Producing Green Concrete by Using
Recycled Materials in UAE
Syed Talha Muhammad Ali and Mustafa Batikha
Abstract
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction
materials. The materials used in the preparation of
concrete mix have harmful effects on the earth’s
environment. For instance, each ton of cement produces
709 kg of CO 2 in the middle east. UAE produced 40.7
million tons of cement in 2014. On the other hand, the
high demand for aggregate in concrete (48.3 billion tons
in 2015) due to the increase in buildings causes a
reduction in natural resources. Moreover, the growth of
the demolition landfills is a serious problem that needs a
solution as well. Therefore, the main aim of this research
is to check the efficiency of using the demolition waste
within the concrete mix and produce environmentally
friendly concrete which has a cost efficiency as well. In
this study, replacement of cement and the natural
aggregates used in concrete by Recycled Coarse Aggregate (RCA) and Ceramic Waste Powder (CWP) took a
place. It is worth mentioning that these recycled materials
are produced daily in UAE. An experimental test was
conducted to produce a new concrete product of 100%
RCA as replacement of coarse aggregate, 20% CWP as
replacement of cement and 20% CWP as replacement of
fine aggregate. Then, the mechanical properties together
with the cost of the new product were estimated. It was
confirmed by this research that the demolition waste
generated in the UAE can be efficiently used to obtain
high strength, low cost, and green concrete.
Keywords
Concrete mix Á Recycled Coarse Aggregate Á
Ceramic Waste Powder Á Sustainability Á
Mechanical properties Á Cost
1 Introduction
Since its invention, concrete is one of the widely used
man-made materials in the world. According to a recent
study, approximately three tons of it is used annually per
person (De Brito and Saikia 2013). Concrete comprises three
major constituents: aggregate, binder, and water. About 75%
of the total volume of concrete is aggregates. Therefore,
aggregates play a vital role in the overall properties of
concrete mix and it is very important to select proper
aggregates with suitable size distribution to develop a special
type of concrete mix (De Brito and Saikia 2013).
The increase in the world population, as well as increased
urbanization and the economic conditions of the rapidly
developing countries, have increased the rate of construction
in those countries. As a result, old buildings are being
demolished making way for new buildings. Due to the huge
amount of demolitions, a lot of construction waste is being
produced all over the world. This is a serious issue for the
environment as it cannot be disposed of properly. It is
reported that about 850 million tons of CDW is generated in
Europe per annum, which is 31% of the total CDW generated in the whole world (Fisher and Werge 2009). In the
UAE, it is recorded that the waste produced by the construction and demolition amounted 2,580,913 tons in Abu
Dhabi during 2016 (Statistics Center 2016). Another problem which is the Ceramic Waste (CW) has been raised
because ceramic industries result in much crushed CW
which keeps scattered on a large land field bringing aesthetic
destruction to the surrounding areas. Moreover, the fine
powder produced by the polishing process of ceramic is a
useless material that can go with the air, soil, and water
causing serious pollution. Therefore, the main aim of this
research is to use both RA and CW in concrete and validate
this usage on the mechanical properties and the cost of the
new concrete.
Many studies have been conducted on the use of CWD as
Recycled Aggregate (RA) in concrete. Although using RA
S. T. M. Ali Á M. Batikha (&)
School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society,
Heriot-Watt University, Dubai Campus, Dubai, UAE
e-mail: m.batikha@hw.ac.uk
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. Mateev and J. Nightingale (eds.), Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility—Volume 1,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32922-8_14
149
Recycled Materials in UAE
Syed Talha Muhammad Ali and Mustafa Batikha
Abstract
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction
materials. The materials used in the preparation of
concrete mix have harmful effects on the earth’s
environment. For instance, each ton of cement produces
709 kg of CO 2 in the middle east. UAE produced 40.7
million tons of cement in 2014. On the other hand, the
high demand for aggregate in concrete (48.3 billion tons
in 2015) due to the increase in buildings causes a
reduction in natural resources. Moreover, the growth of
the demolition landfills is a serious problem that needs a
solution as well. Therefore, the main aim of this research
is to check the efficiency of using the demolition waste
within the concrete mix and produce environmentally
friendly concrete which has a cost efficiency as well. In
this study, replacement of cement and the natural
aggregates used in concrete by Recycled Coarse Aggregate (RCA) and Ceramic Waste Powder (CWP) took a
place. It is worth mentioning that these recycled materials
are produced daily in UAE. An experimental test was
conducted to produce a new concrete product of 100%
RCA as replacement of coarse aggregate, 20% CWP as
replacement of cement and 20% CWP as replacement of
fine aggregate. Then, the mechanical properties together
with the cost of the new product were estimated. It was
confirmed by this research that the demolition waste
generated in the UAE can be efficiently used to obtain
high strength, low cost, and green concrete.
Keywords
Concrete mix Á Recycled Coarse Aggregate Á
Ceramic Waste Powder Á Sustainability Á
Mechanical properties Á Cost
1 Introduction
Since its invention, concrete is one of the widely used
man-made materials in the world. According to a recent
study, approximately three tons of it is used annually per
person (De Brito and Saikia 2013). Concrete comprises three
major constituents: aggregate, binder, and water. About 75%
of the total volume of concrete is aggregates. Therefore,
aggregates play a vital role in the overall properties of
concrete mix and it is very important to select proper
aggregates with suitable size distribution to develop a special
type of concrete mix (De Brito and Saikia 2013).
The increase in the world population, as well as increased
urbanization and the economic conditions of the rapidly
developing countries, have increased the rate of construction
in those countries. As a result, old buildings are being
demolished making way for new buildings. Due to the huge
amount of demolitions, a lot of construction waste is being
produced all over the world. This is a serious issue for the
environment as it cannot be disposed of properly. It is
reported that about 850 million tons of CDW is generated in
Europe per annum, which is 31% of the total CDW generated in the whole world (Fisher and Werge 2009). In the
UAE, it is recorded that the waste produced by the construction and demolition amounted 2,580,913 tons in Abu
Dhabi during 2016 (Statistics Center 2016). Another problem which is the Ceramic Waste (CW) has been raised
because ceramic industries result in much crushed CW
which keeps scattered on a large land field bringing aesthetic
destruction to the surrounding areas. Moreover, the fine
powder produced by the polishing process of ceramic is a
useless material that can go with the air, soil, and water
causing serious pollution. Therefore, the main aim of this
research is to use both RA and CW in concrete and validate
this usage on the mechanical properties and the cost of the
new concrete.
Many studies have been conducted on the use of CWD as
Recycled Aggregate (RA) in concrete. Although using RA
S. T. M. Ali Á M. Batikha (&)
School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society,
Heriot-Watt University, Dubai Campus, Dubai, UAE
e-mail: m.batikha@hw.ac.uk
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. Mateev and J. Nightingale (eds.), Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility—Volume 1,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32922-8_14
149