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Eco-Friendly Cement Mortar with Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Upcycling

Author

Listed:
  • Thais Theomaris Grabowski

    (Technology and Management School, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal)

  • Juliana Martins Teixeira de Abreu Pietrobelli

    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal Technological University of Paraná, Monteiro Lobato s/n, Paraná 84017-220, Brazil)

  • Ramiro José Espinheira Martins

    (Technology and Management School, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
    LSRE-LCM Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering-Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    ALICE—Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, FEUP, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the technical feasibility of replacing cement in mortar production with sludge generated in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), prepared using different treatments. The sludge used in the experiments was processed using four different methods to investigate the effect of processing on the mechanical strength of the specimens. The sludge was then mixed with mortar in different proportions, and samples were produced for flexural and compressive strength tests. The results showed that specimens with 7% sludge from the burned treatment exhibited the highest resistance, surpassing the standard. Specimens with sludge from the drying treatments showed similar results. This study found that using sludge in mortar production could lead to energy savings compared to traditional cement production methods. Moreover, the incorporation of sludge resulted in mortars that met the specifications of the EN 998-1:2018 standard, thereby indicating their technical feasibility. Therefore, this study demonstrated the potential of using sludge from WWTPs as a substitute for cement in mortar production, which could contribute to the reduction in the environmental impacts caused by civil construction and the development of sustainable alternatives for the disposal of sludge generated in WWTPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Thais Theomaris Grabowski & Juliana Martins Teixeira de Abreu Pietrobelli & Ramiro José Espinheira Martins, 2023. "Eco-Friendly Cement Mortar with Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Upcycling," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:5:y:2023:i:3:p:48-972:d:1209302
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    References listed on IDEAS

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