires a smaller number of pairwise comparison judgements 9 Extreme
2, 4, 6, 8 Intermediate values
than AHP. Thus, its performance in preserving the consistency of pair­
wise comparisons is better than AHP. In addition, the evaluation process
is simplified since comparisons are simply expressed on a nine-point
wj ⩾0 ∀j (5)
scale rather than the 1/9–9 scale used by AHP. BWM is implemented
as follows. As emphasised in [57,61], the model (3)-(5) may return multiple
a) Identify the set C = (C1, C2,…,Cn) of decision criteria to be optimal solutions for not-fully consistent problems with more than three
weighed. criteria. Aiming to find out a single optimal solution, the model (3)-(5)
b) Identify the best (e.g. most desirable, most important) and worst may be linearly reformulated as follows [61] (Eqs. 6–10).
(e.g. least desirable, least important) criteria. Let B and W be the best
minξ (6)
and worst criteria respectively.
c) Determine the Best-to-Others vector (BO) by pairwise comparing s.t.
the best criterion B overall the other criteria using the nine-point scale of ⃒ ⃒
Table 6. Let aBj indicate the preference of the best criterion B against the
⃒wB − wj ⋅aBj ⃒⩽ξ ∀j (7)
criterion j|j ∈ C. Considering that aBB = 1, the resulting BO vector may ⃒ ⃒
be expressed as follows (Eq. (1)).
⃒wj − wjW ⋅ajW ⃒⩽ξ ∀j (8)
∑
BO = (aB1 , aB2 , ..., aBn ) (1) wj = 1 (9)
d) Determine the Others-to-Worst vector (i.e. OW) by pairwise
j

comparing all criteria over the worst criterion W using the nine-point
wj ⩾0 ∀j (10)
scale of Table 6. Let ajW indicate the preference of the criterion j|j ∈ C
against the worst one W. Taking into account that aWW = 1 and aWB = For the model (6)-(10), ξ represents a measure of consistency. The
aBW , the resulting OW vector may be expressed as follows (Eq. (2)). closer ξ to zero, the higher the level of consistency of pairwise
comparisons.
OW = (a1W , a2W , ..., anW ) (2)
In the context of the present paper, the thermal conductivity was
e) Derive the weights of criteria (w1 , w2 , ..., wn ). For every pair of wB/ identified as the best criterion (B) whereas the BR as the worst one (W).
wj and wj/wW, the optimal weights vector is the one that satisfies wB/wj Afterwards, the Delphi technique [64] was used to reach the agreement
= aBj and wj/wW = ajW. Therefore, the satisfaction of these conditions for among the experts in the field involved to express the pairwise com­
the whole set of criteria leads to the optimization model (3)-(5). parison judgements (cfr. Table 6) between criteria. The resulting BO and
{⃒ ⃒ ⃒ ⃒} OW vectors are synthetised in Table 7. By solving the model (6)-(10)
⃒wB ⃒ ⃒ wj ⃒
minmax ⃒⃒ − aBj ⃒⃒, ⃒⃒ − ajW ⃒⃒ (3) using the software LINGO® by Lindo Systems Inc., the weights of criteria
j wj wW were obtained (Table 8).
s.t. After the implementation of BWM, TOPSIS was used to rank mortars.
∑ In this regard, let rij represent the rating of the alternative i|i=(1, 2,…,
wj = 1 (4) m) against the criterion j|j ∈ C. Therefore, let R = [rij] is the decision
j
matrix - constituted by m rows and n columns – synthetising the

Fig. 12. Hierarchical decomposition of the decision problem.

8
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

Table 7
Best-to-Others and Others-to-Worst vectors.
Criteria
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8

Spread Bulk Bending Compressive Absorption Capillary Thermal Sustainability

Density Resistance Strength Index Coefficient Conductivity
BO (C7) 3 2 8 8 7 5 1 3
OW 5 8 1 1 4 6 8 8
(C3)

Table 8
Criteria weights vector.
w1 w2 w3 w4 w5 w6 w7 w8

0.13431 0.20147 0.02798 0.05037 0.05756 0.08059 0.31340 0.13431

performance of alternatives against evaluation criteria. Afterwards, R is

Table 9
normalised to obtain the normalised matrix V, where every element vij is
Ratings of the produced bio-mortars with
computed by the equation (11).
respect to the criterion C8.
rij
vij = √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ∀i, ∀j (11) Alternatives ri8
∑m
r2ij 0% SCG 7
2.5% SCG 7.25
i=1

The weighed normalised decision matrix N is then developed by the 5.0% SCG 7.5
17.5% SCG 7.75
multiplication of V by the weights vector, so that every element nij of N is
15.0% SCG 8
computed by the equation (12). 7.5% SCG 8.25
12.5% SCG 8.5
nij = vij ⋅wj ∀i, ∀j (12) 10.0% SCG 8.75
With relation to every criterion j, the positive (A*) and negative (A-)
ideal solutions are hence computed by the equations (13) and (14) 5. Virtual energy simulations
respectively.
{( ) ( )}
{ } Predicting the possible real energy behaviour of a building, either
A* = n*1 , n*2 , ..., n*n = (13)
′
max nij |j ∈C , min nij |j ∈C′′ new construction or existing, is fundamental to guide the architect/en­
i i
gineer in selecting the more suitable materials and devices to use, or
{( ) ( )}
{ } change, in order to improve the overall building performance. In fact,
(14)
′
A− = n−1 , n−2 , ..., n−n = min nij |j ∈C , max nij |j ∈C′′
i i energy simulation programs are currently the most used tools by pro­
fessional to dramatically improve the quality of the building design.
In (13) and (14), C’ and C’’ represent the set of benefit (i.e. to be Basically, energy simulations are mathematical representation of a
maximised) and cost (i.e. to be minimised) criteria respectively. After­ building physical behaviour in terms of energy performance that con­
wards, the Euclidean distances between every alternative i and A* and A- cerns the internal thermal comfort of the building and, therefore, the
are computed by (15) and (16) respectively, so obtaining S*i and S−i . electric needs for heating and/or cooling, along with other aspects such
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
√∑ as the study of lighting, air circulation systems, and the human comfort
√ n ( )2
*
Si = √ nij − n*j ∀i (15) [65,66].
j=1 In this work, Termiplan software, developed by Analist Group s.r.l.,
was used to implement the energy simulations. Termiplan is a profes­
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
√∑ sional software commonly used to verify buildings energy performance,
√ n ( )2
Si− =√ nij − n−j ∀i (16) edit the Energy Qualification Certificate and the Energy Performance
j=1 Certificate according to the Italian DM 26/06/2015 and the UNI/TS
11300–5:2016, relating to climatic data based on UNI 10349–1:2016.
The final step of TOPSIS combines S*i and S−i to compute the closeness
Modelling is based on the building description by inputting the archi­
coefficient CLi of every alternative i (equation (17)) tectural features (walls, roofs, openings, shading devices, etc.), the
Si− technological composition (layers, thicknesses, materials and
CLi = ∀i (17)
Si− + Si*
The higher CLi, the better the alternative. As a consequence, the final Table 10
ranking is obtained by ordering the alternatives in descending order of Ranking of the produced bio-mortars from the
worst (top) to the best (bottom) alternatives.
CLi, i.e. from the worst to the best one.
In this paper, ratings of bio-composite mortars against criteria C1-C7 Alternatives CLi
arose from the characterisation phase (see Figures x-y). On the other 0% 0.30307
hand, the performances in respect to the criterion C8 were expressed 2.5% 0.49664
qualitatively in the range [1; 10] (Table 9). 5% 0.61656
17.5% 0.63800
Considering the criteria weights vector computed by BWM (Table 8),
15% 0.64836
the resulting ranking of mortars with different percentage of SCG was 7.5% 0.69686
obtained by the implementation of TOPSIS. In Table 10, alternatives are 12.5% 0.74453
shown from the worst (top) to the best (bottom) ones. 10% 0.76879

9
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

characteristics, devices, plant equipment, etc.) and the geographic Table 11

location. Average climatic conditions in Rome.
Month Average temperatures Average daily irradiation hours
5.1. Building model Min (◦ C) Max (◦ C)

January 3 12 4
The virtual model (Fig. 13), is a simple architectural scheme February 3 13 4.5
designed to understand the influence of the application of the developed March 5 15 5.5
April 8 18 6.5
SCG-based materials. In detail, in this preliminary study, a L-shaped
May 12 23 8.5
single-elevation masonry building was constructed in Termiplan, con­ June 16 28 9.5
sisting of three rooms 10x5 m (L external configuration). The load- July 19 31 10.5
bearing structure was designed by 30 cm light concrete perforated August 19 31 9.5
blocks (Poroton®800 [67]), floors were made of common mixed rein­ September 16 27 8
October 12 22 6.5
forced concrete and hollow tiles intended for residential uses, each
November 8 16 4.5
façade had at least one opening, to grant natural ventilation and natural December 5 12 3.5
lighting, glazed by a standard plain glass. The developed SCG-based
mortars were used as plastering solution in various thicknesses of 1, 3
and 5 cm. conditions of comfort in relation to the energetic equipment and the
In this preliminary study, a deep technological simplification was building typology. Fig. 14A shows the EPG for the considered architec­
done, consisting in modelling the structure simply covered by a layer of tural model using the SCG-based NHL as plastering mortars; Fig. 14B
plaster only consisting of the developed mortars. The model was placed shows the respective EPG improvement (%) of the model where the
so that the axis of every wall was perpendicular to one of the orienta­ reference material was used as baseline; Fig. 14C shows the energetic
tions north, south, west and east. It was supposed to be located in Rome, analysis considering as plastering solution only the best formulation
that presents a Mediterranean climate with some slight continental el­ deriving from the BWM analysis (cfr. section 4) that resulted the 10%
ements as shown in Table 11. Winter is quite mild during the day (~10 SCG-based mortar.
◦
C) and can get really cold at night (-2◦ /-4◦ C); summer is hot and sunny In all the cases, it is observed that increasing the plastering thickness
reaching temperatures higher than 30 ◦ C, with peaks of about 40 ◦ C and the SCG amount the energy requirement tends to decrease. That is
(climatic zone D according to the Italian D.P.R. n. 412 of 26–08-1993). quite expectable for two reasons. First of all, from a technological point
The internal conditions were chosen to be air-conditioned between 19 of view, a thicker layer grants, whatever the material is, a higher thermal
◦
C and 26 ◦ C to maintain a comfortable environment. The simulation set insulation and, consequently, a building lower energy demand. Sec­
period was one solar year (1st January – 31st December), with data ondly, in accordance with the thermal conductivity laboratory measures
points gathered every hour. Insulation layers, A/C plant or other tech­ (cfr. par. 3.3), increasing the SCG amount heat is transmitted less and
nologies and devices were not imputed at this stage, to avoid making the more slowly. Going back to the building technology, it means that the
model too complicated. In any case those would have been an invariant designed building envelope shows an increasing energy performance
for all the simulations. and, consequently, the overall building model shows a lower energy
The model is clearly limited. However, by using the results obtained demand.
from the reference mortar simulations as a baseline we aim to isolate the Energy simulation analysis also returns that the building model best
change in energy performance caused by the use of the SCG-based energy performance is due to the 10% SCG-based mortar. Such result is
mortars. Finally, this preliminary study is substantially aimed at un­ in complete accordance with the thermal conductivity measurements
derstanding requirements and refinements to further virtual analyses and was confirmed, and is in accordance to, the BWM analysis (cfr.
that will necessarily take into account different variables and section 4). Fig. 14C shows the yearly global energy performance (EPG),
technologies. along with the energy requirements for heating (EPH) and cooling (EPC),
of the building model. It resulted that, as already observed, the energy
5.2. Energy simulations performance slight improves with the thickness of the plastering layer
and, in a climate like the one in Rome, with the same thickness, the
Termiplan returns the Global Energy Performance (EPG) of the higher energy consumption is demanded for heating rather than for
building model that expresses the total consumption of global non- cooling. Such consideration suggests that the same architectural/tech­
renewable primary energy per surface square meter (kWh/m2). That is nological configuration placed in colder climates and with a minor solar
a sum of the energy requirements for heating (EPH) and cooling (EPC). irradiation might result in a much lower need for energy and, conse­
The used parameters represent an energy performance index that in­ quently, in a building higher energy performance.
dicates the quantity of energy consumed to make the building reach Finally, in terms of building energy improvement (Fig. 14B),

Fig. 13. Plan and 3D-render of the designed building model.

10
M. Saeli et al. Construction and Building Materials 319 (2022) 126079

• The higher usable SCG amount resulted 17.5%, leading to a complete

lack of workability.
• The bulk density significatively decreases, even with little SCG
amount; the lighter material resulted the 12.5% SCG-based mortar
with about 15% reduction from the reference, making this mix
comparable to a structural lightweight conglomerate or a light
plastering mortar.
• The water absorption by full immersion increases slowly up to 7.5%
SCG addition (15 ÷ 28%) and much fast for higher SCG amounts (62
÷ 78%). On the contrary, the capillary action drastically drops with
SCG amount: about a 80 ÷ 90% decrease was measured (but 64%
decrease for the 2.5% formulation).
• The mechanical performance presents acceptable values for the
considered plastering applications, moreover up to the 5% SCG
formulation could also be suitable for masonry applications (class
M2.5).
• Thermal conductivity reduces with SCG amount; 10% SCG formu­
lation presents the lowest value (0.29 W/mK corresponding to 47%
reduction from the reference product).
• The multicriteria analysis permitted to rank the developed mortars
basing on decision criteria that were both measurable (laboratory
characterisation) and qualitative (sustainability) parameters. The
10% SCG-based mortar resulted the preferable mix design.
• The virtual energy simulations showed that increasing the SCG
amount, along with the plastering thickness, the building energy
requirement decreases, or conversely the overall building energy
performance increases.
• The best mortars formulation intended for thermo-plastering appli­
cations resulted the one using 10% SCG substitution to sand with a
mix design (ratio) of NHL/sand/SCG/water equal to 1/2.7/0.3/1.

7. Future studies

This work presents the preliminary results on an investigation that

Fig. 14. Simulated energy performance of the designed building model: EPG of
the developed specimens (A), relative EPG improvement % to the reference
material (B); EPG, EPH, and EPC for the “best solution” 10% derived from BWM
analysis (C).
Table 12
Energy improvement for the 5 cm plastering solutions.
SCG 5% 10% 15% 17.5%
Improvement % 0.51 2.12 1.12 1.30
focusing on the 5 cm thickness only, the data in Table 12 resulted from
the virtual simulations. It is observed that the formulation with 10% SCG
is about four times higher of the 5% SCG improvement, and about
double respect to higher amounts (15% and 17.5%) that resulted into a
quite comparable building improvement. This demonstrates that the
formulation 10% has a superior higher rate, making its usage more
convenient as granting higher building performances or, conversely,
lower energy demand and, thus, a lower atmospheric pollution and an
overall financial saving for the customer.
6. Conclusions
This experimental research discussed the possibility of producing
novel sustainable bio-composite mortars reusing domestic SCG intended
for thermo-plastering applications in the building envelope. The rele­
vant conclusions were:
seems worth of further studies being such technology susceptible of in-
depth analysis to improve the material general performance, its
adequate industrial scale up and real application.
Further investigations, still in progress, foresee the improvement of
the SCG quantity by the employment of chemicals to adjust the slurry
workability and/or varying the water/binder ratio with the aim to in­
crease the energy performance of the material. Moreover, other binders
are being tested to evaluate the possible interaction with SCG and assess
the best formulations intended for real applications.
Highly sensible is the topic of durability being SCG an organic waste
that might see degradation under the impact of the external action,
water in particular. Nevertheless, a first approximation indicates a
possible usage if coupled with a protective layer, as usually done in
architecture to preserve as long as possible the plastering layer. Anyway,
specimens produced about a year ago, do not present any particular
evidence of macroscopic alteration, indicating that the atmospheric
humidity does not alter the materials integrity. Tests will be set also to
investigate the performance of the material under prolonged and varied
harsh situations.
Moreover, more accurate virtual modelling will be implemented as a
real mean to assess the hypothetical performance of the designed ma­
terials into real building situations and environments. More specifically,
energy simulations will be refined considering a complete technological
walls stratigraphy and extended to other climatic zones.
Finally, LCA approach and industrial scale up will be investigated to
predict a real possible industrial production, a plant set up and a massive
manufacture of such innovative products.
Authors contribution
M. Saeli and T. Campisi were in charge of the scientific coordination.
M. Saeli designed the experimental plan, developed materials and

11
M. Saeli et al.
testing, implemented the virtual energy simulations; M.N. Capela and M.
P. Seabra performed the mechanical tests, acquired SEM imaging,
measured the thermal conductivity; D.M. Tobaldi was in charge of the
mineralogical and colour analysis; M. La Fata implemented the multi­
criteria analysis. All the authors were involved in the manuscript
preparation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
Dr. C. Sequeira (Dept of Geoscience, University of Aveiro) is
acknowledged for the XRF analysis and Dr. I. Silveirinha Vilarinho
(CICECO, University of Aveiro) for the SCG SEM images. Eng. L.
Semeraro is thanked for helping in specimens’ preparation.
M. Saeli would like to acknowledge the project PON “Research and
Innovation 2014-2020” section 2 “AIM: Attraction and International
Mobility” with D.D. 407 of 27/02/2018 co-financed by the European
Social Fund – CUP B74I19000650001 – id project AIM 1890405-3, area:
“Technologies for the Environments of Life”, S.C. 08/C1, S.S.D. ICAR/
10.
D.M. Tobaldi is funded by the project EleGaNTe –PON ARS01_01007.
M.N. Capela wishes to thank Portugal 2020 through the European
Regional Development Fund in the frame of the Operational Competi­
tiveness and Internationalization Program in the scope of the project
CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/
50011/2020, co-financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC.
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