Construction & Demolition Waste Recycling Workshop

About the Workshop
Construction and Demolition(C&D) waste is a major waste stream, the quantum of which is
increasing as a result of increasing construction, maintenance, retrofitting and demolition activities in
India. It is estimated that the construction industry in India generates about 15 million tons of waste
annually. The waste generation in Hyderabad is estimated to be around 5000 tons per day. This
creates huge challenges in terms of space for disposal, unauthorised dumping, mixing with
biodegradable waste, etc. Even though there is high potential for large scale recycling of this waste
material stream, production of recycled aggregates, recovered from C&D waste is currently at a very
low level in India.
There is a huge demand for natural aggregates in the construction sector with a significant gap in its
demand and supply, which can be reduced to a certain extent by recycling construction and
demolition waste. Hence, there is a need for proper handling, storage and treatment of C&D waste in
India with systematic approach to segregate, reuse and recycle the same.
In many developed countries, C&D waste recovery achieved is more than 70%.There is a great need
to increase the recycling of C&D waste in India. For this purpose, the urban local bodies should
encourage the processing and reuse of C&D waste wherever feasible. This will lead to significant
savings in virgin raw material and consequent reduction in waste disposal.
Since the concept of appropriate management of C&D waste in new in this country, information and
education would be necessary to garner public support as well as to change the mindset and attitude
of all the stake holders. This workshop is intended to sensitise the engineers, policy makers,
regulatory authorities and other stake holders of construction industry by exposing them to the reuse
potential of C&D waste in India, technical aspects in the use recycled concrete aggregates, best
international practices in implementation and enforcement, regulatory issues, capacity building &
training etc. The workshop will be conducted by eminent experts from Norway, Japan, Korea and
Singapore, along with Indian Experts.
This workshop will provide an excellent opportunity to gain insight into the national and
international expertise and experience in the field of C&D waste recycling.
Preface
Civil Engineering, the mother of all engineering disciplines harnesses the bounties of nature for
the benefit of mankind. It provides the basic necessities of food, housing, industry, commerce
and even recreational facilities. It has been called up on to battle natural calamities of floods,
draughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. With higher standards of living and increasing populations
in the world, demands for exploiting natural resources have increased manifold in recent times,
especially for the twentieth century. The utilization of natural resources such as coal needed for
thermal power leads to generation of huge quantities of Bottom Ash, Pond Ash, and Fly Ash. It
is estimated that about 150 MT of fly ash is generated every year in India alone. Urbanization
had lead to creation of huge quantities of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste). Concomitant with this,
availability of construction materials is reducing at increasing rate.
Civil Engineers have been charged with dealing with the above challenges even though they are
not recognized as much for their innovative and valiant efforts. Civil Engineers have found ways
to recycle fly ash in different forms generate energy from MSW, reuse blast furnace slag, etc. for
Civil Engineering purposes leading to sustainable development. Continuation of these efforts
leads to recycling Construction and Demolition Waste. C & D Waste now joins the list of
various materials for Civil Construction activities.
C & D Waste encompasses both building and pavement materials. Practicing engineers need to
be appraised of the properties and benefits of using the C & D Waste. JNTUH CPWD
Workshop on Construction and Demolition Waster Recycling is an effort to gather experts from
both Industry, Research Institutes (CSIR-CRRI) and Academia to share their knowledge and
expertise for the common good of serving society and to sustainable development. This
workshop is a result of several sponsoring agencies, ready acceptance of our request by the
eminent speakers and the support and encouragement of all participants. We place on record our
appreciation to Sri K Ramesh of Varshitha Technologies in bringing out the proceedings of the
Workshop.
Looking forward a fruitful interaction throughout the day and even afterwards, and with
greetings,
N. V. Ramana Rao
K.P. Pradeep
Madhav Madhira
Convener
Co-Chairman
Chairman
Workshop On
Construction & Demolition Waste Recycling (CDWR)
th
28 February, 2015
JNTUH, Kukatpally, Hyderabad
CONTENTS
1. Status of Demolition & C & D Waste Recycling in India - Mohan Ramanathan,
Managing Director, Advanced Construction Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
2. Management of C&D Wastes in India Current tatus - A.K. Mullick, Consultant,
Former Director General, NCCBM
3. Construction and Demolition Waste Processing A Pioneering Initiative by Delhi Pradeep Khandelwal, Chief Engineer, EDMC.
4. Recycling of C&D Waste Sustainability and Research Issues - K.N.Satyanarayana
and V.G.Ram, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
5. Utilization of Recycled Concrete Aggregate for Structural Applications P.Lakshmy, Chief Scientist, CSIR - CRRI
6. Recycling of Bituminous Pavement Materials: A Technique for Conservation of
Materials - K. Sitaramanjaneyulu, Pavement Engineering Area, CSIR-CRRI
7. Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste- Laboratory Feasibility Study and Field
Usage - U.K.Guru Vittal, Geotechnical Engineering Division, CSIR-CRRI
8. Use of C&D Waste as Engineered Backfill - M.R. Madhav, JNTUH, Hyderabad
9. Mechanising Demolition for better Waste Management - Ramesh
Kommajosyula,Varshitha Technologies Pvt. Ltd. & Dr. N V Ramana Rao, JNTUH.
10. Mechanical properties of concrete incorporating microwave-treated recycled
concrete aggregates, by Ong Khim Chye Gary, Ali Akbarnezhad, Zhang Min Hong,
Tam Chat Tim, Hao Junbao, Timothy Wan Juang Foo, Singapore. EXTRACT OF THE
PAPER PUBLISHED AT OUR WOLD IN CONCRETE AND STRUCTURES, SINGAPORE, 2011
Workshop On
28th February, 2015
Status of Demolition & C& D Waste Recycling in India

By
Mohan Ramanathan, B.Tech., M.S. (USA)

Managing Director
Advanced Construction Technologies Pvt Ltd., No.16,
Cenotaph Road, Teynampet, Chennai 600 018.
Synopsis: Construction activities generate millions of Tonnes of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste
materials each year. These materials contain a lot of reusable materials. If not properly managed, they will
become wastes, a burden to the society, which will be extremely expensive to handle and will occupy precious
landfill space. This paper contains an overview of the concept on waste management and how proper waste
management plan at the life cycle of construction can reduce its generation, maximize its direct reuse, increase the
opportunity for recycling and reduce the need and hence the cost for its disposal as waste.
Recycling can turn the otherwise waste materials into usable products, which can help conserve our natural
resources for our next generations and for the sustainable development of the society. However, success on
recycling takes time and requires a proper waste management plan at global level and the general acceptance of
the recycled products. This paper will cover some overseas experience and the experience in India.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Construction activities generate huge amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste materials each
year. The activities include site formation, tunneling works, demolition of building and structures,
decoration and reconstruction works, new construction and maintenance works. Most of these materials
are inert materials such as earth, rocks and concrete, which can be reused or recycled. Even timbers and
wooden materials can be reused or recycled if properly handled. In the old days, when the materials
were scare and expensive in comparison to labour costs, lots of these C&D materials had been salvaged
and reused through balance cut and fill, rehabilitation, reclamation, reuse of brick and masonry, reuse of
timber and wood to its maximum potential. With the prosperity and rapid development of a society, the
society has become more and more extravagant and less concern on conservation of natural resources.
Factors contribute to this situation are.
a.
Lower cost in quarrying of natural resources due to modern machines.
b.
Low import cost of aggregates from neighbouring developing regions.
c.
Demolition of buildings and structures long before the end of its designed or useful life.
d.
Base use and throw way habit.
e.
Tight development programme for quick financial return.
f.
Improper or lack of waste management.
Page | 1 /9
As a result, lots of natural resources were drained away as waste and required extra expense and resource to
handle and accommodate. Worst still, it will not only create environmental and social problems, the society
will consume the remaining natural resources at a much faster rate than is necessary. There is therefore a
need for proper waste management for the sustainable development.
2.
STRATEGY.
In order to minimize the adverse impact, both social and environmental, most developed countries have
formulated their own strategies on management of waste at national level. Such measures include.
a.
Mandating adoption of waste management plan at national level, such as in Germany, Denmark and
Hong Kong.
b.
Setting target on achievement on recycling by stages.
c.
Imposing heavy tax on waste disposal.
d.
Imposing aggregates tax to encourage use of recycled aggregates
e.
Increasing effort in education and information on waste reduction and recycling to identify and
exploit the opportunities of recycling and overcome the barriers and obstacles due to conservatism.
Generally speaking, the following strategy in hierarchical orders are adopted by most countries.
3.
a.
Minimizing the generation of waste in the first instance.
b.
Reusing the C&D materials in its original from as far as possible.
c.
Recycling with minimal input of energy.
d.
Disposing of the waste environmentally, with waste to landfills.
WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
For successful implementation of the waste management strategy, it is required to formulate, implement,
monitor and review of a Waste Management Plan during the whole life cycle of the projects. In advance
countries, such as Germany and Denmark, Waste Management Plan has not only established at corporation
level and project level, it has been extended to state level or even high to show the determination and
commitment on waste management.
In general, the waste management plan should cover activities at all stages, from conceptual and planning
stages, through design and construction stages, and to maintenance and reconstruction stages. Waste
minimization, reuse, recycling and disposal should be well planned and implemented, monitored and
reviewed at all stages, with life cycle cost on waste disposal taken into consideration.
In Hong Kong, the Government has issued technical circular requiring the implementation of waste
management in public works projects. The Government is also encouraging the private sector to adopt the
same. In addition, there is also drive to motivate financial incentive on management and reduction of waste
by implementation of construction disposal charging scheme.
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4.
WASTE MINIMIZATION
Minimization of waste should commence at the onset of the project. This includes better planning layout,
balanced cut and fill, use of precast construction, reuse and recycling of C&D materials on site with the
minimal import and export. For redevelopment, rehabilitation of old building and structures should be
considered during town planning to increase its useful life without the need for demolition. Demolition can
also be avoided by redesignating disused or no longer functioned buildings and structures for appropriate
usage. Adopting recyclable materials at the onset of the projects will cut down overall waste in the life cycle
of the project. Further avoidance of waste can be done by proper procurement, handling and storing of
construction materials on site during construction. In addition, adopting selective demolition and on-site
sorting will maximize the potential for reuse and recycling and hence reduction in waste. Systematic and
proper maintenance can slow down deterioration and prolong the useful life of building and structures to
delay the process needed for reconstruction.
5.
REUSE
In the old days, people had every endeavour to make the best use materials available and had every incentive
to maximize the use of natural resources. In underdeveloped countries, people treat every piece of masonry,
brick or tile, rock and crushed concrete as valuable. During the demolition, they will take down the bricks and
good tiles carefully. striping out the mortar and properly stacked aside for reuse later. Even in advance
countries, wooden doors can be carefully salvaged by adopting selection demolition, with the salvaged doors
nd
rd
th
for reuse or resale in the 2 hand market or 3 or 4 world markets. Wooden planks or timbers can also be
trimmed to size for appropriate reuse. Topsoil can be saved for gardening or landscaping use, while earth or
rubble can be reused in site formation or reclamation if feasible.
6.
RECYCLING
Apart from those valuable metals such as steel rebars and aluminum window frames, which have high scrape
value, rubbles and demolished concrete can be processed into recycled rockfill or aggregates for use in
construction. To avoid unnecessary waste of energy resources, only those materials with marketable value
should be recycled. In most countries, 90% of the demolition construction materials consist of concrete and
masonry, which are recyclable. Depending on the types of construction, some buildings were made of mostly
masonry while some others were made mostly with concrete. To avoid mixing recyclable materials with nonrecyclable one, it is recommended to separate them at source by selective demolition and on-site sorting, as
sorting highly mixed materials at the receiving ends is extremely expensive and not environmental friendly.
6.1 RECYCLING PRACTICE
Although different countries adopt different practices to suit their own situations, the recycling practices can
be broadly classified in the following categories.
a.
Adopting on site recycling and reuse with minimal import and export of construction materials for
large reconstruction projects.
Page | 3 /9
Examples:
I.
During the reconstruction of super highways (outbound) in Germany, old concrete pavements were
broken up and processed at a pre-planned nearby recycling site, with recycled aggregates used in
producing concrete Grade 45 in an adjacent batching plant for use in new pavement construction. The
advantages of this arrangement are:
II.
Minimal export of waste and minimal import of raw materials
III.
Minimal addition of traffic loading on existing busy road networks.
IV.
Energy saving due to reduction on fuel consumption by lorries.
V.
Reduced noise and air pollution due to least generation of traffics and fuel consumption.
VI.
Maximization on the recycling potentials and values due to no mixing of high quality demolished
materials.
VII.
Adopting on site crushing with recycled products used in other projects or for re-sales.
VIII.
Collecting and stockpiling recyclable materials, then hiring mobile crushers for processing.
IX.
Establishing centralized recycling facilities.
X.
Establishing recycling facilities within landfill site, with truck delivering C&D materials into the landfill site
and collecting recycled products at exit (e.g. Denmark)
6.2 APPLICATIONS
Based on overseas experience and the experience in Hong Kong, recycled aggregates have lots of applications,
running from high value applications such as use in concrete production and manufacture of concrete paving
blocks and kerbs, to low end use as road sub-base materials, rockfill, filters, pipe bedding, in-fill to stone
columns. However, the acceptance in high value application is slow in most parts of the world due to barriers
and obstacles arising from conservatism and lack of confidence in using new construction materials.
Fortunately, the American Concrete Institution (ACI) and the European Union in the frame of RILEM have
been far-sighted enough to establish ground works on sustainable concrete with use of recycled aggregates. In
Hong Kong at least 4 ready mixed concrete producers have experienced in producing recycled concrete up to
Grade 40 for use in public works projects despite a slow start of using recycled aggregates in concrete
production.
Page | 4 /9
6.3 PROMOTION
Acceptance on using recycled materials takes time and promotion is required. Some overseas countries have
taken 10 to 15 to develop the markets on recycling. In order to overcome the barriers and obstacles arising
from conservatism and lack of confidence, education and information are the most important means to
identify and exploit the opportunity on promoting recycling. It is necessary that the message and
understanding of recycling be discussed at universities, technical institutes, amongst enterprises and public
servants. Information centre should be set up for the transparent sharing of information and know-how on the
development and use of recycled aggregates. In Hong Kong, the Government has taken the lead to liaise with
the key players including concrete producers, contractors, academics and government department to collect
information such as test data and research results for disseminating via the web connection
7.1 What is Selective Demolition?
Selective Demolition involves sequencing the demolition activities to allow the separation and sorting of
materials. In general, domestic wastes such as furniture, household appliances, etc., metal components such
as window frames, pipes, etc., timber components such as doors, wooden floors, etc., other wastes such as
tiles, asphaltic materials, ceramic products should be removed one by one first.
The main demolition shall begin after all the above non-structural materials have been stripped and removed.
As most old building blocks are built with brick walls on concrete frames, the percentage of brick is extremely
high, ranging from 60% to 80%. To avoid mixing the non-recyclable bricks and tiles with the broken concrete, it
is highly recommended to plan the demolition sequence such that brick walls are demolished first and
stockpiled separately before the demolition of structural members.
7.2 What is On-site Sorting?
Without the implementation of selective demolition, all types of demolished materials will be mixed together.
As a good practice, they should be sorted on-site and be separated into different groups including broken
concrete, rock, bricks, rubbles, asphalt, soft inert material and non-inert waste. Sorted materials should be
delivered to the recycling facilities as far as possible. In India, on site sorting is adopted by scrap merchants
who sort, clean and even clean up resalable scrap. But C&D is left unsorted as they see no value and this ends
up as land fill. However steel reinforcements are sorted and recycled.
7.3 What is On-site Crushing?
On-site sorting involves downsizing of large debris that has already been sorted. For this, small bucket
crushers, crushing buckets and medium sized tracked crushers are available. The sorted down-sized C&D
waste becomes a readily saleable material that can easily sold as sub-base or GSB for roads or sent to bigger
recycling plants for further processing.
Page | 5 /9
Examples:
1.Sorted non-recyclable C&D materials delivered to public

filling facilities for use as public fill for reclamation
2. Highly mixed public fill (both recyclable and nonrecyclable) delivered to public filling facilities.
3. Sorted broken concrete delivered to recycling

facilities
4.Sorted broken concrete delivered to recycling

facilities
5.Sorted non-recyclable C&D materials delivered to

public filling facilities for use as public fill for
reclamation.
Page | 6 /9
6.Mixed demolished material results in recycling

uneconomically and inefficiently
7.Sorted non-inert waste stockpiled separately.
8.Sorted broken concrete stockpiled separately
9.Sorted broken concrete stockpiled separately.
Fact Sheet on India

By 2025 India will produce the maximum Waste in Asia according to Nature journal.
By 2025 Garbage Generation the world will reach 6 Million Tonnes/day and 2 Million Tonnes will come
from Asia.
By 2025, we might arrive at a situation where technology can handle almost all our waste, provided there
is a disciplined effort all around. Some cities around the world are doing exactly that, now.
By 2030, India will be the most populous country in the world.
India will become the Garbage Capital of the world by 2050.
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With awareness in Waste reduction and recycling throughout the world, many researchers predict the
peak garbage generation will reach around 2075.
By 2100, Indias waste generation will reach 70% of all high income and OECD countries put together.
By 2100, all world cities together will produce 11 Million Tonnes per day, which is over 3 times todays
figure.
GARBOLOGY the science of studying waste, is an academic discipline that is growing in importance.
9. New Demolition Rules to Assist Recycling (Proposed):
Selective Demolition to be specified.
On-site sorting to be specified.
On-site crushing to be done for downsizing.
Debris Management Plan to be insisted by all authorities.
City / Municipality rules to be aligned for waste reduction and recycling.
Central Recycling and Processing yard to be set up in every city over one Million population.
10. Need for Engineered Demolition using Modern & Machinery
Indias infrastructure in crumbling and new ones are to be built on war footing.
All Metro cities are implementing infrastructure projects like Monorail, Metrorail, dedicated bus lanes,
new airports, new ports etc.
Dilapidated old structures have to be demolished for newer ones.
Core industries like steel cement, paper, power are expanding and will need faster and safer demolition
techniques.
About 40,000 rail and road bridges need to be either demolished or retrofitted.
Indias slums are being replaced by affordable housing where densely populated areas will need precision
demolition.
Super tall buildings are being constructed in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi which will need
special demolition methods at the end of their life.
Page | 8 /9
11. CONCLUSION
Natural resources are not unlimited and will be depleted with time. Unnecessary wasting of natural resources
should be restricted and regulated. Formulating and implementing proper waste management plan throughout the
life cycle of the projects can minimize waste. With an integrated resource management, most of the construction
and demolition material can be recycled and more natural resources can be conserved for our next generations.
The success on recycling and using recycled materials in high value applications required promotion by means of
education and information, in addition to statutory mean.
Acknowledgements
1.
Mr. Winston F.K, Fong
2.
Prof. K. N Satyanarayana, IIT, Madras
Reference:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chan, S.Y. and Fong F.K., Management of Construction and Demolition Materials and Development of
Recycling Facility in Hong Kong Proceeding of International Conference on Innovation and Sustainable
st
Development of Civil Engineering in the 21 Century, Beijing HKIE, July 2002.
Cheng, N.T., Technical Note 2/2000: Investigation of Opportunities for Recycling Inert Construction and
Demolition Material in Hong Kong. Civil Engineering Department, HKSAR Government, June 2000.
Civil Engineering and Development Department, Guidelines for selective Demolition & On Site Sorting,
http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/services/recycling/doc/sel_dem.pdf, HKSAR Government, July2004.
ETWB Technical Circular Works No. 15/2003 - Waste Management on Construction Site, Environmental,
Transport and works Bureau, HKSAR Government, 15 May 2003.
5.
Fong, F.K. and Ng, K.C., Recycling of Construction and Demolition materials in Hong Kong, Proceedings
nd
of 2 Symposium on Sustainable Development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau Strategic
Partnership in the Pearl Delta, jointly organized by HKIE, Guangdong Provincial Association for Science and
Technology, and the Macau Institution of Engineer, April 2003.
6.
Hong Kong Building Department, PNAP 243-Construction and Demolition Waste, HKSAR Government,
June 2000.
7.
Hong Kong Building Department, Code of Practice for Demolition of Buildings 2004,
http://www.info.gov.hk/bd/english/documents/code/Demolition_e2004.pdf, HKSAR Government,
December 2004.
8.
Hong Kong Housing Authority, Report on the Trial Project Using Selective Demolition Method, Hong Kong
Housing Department, September 2004.
9.
Lauritzen, Erik K., SP-219-: Recycling Concrete An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities, American
Concrete Institute (ACI) SP-219-1: March 2004.
10. Lauritzen, Erik K. & Hansen, Torben C., Environmental Review No.6 Recycling of Construction and
Demolition Waste 1986-1995. Ministry of Environment and Energy, Denmark.
Page | 9 /9
MANAGEMENT OF C&D WASTES IN INDIA CURRENT STATUS

Dr. A. K. Mullick1
Consultant,
Former Director General, NCCBM,
Chair, ICI Technical Committee on C&D Wastes,
E-mail: ajoy_mullick@rediffmail.com
Abstract
Need of management of Construction and Demolition (C&D) wastes, as distinct from
Municipal Solid wastes (MSW), is a relatively new subject in India. This presentation
describes the needs, the present status and the tasks ahead.
To begin with, there is no precise estimate of the amount of C&D wastes generated in India.
The primary reason is the absence of focussed regulatory process and strict enforcement
thereof. Specific recommendations are made in the paper on this issue.
Techniques and equipment used for demolition of dilapidated buildings, and processing and
recycling of wastes are described. Recycling and reuse of different components of the wastes
e.g. concrete rubble, bricks, tiles, wood, timber, plastics, metals etc.after processing are
mentioned. Recent R&D in India on use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in high
strength concrete is described. Recommendations are made for formulation of Standards by
BIS on use ofRCA in structural concrete. Confidence building measures and promotional
efforts needed are mentioned in the paper.
Introduction
For the purpose of management of C&D Wastes in India, Construction and demolition waste
has been defined as waste which arises from construction, renovation and demolition
activities. Also included within the definition are surplus and damaged products and materials
arising in the course of construction work or used temporarily during the course of on-site
activities [1].The various streams of wastes to be considered will include;
Excavated materials,
Tiles, brick, ceramics, asphalt concrete,
Plaster,
Waste glass,
Metal and steel,
Plastics,
For presentation at Workshop on C&D Wastes Recycling at JNTU, Hyderabad.

28 February, 2015.
Wood, asphalt, and

Concrete rubbles, etc.
However, C&D waste shall not include any hazardous waste as defined under Hazardous
Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1989. C&D waste shall not include any waste
which may have any chance of getting contaminated with nuclear waste or exposed to nuclear
radiation. Special care shall be taken before demolition of any nuclear establishment [2].
Material generated from de-silting activity is also excluded from C&D waste category as it
contains decomposed organic material and may also contain heavy metals and other toxic
materials.
Time to make a beginning
Management of C&D waste is a relatively new subject in India. In spite of sporadic use for
filling low-lying areas and some salvage attempts, there was no systematic approach. The
primary reason is absence of focussed regulatory process and strict enforcement. The
applicable rule for management of municipal solid waste The Municipal Solid Waste
(Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 has brief mention about C&D waste, but there is no
separate rule for C&D wastes. The Local Authorities (municipal bodies) are mandated with
ensuring appropriate management of C&D waste. The tasks, therefore, include framing of
necessary rules, taking stock of required processes and technologies, minimising wastes in
new constructions, adoption of recycled products from processing of wastes and
standardisation of quality requirements. Promotional and confidence-building measures are
important.
Of late, there has been increased awareness about the problem and media has concentrated on
voicing the concerns about allowing the situation to drift. This will follow actions to be taken
on various fronts. Some beginning has already been made.
Codes of practices for constructions by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Indian Roads
Congress (IRC) and others do not envisage use of building materials recycled from C&D
wastes, nor are there any specifications for such materials. Now, a Committee of BIS is
looking into allowing recycled C&D Waste products into constructions. Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MOEF), Govt. of India, has taken up the task of framing separate
rules for the management of C&D Wastes [2].
Meanwhile a number of urban local bodies (ULBs) have notified tenders for management of
C&D waste, especially, for setting up processing facility. In a couple of cases, the projects
have been awarded and even the project site handed over to the BOT operator.
Amount and composition of C&D waste generated
Even at the beginning, let it be admitted that adequate data on C&D wastes generated in India
are not available. Part of the reason of the above state of affairs is that there is no separate
regulatory framework for management of C&D wastes, as a separate entity, distinct from
Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW).
In different countries, the estimate of quantity of C&D wastes is linked to that of municipal
solid wastes (MSW). A 2008 report of MOEF estimated the amount of MSW in India to be
0.573 million metric tonne (MMT) per day. On that basis, the amount of MSW in India will
be about 210 Million tonnes per year [3, 4]. For total population of 1.2 billion, this amounts
to about 175 kg per capita per year; much lower than the World Bank estimate of up to 1000
kg per capita per year for Asian countries (2000 estimate) [1]! This would be the first
example of underestimate in this matter.
Two Reports by Government agencies have stated that C&D wastes in India amount to nearly
one-third of the total MSW (3, 4). On that basis, the amount of C&D wastes can be estimated
to be nearly 70 million tonnes per year. Yet, the same Reports state the amount of C&D
wastes to be 10 12 million tonnes (3, 4). There is, thus, a serious disconnect between the
two estimates in the same Reports.That, a figure of 10 12 million tonnes of C&D wastes per
year in India is gross underestimate will be clear by comparison of data from other countries
given in Table 1 below. The sources of information are also identified. Selected data of C&D
waste generated in some Asian countries obtained from Ref. 7 are shown graphically in
Figure 1.
Table 1: Amount of C&D wastes in various countries
Country
Germany
Australia
China
Japan
S. Korea
India
Amount, MT
per year
223
19
200
85
77
61.7
14.7
10 12
Year
Reference
2003
2008 - 09
2005
2000
2012
2013
2001
2012
5
6
7
7
8
9
7 (Quoting MOEF)
3, 4
One of the main reasons for paucity of authentic data has been absence of regulatory
compulsions. It is hoped that, with promulgation of strict regulations and guidelines for
management of C&D wastes, as has been advocated in this paper, more accurate data on the
waste generated will be available with local bodies, who will issue permits for demolition as
well as new constructions.
Composition - The composition of the wastes depends upon the type of construction. For
example, if a concrete bridge superstructure or flyover is demolished, the wastes will be
almost entirely concrete. On the other hand, demolition of old residential blocks may result in
the wastes comprising soil, masonry, brickwork, tiles, wood, metal, plastics etc. in addition to
concrete.
Figure 1. Estimates of C&D wastes in some Asian countries (Ref. 7)

Estimates for the composition of typical demolition wastes in India have been made by
different agencies. These are shown in Table 2 [4].
Table 2: Estimates of composition of C&D wastes in India (4)
Components of C&D
Wastes
Soil/Sand, Gravel
Bitumen
Metals
Concrete
Wood
Others
Total
Typical as per
TIFAC
36.0
2.0
5.0
23.0
2.0
1.0
100.0
MCD Survey,
2004
43.0
35.0
7.0
100.0
Survey 2005 by
IL&FS
31.5
0.4
1.5
7.6
100.0
Based on TIFAC study, quantum of waste generated during Construction is of the order of 35
kg /m2 of construction activity, while during demolition waste generated is about 350 kg /m2
of demolition. It is presumed that the data in Table 2 above essentially relate to building
demolition wastes. The data above indicate the proportion of concrete in demolition wastes to
vary from 23 to 35 percent. The proportion of soil varied between 31.5 to 43 percent. With
improvement in data collection as suggested above, more precise estimates of the
composition of C&D wastes will also be available.
Regulatory framework
It is recommended that appropriate rules to be framed should cover the following;
The relevant regulations and by-laws for civil construction would have to be changed
so that the recycled C&D material can be used legitimately.
For new constructions, permission from municipalities should include a clear waste
management strategy, including use of recyclable building materials. The emphasis
will be on reduction of wastes and deconstruction instead of demolition.
Use of recycled materials meeting requirements of quality for the use should be made
obligatory for new constructions, subject to prices being competitive.
Permission for demolition will be required from municipalities, with a provision that
owner of the property being demolished takes full responsibility of collection,
recycling and disposal of demolition wastes and the related expenses. Detailed plans
for safe demolition will be required.
Local authorities should issue detailed deconstruction plans and detailed recycling
specifications.
Local authorities should be responsible for arranging the collection, recycling and
disposal infrastructure of C&D waste, either on their own, or through other agencies.
In such cases, the costs will be borne by the owners.
There should be charges for disposal in landfills, which should be sufficiently high to
encourage processing and recycling of C&D wastes.
Formulation and promulgation of separate rules for the management and handling of
Construction and Demolition wastes is being considered by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests [2]. According to the rules being postulated, the generator would prima-facie be
responsible for appropriate storage and collection of C&D waste generated. The
municipal/development authorities would make arrangements for placement of appropriate
containers (skips or other containers) and their removal at regular intervals or when they are
filled either through own resources or by appointing private operators. The competent
authority would get the collected waste transported to appropriate site(s) for further
processing and disposal either through own resources or by appointing private operators, who
would be the authorized agency. It is hoped that the other points made above will also be
incorporated in the rules.
Technologies of processing and recycling
The wastes originate from demolition of existing structures like old dwelling units,
pavements and industrial structures, new constructions and renovation and repairs. These are
required to be sorted out in separate categories;
Materials which can be recycled in waste recycling plants - concrete, stone, blocks,
tiles etc.,
Materials which can be disposed as scraps metals, steel, aluminum, doors and
windows, frames etc. and
Materials which can be disposed off by other methods paint, asbestos, glass,
electrical etc.
The schematic of the recycling process, as is common in many countries is depicted in Figure
2 below (1). The first step towards recycling is use of excavators along with task-specific
attachments to methodically dismantle buildings and to process the material at the site. Jaw
crushers, jack hammers, saws, debris buckets, metal shears etc. are widely adopted. Precast
concrete elements and concrete blocks can be reused with little or no processing, if care is
taken during demolition to separate them.
On-line and in-plant sorting and processing of C&D wastes are accomplished by use of both
mobile and stationary machines. These include;
Manual sorting lines,

Shredders,
Crushers,
Aggregate sifters,
Separators water-based density separators, magnetic separators, eddy current
separators, air blower separators etc.
Figure 2. General Recycling Process

The only working C&D waste Processing facility in India is at Burari, West Delhi, which has
capacity of 500 T waste materials per day. The C&D waste material after being received at
the plant is first segregated. The segregated C&D waste is screened through a grizzly to
remove loose soil and muck. The screened material is collected in the hand sorting section
where bricks and concrete are separated. Bigger size concrete boulders are broken by help of
a rock breaker. Further size reduction is done by the help of processing machines.
The central processing unit has mobile crushing units Rubble Master RM 60, with capacity of
60 T per hour. Nearly 65 to 70 percent of the C&D waste received is soil, which cannot be
processed and perforce has to be used forlandfill. To overcome this handicap, a wet
processingsystem known as the Evowash System has been installed. This wet processing
system extracts pure sand from the unprocessed soil as also, the end product will be clean soil
which can be used for landscaping etc.
The process flow of C&D waste recycling at the plant is as under (Fig. 3).
Collection of C&D Waste

Weighbridge
Dry & Wet Processing
Figure 3. Flow chart of C&D waste recycling in Delhi.

Demolition - Selective demolition, which allows separation and sorting of materials is
preferred. At first, domestic wastes like furniture, appliances etc., metal components like
window frames, pipes etc., timber components, and other wastes like tiles, asphaltic
materials, ceramic products etc. are removed one by one. Brick walls are demolished,
followed by concrete structural members. Mounted hydraulic breakers, long reach excavators
and wrecking balls are used for demolition. Other equipment used include hydraulic concrete
splitters, hydraulic concrete crushers and pulverisers etc.
For reconstruction of typical 50 years old, 4 9 storey residential blocks in metro cities, the
portion to be demolished is isolated with diamond cutting, the unwanted portion is
demolished and concrete elements like columns, beam and slab are crushed. Varieties of
diamond sawing include wire saw, floor saw, hand saw, chain saw, wall saw etc.
Use of recycled materials
Uses of different components of the wastes after processing are discussed. It is necessary to
highlight high-end uses, so that C&D wastes are recognised as resource material suitable for
conservation of natural resources in new constructions; otherwise the subject will continue to
be seen through the prism of mere disposal of debris, as have been the approach so far.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), MORTH, IRC and Railways should bring out
specifications of construction materials obtained from recycling of C&D wastes, as
appropriate to different types of constructions. The recycled products need to be tested in
reputed laboratories for their mechanical properties and appropriate application.
Use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is discussed in some details below. The other
materials recovered from C&D wastes can be used as under (1)
Bricks Reused as bricks, road base, construction fill.
Wood, timber Recovery of reusable timber in furniture, flooring; recycling in fibreboard,
particle board,
Metals Steel smelting, manufacture of steel from scrap. Aluminium Recycle and reuse.
Plastics Recycle.
Tiles Direct reuse; Crushed gravel and crushed stone replacement.
Excavation material Reuse as backfill in sand and gravel pits, road fill material.
Glass recycle, crushed glass as fine aggregate.
Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA)
This topic is being covered in another Seminar to be held in March 2015 (10). To avoid
duplication, only salient description is given here.
Characteristics - In most cases, data on the original aggregate or concrete mix proportions,
which are used in the constructions that led to the waste, may not be available. The strength
characteristics of hardened concrete made with such aggregate are similar to those of natural
rock and are not significantly affected by the grade or quality of the original concrete.
Recycled concrete aggregates produced from all except the poorest quality original concrete
can be expected to pass the same tests required of conventional aggregates (11).
The most significant factor is that recycled concrete aggregate contain not only the original
aggregate, but also hydrated cement paste adhered to the surface. This paste reduces the
specific gravity and increases the porosity, compared to similar virgin aggregates. Higher
porosity of RCA leads to a higher absorption.Recycled aggregate will typically have higher
absorption (see Figure 4) and lower specific gravity than natural aggregate; only lightweight
aggregate may have higher water absorption (11).
Aggregate size
Figure 4. Comparison of Water absorption properties of RCA with other aggregate (11).
Virgin aggregate from natural sources have specific gravity of 2.65 or more. Depending upon
the amount of cement mortar adhering to it, which has lower specific gravity, the net specific
gravity of RCA will be lower. The adherent mortar will absorb water, thereby again
increasing water absorption. As will be elaborated later on, recycled concrete aggregate
(RCA) is characterised in specifications by its density and water absorption, among other
characteristics (12).
Another property is alkali aggregate reactivity. Recycled concrete aggregate, which have
been sourced from a number of demolition concretes, is likely to be alkali-reactive. The alkali
content in the adherent mortar is also likely to contribute to potential activity. Many
specifications, therefore, suggest tests for ASR activity to be carried out before use in new
concrete.
Recycled concrete aggregate, which have been sourced from a number of demolition
concretes, are likely to exhibit greater variability than those sourced from one demolition
concrete, and would affect the uniformity of resultant concrete.
Influence on Concrete properties - The main influence is on the strength characteristics of
concrete made with RCA, which is generally lower than that made with virgin aggregate. The
reason for the loss of strength is usually associated with (13);
The weaker interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the aggregate phase and the
mortar, due to the aggregate already having a coat of weak mortar attached on its
surface, and
This attached mortar raising the porosity of the resultant concrete.
In an exhaustive review of published results, Dhir and Paine (13) have summarised the
following trends on use of RCA as part or full replacement of virgin aggregate;
Losses in compressive strength up to 15 percent for the same water-cement ratio.

However, up to 20 percent (as in BS 8500-2) to 30 percent replacement of natural
coarse aggregate by RCA can be made, without any significant influence on
performance of concrete. RCA were most effective in lower strength concretes.
Fine fractions of RCA are not encouraged as replacement of fine aggregate (sand).
However, it is used in many countries (12).
Flexural strength and modulus of elasticity of RCA concrete are proportional to
compressive strength. Typical relationships as given in design codes are compatible
with the use of RCA.
Drying shrinkage and creep of RCA concrete may be higher than in natural aggregate
concrete. However, the values seldom fall outside the limit permitted in structural
codes, and up to 20 replacements can give comparable results as in natural aggregate
concrete.
RCA concrete tends to be less resistant to those deleterious reactions which are
dependent on fluid transport into concrete, mainly as a result of increased
permeability. Chloride ingress is more rapid. Abrasion resistance is lower.
RCA concrete has, however, better resistance to carbonation than natural aggregate
concrete.
Portland Cement Association, USA states (11);

It is generally accepted that when natural sand is used, up to 30% of natural crushed coarse
aggregate can be replaced with coarse recycled aggregate without significantly affecting any
of the mechanical properties of the concrete. As replacement amounts increase, drying
shrinkage and creep will increase and tensile strength and modulus of elasticity will decrease,
however compressive strength and freeze-thaw resistance are not significantly affected (11).
Construction practices - It is generally recommended that RCA be batched in a pre-wetted
and used close to a saturated surface dry (SSD) condition, like lightweight aggregates. To
achieve the same workability, slump, and water-cement ratio as in conventional concrete, the
paste content or amount of water reducer generally have to be increased (11). Concrete with
RCA can be transported, placed, and compacted in the same manner as conventional
concrete. Special care is necessary when using fine RCA. Only up to 10% to 20% fine RCA
is beneficial. The aggregate should be tested at several substitution rates to determine the
optimal rate.
R&D on Use in High Strength Concrete

After removal of contaminants through selective demolition, screening, and /or air separation
and size reduction in a crusher to aggregate sizes, concrete rubble results in recycled concrete
aggregate. The fine fractions can be used as replacement of sand. The most significant factor
is that recycled concrete aggregate contain not only the original aggregate, but also hydrated
cement paste adhered to it. This paste reduces the specific gravity and increases the porosity
compared to similar virgin aggregates. The bond with the matrix in new concrete is affected,
resulting in lower characteristics of concrete. Most of these effects can be overcome by
proper processing (rubbing) and two-stage mixing. This has been aptly described elsewhere
(14).
RCA as Replacement of Coarse Aggregate In this study, the C&D waste were collected in boulder form, from demolished concrete
pavements and other structures (14). The collected material was crushed by hammer crusher,
followed by jaw crusher, and finally by screening. Figure 5 (a) and (b) shows typical C&D
waste and recycled concrete aggregate obtained there from.
Figure 5(a). Demolition waste before processing
Figure 5(b). Recycled concrete aggregate obtained after processing.
The recycled aggregate (RCA) from the crushing plant was further processed in a Los
Angeles abrasion test machine by using steel balls and rotated a total number of 700
revolutions @ 33 rpm for each batch of total weight 10 kg ( two sizes of 20-10
20
mm and 10-5
mm each 5kg). Such processed material (called PRA in this paper), was discharged from the
machine and washed manually with water properly, till
till the water after washing was clean.
The washed material was air dried and stacked in the laboratory before use in the
experimental programme. All the aggregates including PRA were used in saturated surfacesurface
dry condition.
The processing of recycled concrete
concrete comprised different number of revolutions in the LA test
machine. The effect of number of revolutions on properties of concrete was examined first.
Typical results of 28-days
days compressive strength of concrete with different proportions of
recycled concrete
crete aggregate, which were subjected to varying number of revolutions and
normal mixing, are shown in Figure 6.. It can be seen that the strength decreased with
proportion of recycled aggregate (PRA) compared to with virgin aggregate (zero percent PRA).
For
or any proportion of PRA, the strength improved with the number of revolutions on PRA.
Figure.6.. Effect of processing of aggregate on compressive strength of concrete.
Slump (mm)
Similar was the effect on slump; 140 mm slump in control concrete decreased to 40 mm in case
of 100 percent unprocessed aggregate (zero revolutions), but gradually increased to 80 mm
with the number of revolutions (Figure 7).
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
NMA (0-RVS)
NMA (200RVS)
NMA (500RVS)
NMA (700RVS)
TSMA
TSMA1
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% of PRA
Figure 7. Effect of processing and mixing techniques on workability.

The trend in tests for other properties including durability,as reported in details elsewhere (15)
(1
were similar, which improved with the number of revolutions during processing of RA. There
was not much improvement between 500 and 700 revolutions; as such processing was
standardised as 500 revolutions, and were adopted in subsequent tests as reported hereinafter.
After 500 revolutions, the specific gravity of processed aggregate was 2.62 and water
absorption 1.47 percent. These are improvements over 2.60 and 4.16 percent respectively for
unprocessed RA. In large constructions, appropriate machinery will have to be used (1) in place
of LA test machine used in the present investigation.
Two-stage mixing- In normal mixing method (NMA), all the ingredients are fed sequentially
and mixed in one go. For further improvement in the properties of concrete with recycled
concrete aggregate, two-stage mixing has been advocated (15).In the two-stage mixing
method, all the materials including processed recycled aggregate PRA (except virgin recycled
aggregate) were loaded in the pan mixer in the first stage, and then the virgin coarse aggregate,
which need not require any treatment, was added in the second stage of mixing to complete the
process. In case processed recycled aggregate comprised the full (100 percent), it was mixed in
the second stage. The total mixing time was 180 seconds in normal mixing (NMA) and 300
seconds in two-stage mixing.
Concrete produced in twostage mixing showed better strength and durability results than
normal mixing approach (NMA), because the PRA (500RVS) was completely repaired in the
second stage mixing by filling up the old cracks, pores, voids, cavities, gaps and fissures etc.
By using two-stage mixing approaches, the replacement level of virgin coarse aggregate
with PRA up to 60 percent is suggested for higher grades of concrete more than 75 MPa
(15).
Even with 100% replacement of virgin coarse aggregate with PRA, the strength up to 70 MPa
can be achieved. The durability characteristics, especially drying shrinkage, abrasion resistance,
chloride ion penetration, and creep, which was not investigated, need careful consideration in
high strength concrete applications (15).
Use of Fine Fractions as Sand Replacement The concrete rubble has to be properly processed, including scrubbing to remove the adhered
hydrated cement as much as possible (15). The fine fractions obtained during such processing
has to be made use of. Some countries like Norway, South Korea, and Japan etc. allow use of
recycled fine aggregate in new concrete constructions (1). Use of finer fractions (< 4.75 mm)
of recycled concrete as part replacement of fine aggregate from natural sources was
investigated (16). The results have been published recently; as such, only salient findings are
reported here. The final < 4.75mm fraction obtained was brought into grading zone
confirming to IS 383, by mixing suitably.
Properties of fine aggregate from natural sources and recycled concrete are shown in Table 3.
The quality of recycled aggregate is judged in terms of materials content, density and water
absorption (12). In many specifications, the limits of specific gravity (minimum) and water
absorption (maximum) are 2.2 and 5 percent (South Korea) or 2.2 and 7 percent (Japan)
respectively. If similar specifications are adopted in India, the present sample of recycled fine
aggregate will satisfy the same.
Table 3.Propertiesof
ropertiesof fineaggregate
S. No.
Material
Water Absorption
Specific Gravity
1
Natural Sand
0.21
2.6
2
Recycled Aggregate 6.2
2.41
.
Two control concrete mixes viz. M30, M40 were designed using virgin aggregates. Further
mixes were obtained by replacing the fine aggregate fraction with recycled aggregate in steps
of 10 percent, up to 50 percent. No other changes were made.
Constructionn and demolition waste has porous structure and high water absorption which
resulted in loss of workability at high percent replacements .The target slump of 75 mm was
reduced to 65 mm (M30 grade) and 59 mm in M40 grade, when 50 percent of sand was
replacedd by recycled aggregate (16).
(1 ). This lowering of workability can be offset by use of
chemical admixtures and using the aggregate in saturated surface dry condition. It is to be
noted that no chemical admixture was used in the present investigation.
Compressive
ive strength of concrete mixes for M30 and M40 grades up to 90 days are shown in
Figures 6 and 7 respectively. From the results, it was found that the strength of the concrete
mixes were continuously decreasing with the increase in replacement percentages of natural
sand by construction and demolition waste .
50
40
30
20
10
0
7 days
28 days
56 days
90 days
M30R00 M30R10 M30R20 M30R30 M30R40 M30R50
Figure 6. Variation in compressive strength with replacement of sand M30 grade

60
50
40
7 days
30
28 days
20
56 days
10
90 days
0
M40R00
M40R10 M40R20 M40R30
M40R40
M40R50
Figure 7. Variation in compressive strength with replacement of sand M40 grade

The lowering of compressive strength was restricted to 11.3 percent for M30 grade and 7.1
percent in case of M40 grade at 28 days, when 20 percent of natural sand was replaced by
recycled aggregate. For 10 percent replacement levels, the target strengths for
f M30 grade (38
MPa) and M40 grade (48 MPa) were achieved, without any adjustment in the water/cement
ratio (16).
As in case of compressive strengths, the flexural strength tests on 100 x 100 x 500 mm beam
specimens as per IS: 516 and split tensile strength on 150 x 300 mm cylinder specimens as
per IS: 5816 for M30 and M40 grades up to ages of 90 days also decreased, as more and more
of natural sand was replaced with recycled aggregate (16). The decrement in flexural
strength was 5.9 percent at 28 days for M30 grade and 3.5 percent for M40 grade, when
replacement level was 20 percent. These values are much more moderate than in case of
compressive strength as discussed above.
Based on the results it was recommended that replacement of natural sand by recycled
concrete aggregate up to 20 percent can be permitted in concrete of grades up to M40, as is
permitted in many international specifications.
Incorporation in Specifications
In order that a recycled material finds acceptance in the construction industry, comparison of
its characteristics with those of traditional materials becomes necessary. Permission to use
them incorporated in the national Codes and Specifications are also vital. Additional
confidence building measures include third party quality assurance schemes to test the
characteristics of the recycled products and certify fitness for use.
Specifications for recycled concrete aggregate follow these steps;
Specify chemical properties of recycled aggregate e.g. chloride content, influence on

initial setting time of cement, water soluble sulphate and alkali content, to be at par
with those of virgin aggregate,
Decide the extent of removal of adherent cement mortar coating by density (dry or
saturated) and water absorption. The extent of separation of the concrete rubble from
soil, masonry etc. is judged by the constituents of the recycled aggregate.
Recycled aggregate are then classified into different categories, and
Appropriate uses are recommended for each category in terms of exposure condition
and strength requirements. Upper limit of replacement of natural aggregate with
recycled material is specified.
The specific provisions in different countries are discussed below;

European (CEN) Practice
EN 12620 was expanded to include recycled aggregate in the EN Standard for aggregate for
concrete. According to it, the aggregate can be of the following types;
Natural aggregates from mineral resources,

Manufactured aggregates of mineral origin, involving thermal or other modification,
and
Recycled aggregate, resulting from processing of inorganic material previously used
in construction.
UK - BS 8500-2:200628, which is the complementary British Standard to BS EN 2061:200051, refers to two types of recycled aggregate (13);
Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), and

Recycled aggregate (RA).
RCA is obtained from crushing demolished concrete structures, discarded precast elements
and unused hardened concrete (2). In some modification of EN 12620, BS 8500 stipulates
that RCA must be predominantly composed of concrete (at least 83.5 percent) and masonry
content not more than 5 percent. Such aggregate can be used in structural concrete having
cube strength of concrete 50 MPa. Recycled aggregate concrete containing crushed leftover
concrete has no strength limitation provided the aggregate is not contaminated. For concrete
cube strengths of 25 to 50 MPa, a maximum of 20 percent replacement of coarse aggregate
applies, for designated concrete.
RA may contain masonry up to 100 percent. Because the potential composition of recycled
aggregate (RA) is so wide, additional specification clauses may be required on a case by case
basis. In particular, a project specification should include maximum acid soluble sulphate,
method for determining the alkali content, ASR reactivity and any limitations on use in
concrete. Recycled aggregate (RA) is limited to concrete cube strength of 20 MPa.
Provisions for the use of fine recycled concrete aggregate and fine recycled aggregate are not
given in BS 8500-2:200628, but it does not preclude their use where it can be demonstrated,
due to the source of material, that significant quantities of deleterious materials are not
present. Fine recycled concrete aggregate should be assessed on a project specific basis.
BS 8500-2:200628 also places a restriction on the exposure classes in which recycled
aggregate concrete can be located. Recycled aggregate concrete can be used for unreinforced
concrete, internal concrete, and external concrete not exposed to chlorides or subject to deicing salts, but is effectively excluded from sites with marine and other chloride exposure,
from all but moderate freeze thaw environments, and in aggressive soils. It also cannot be
used in designated concrete
for foundations or paving. However the recycled aggregate concrete can be used in such
excluded zones if durability tests can demonstrate its suitability for the intended environment.
Because of lower proportion of masonry in RCA, its performance characteristics are regarded
as better than those of RA. Consequently, there are fewer restrictions on their use in concrete
subjected to different exposure conditions (13).
Germany Germany has elaborated several regulations and indications determining standards
for recycling materials in order to utilize them and make them an alternative to new materials.
Most of them are used in road construction. Some guidelines for the use of recycled mineral
materials in Germany are given in DIN 4226 Aggregates for Concrete and DIN 4226-100
Recycled aggregates for concrete and mortar.DIN 1045 permits up to 25 percent RCA in
structural concrete of cube strength 37.5 MPa in dry or low humidity environments.
Challenges do however still exist and so long as virgin material prices are competitive
recycled concrete will remain primarily dependant on the road construction market (5).
Norway In a publication of 1999, it was reported that there were no specifications for
recycled concrete aggregate. Proposal for such a specification was worked out and given in
Table 4 below (17).
Table 4. Classification of Recycled Aggregate in Norway(Ref. 17)

Subject
Mineral content
Concrete or rock
Concrete, rock, masonry or brick
Non-mineral content
(as wood, paper, metals, insulation materials, plastics,
rubber, plant remnants) and glass
Density
Oven-dried, g/cm3
Saturated surface dry, g/cm3
Water Absorption, %
Type I
Type II
>99 %
>95 %
<5 %
<1 %
>1500
>1800
<20
>2000
>2100
<10
Two types of aggregate are classified on the basis of mineral and non-mineral contents,
density, and water absorption. Type II aggregate containing > 99 % concrete and rock is
superior to Type I, which may contain more than 95 per cent of concrete, rock, masonry and
brick. Limits of application are summarised in Table 5 below.
Table 5. Allowed Proportion of Recycled Aggregate in Norway(Ref. 17)
Strength and
exposure
Fine Aggregate
C25, mild
Coarse Aggregate
C25, mild
C55, moderate
Type I
Type II
Type I + II
5%
10 %
5%
10 %
O
30 %
20 %
10 %
-
Coarse aggregate in case of Type I can be used up to 10 percent in case of concrete of

cylinder strength 25 MPa (Cube strength 30 MPa) and mild exposure only. Coarse aggregate
of Type II for similar application can be up to 30 percent, and 20 percent for cylinder strength
55 MPa (cube strength 65 MPa) exposed to moderately aggressive exposure - outdoor
structures in humid environment (17).
Fine aggregate from recycled concrete can be used up to 5 percent in case of Type I and 10
percent in case of Type II, for concrete of cylinder strength of 25 MPa (cube strength 30
MPa) and mild exposure indoor structures in dry climate without aggressiveness.
Australia (12)
Standards Australias Guide to the use of recycled concrete and masonry materials (HB
155:2002) defines two classes of recycled aggregate for use as aggregate for new concrete:
Class 1A recycled concrete aggregate is predominantly recycled concrete.
Class 1B recycled concrete aggregate can contain up to 30% brick content.
HB 155:20027 also defines two classes of recycled aggregate concretes (RACs):
Grade 1 recycled aggregate concrete is defined as concrete with up to 30% substitution

level of Class 1A recycled concrete coarse aggregate. Grade 1 recycled aggregate concrete
has a maximum specified strength limit of 40 MPa.
Grade 2 recycled aggregate concrete is allowed up to 100% substitution level of Class 1A
or Class 1B recycled concrete coarse aggregate. Grade 2 recycled aggregate concrete has a
maximum specified strength limit of 25 MPa.
Neither grade is permitted to contain recycled fine aggregate.
USA
Regulatory issues vary from state to state and agency to agency. Major uses being in road sub
bases, State Highway officials were first to come out with guidelines. In 2005, California
wrote legislation making mandatory and accepting use of recycled aggregate into new
concrete. Other uses are in RMC and asphalt pavement. For structural applications, ASTM
C94/C94M-11b55 allows replacement of 20 to 25% by weight of coarse aggregate generally
(in structural concrete of higher grades); and 100% coarse aggregate replacement by recycled
coarse aggregate should be allowed for concrete cube strengths up to 25 MPa (12). Recycled
aggregate obtained from returned leftover concrete from RMC plants are recommended for
use in structural concrete up to 50 percent of coarse aggregate replacement; up to 100%
replacement of coarse aggregate only is allowed for all non-structural applications. Use of
fine aggregate obtained from recycled concrete are not encouraged (11).
South Korea
Korean Standard KS F 2573 allows the use of recycled aggregate recovered from demolished
concrete. The requirements for recycled aggregate are as under (9);
Coarse aggregate - oven-dry density > 2.5 g/cm3, water absorption <3 percent.
Fine aggregate oven-dry density > 2.2 g/cm3, water absorption <5.0 percent.
Permitted grades of concrete using RCA are as under;
Strength class of 27 MPa and under up to 30 percent replacement of only coarse aggregate.
Strength class of 21 MPa and under up to 30 percent replacement of coarse aggregate and
fine aggregate.
Japan Standardisation of recycled aggregate in Japan has progressed in stages. In 1977, Building
Contractors Society set up guidelines in terms of oven-dry density and water absorption of
recycled aggregate. For coarse aggregate, the limiting values were > 2.2 g/cm3 and 7 percent
respectively; for fine aggregate, the limits were > 2.0 g/cm3 and < 13 percent (10).
Subsequent revisions followed intensive research activities by many agencies and
improvements in techniques of recycling, leading to formulation of three classes of recycled
aggregate in 2007 by Japan Industrial Standards Committee. The details are given in Table7
(8).
Table 7. Requirements for Recycled Aggregate in Japan (Ref. 8)

Properties
Oven-dry
density,
g/cm3
Water
absorption,
%
Material
passing
75, %
Scope of
application
RA-H
Coarse
>2.5
Fine
>2.5
RA-M
Coarse
>2.3
<3.0
<3.5
<1.0
<7.0
Strength 45 MPa, no
restriction of exposure
Fine
>2.2
RA-L
Coarse
-
Fine
-
<5.0
<7.0
<7.0
<13.0
<1.5
<7.0
<2.0
<10.0
Members not subjected

to drying or freezing and
thawing
Backfill concrete,
blinding concrete,
levelling concrete
Recommendations for IS: 383, IS: 456

IS: 456 or IRC: 112 do not permit use of aggregate other than those obtained from natural
sources and conforming to IS: 383. In view of international developments and experiences, as
well as shortage of aggregate from natural sources in many parts of the country, it is time that
recycled aggregate are permitted for use in concrete constructions. Proper use of recycled
aggregate will be subject to test of its characteristics as laid down for normal aggregates. A
broad framework is suggested (1), based on which suitable specifications can be drawn up by
BIS;
Categories The following categories are suggested;
Category I - The recycled aggregate meets the requirements of IS: 383.
Category II - Not fully meeting the requirements of IS: 383. The content of crushed
concrete and unbound stone is greater than 85 percent, oven-dry density > 2500
g/cm3, water absorption less than 3 percent.
Category III - If the content of crushed concrete is equal or greater than 70 percent.
Content of brick or masonry not more than 30 percent.
Areas of application
Category I - It should be permitted for unrestricted use.
Category II - it can be used as coarse as well as fine aggregate up to a total
replacement level of 30 percent, in concrete grades up to M50. For grades up to M25,
the replacement can be 100 percent.
Category III - It can be allowed to be used in non-structural concrete (grade M20) up
to 100 percent replacement of natural aggregate.
Incentives and confidence building measures
A number of confidence building measures have been recommended [1]. These include
policy, technical and financial incentives to make recycling and reuse of C&D wastes viable.
A few recommendations are;
The nodal ministry in Govt. Of India should take up the task of recycling and reuse of
C&D wastes in Mission mode; as was done for utilisation of fly ash.
Market Development Group has to be established at national level, with a mandate to
investigate market opportunities for the beneficial reuse of materials recovered from
waste streams, including C&D waste.
Sale outlets for such recycled products should be in place, so that those desirous of
using them have no difficulty.
There should be adequate number of C&D Waste processing, recycling and marketing
centers in each state.
Mobile processing plants should be encouraged for decentralized processing near the
site of demolition and new constructions, to reduce costs.
The concept of appropriate use of waste-derived construction materials may have to
be introduced for such situations, which do not demand high performance for long
and sustained service life. Examples include temporary constructions, secondary
applications not subjected to full design loads or where lower factor of safety, with
periodic maintenance and repair, will permit materials of somewhat lower
specifications to be used.
The recycled products need to be tested in reputed laboratories for their mechanical
properties and appropriate application.
Green building assessment processes should encourage use of building materials
obtained by recycling of C&D wastes.
Waste management and abatement practices will have to be integrated into
mainstream architectural and engineering education and practice in the country. It is
suggested that AICTE and Council of Architects take necessary actions in this regard.
Other things being equal, constructions in Government and Public Sector projects
should give preference to waste-derived recycled materials of construction.
Land should be made available at subsidized rates for setting up of plants for
processing and recycling C&D wastes.
Some countries permit higher space utilization (FAR) in buildings constructed with
recycled materials. Other concessions include more number of floors than permitted
with conventional materials.
Recycled building materials derived from C&D wastes should be given incentives in
VAT, Sales Tax and tax holidays.
References
[1] Indian Concrete Institute, Guidelines on recycling, use and management of C&D
wastes, Report of the Technical Committee ICI/TC/05, October 2013.
[2] Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Govt. of India, The Construction and
Demolition Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2014, (under finalisation).
[3] Report of the Committee to Evolve Road Map on Management of Wastes, MOEF, Govt.
of India, March 2010, 47 p.
[4]IL&FS ECOSMART, Construction & demolition (C&D) waste; collection, transportation

and disposal system, Project Report for MCD, Delhi Solid Waste Management Program, 38p
[5] -------- Construction and demolition waste management in Germany, Study by ZEBAU
GmbH, 22767 Hamburg, Germany, 27 October 2006, 82 p.
[6] Management of construction and demolition waste in Australia, Status Report, No. 5,
Hyder Consulting, Melbourne, October 2011, 194 p.
[7] Asian Institute of Technology, Report on reduce, reuse and recycle (3R) practices in
construction and demolition waste management in Asia, Thailand, May 2008, 81 p.
[8] Noguchi, Takafumi, Sustainable recycling of concrete structures, Indian Concrete
Institute (ICI) Journal, April June 2012, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 40 53.
[9] Choi, D. U., et al, Technological aspects of construction and demolition waste
management, Proc., International Workshop on Construction and demolition (C&D) Waste
Recycling, IIT Madras, Aug. 2013, pp. 1 13.
[10] Mullick, A. K., Recycled Concrete Aggregate from C&D Wastes: Processing, Uses and
Specifications, All India Seminar on New Developments in Use of Alternative Materials in
Concrete, AMCON 2015, 13 14 March 2015, ICI, Nagpur.
[11] Portland Cement Association, USA, Concrete TechnologyRecycled aggregate for use
inconcrete,www.cement.org/tech/cct_aggregates_recycled.asp.
[12] Cement and Concrete Association of New Zealand, Recycled aggregate in new concrete,
Best Practice Guide, CCANZ Technical Report No. 14, 49 p. www.ccanz.org.nz,
[13] Dhir, R. K., and Paine, K. A., Value added sustainable use of recycled and secondary
aggregates in concrete, Indian Concrete Journal, March 2010, 7 26.
[14] Babu, V. S., Mullick, A. K., Jain, K. K. and Singh, P. K., Mechanical properties of high
strength concrete with recycled aggregate- Influence of processing, Indian Concrete Journal.
88 (5), 2014, 10 26.
[15] Mullick, A. K., and Babu, V. S., Enhancement of Aggregate-related Characteristics of
High Strength Concrete with Recycled Aggregate, Sixth International Conference of Asian
Concrete Federation, ACF 2014, Sept. 2014, Seoul, South Korea.
[16] Agrawal, Parag, Dube, Naman, Mullick, A. K., and Babu, V., S., Fine fractions of
recycled concrete as sand replacement, Indian Concrete Journal, Vol. 88, No. 10, October
2014, pp.80 - 86.
[17] -------- Recycling of concrete and masonry materials for production of concrete,
NorskBetongforenIng, Publication No. 26, 1999, 27 p.
--------
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Construction and Demolition Waste Processing

A Pioneering Initiative by Delhi
by
Pradeep Khandelwal, Chief Engineer EDMC
Introduction
Construction and demolition debris comprise concrete, plaster, bricks, metal, wood, plastics
etc. It is estimated that the construction industry in India generates about 10-12 million tons
of waste annually. The amount of construction & demolition (C&D) waste generated in the
country has increased considerably in recent years due to rapid pace of development.
There is no uniform and systematic process followed in determining the total quantity of
C&D waste generated or in collection, transportation and disposal of C&D waste anywhere
in India.Moreover, the management of C&D waste is of major concern due to the shortage
of dumping sites and increase in transportation/disposal costs. C&D waste strewn across our
cities chokes surface drains, disrupts traffic and is an eyesore on the urban landscape.
It is estimated that Delhi itself generates about 4500 to 5000 tons per day (TPD) of
Construction & Demolition (C&D)Waste. Per Sqm Waste generation is as under:
New Construction activities : 35 kg/ sqm
Re-Construction activities : 350 kg/ sqm
Average C&D Waste received at the landfills: 2000 TPD
Characteristics of C & D waste
With increasing constraint of availability of space for storage of construction and demolition
debris as well as for saving space at the landfill sites, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)
had taken the initiative to streamline the management of construction and demolition
debris generated in the MCD area in 2005. To improve C&D collection, treatment and
disposal, MCD involved private operators to collect, transfer and process C&D waste.
Accordingly, IL&FS Environment had made an offer to start a pilot project for systematic
management of 500 TPD (tones per day) of C&D waste. The project envisaged appropriate
collection mechanism for C&D waste generated in the command area, its collection and
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transportation to the designated site identified for the purpose by the MCD, processing of
the waste and reclaiming of the land by filling up, leveling and compaction. MCD has
provided the land at Jahangirpuri (about 7 acre) to start with for a C&D facility on the
condition that the land is reclaimed through filling and returned to the MCD.
DIRECTIVE OF DELHI GOVERNMENT FOR DISPOSAL OF C&D WASTE EITHER AT MCD
DUMPSITES OR IEISL C&D FACILITY
As per periodic directives issued by MCD, all C&D waste generated in the city of Delhi has to
be disposed at either the three dumpsites maintained by different Municipal Corporation of
Delhi or at the C&D processing facility managed by IEISL. All tenders issued by PWD and
DSIDC, etc have the clause that the contractor has shown documentary proof of proper
disposal of C&D waste.
CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT-PROJECT RATIONALE
The rationale for the proposed project is to separate C&D stream from MSW for better
management of municipal solid waste and in this process
Partially transfer the responsibility and cost of collection, transportation, and disposal
to the C&D waste generator
Explore and develop a market for processed C&D waste.
Under the agreement, a 500 TPD C&D Waste Recycling Plant has been set up by IL&FS
Environmental Infrastructure and Services Limited (IEISL). The plant has been set up on
Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis for a concession period of 10 years.
The project encompasses the following:
Secondary C&D Waste Collection from designated locations
On-call C&D Waste Collection Services
Setting up and operating call centre / helpline
Transportation of collected C&D waste to designated processing plant
C&D Waste Processing
Manufacturing, Marketing and Selling Recyclable Products
Disposal of Process rejects to secured landfill
The processing facility installed by IEISL/ IL&FS at Jahangirpuri, Delhi, is a first andone of its
kind initiative in the country. It aims at using a novel method in recycling the C&D waste
generated in the city. As this is the first project of its kind, the selection of vehicles,
processing equipment, and methodology adopted for processing had to undergo number of
iterations. Due to heterogeneous nature of incoming C&D waste, IEISL had to constantly
fine tune the production process as well as technology adopted for processing it. It will be
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worth mentioning here that till date IEISL has processed approximately 14 lakhs tons malba
over a period of 5 years.
PROCESS FLOW THE WASTE TO CONVERT IN USEFUL PRODUCT
SITE DEVELOPMENT AND PROCESSING

The site allotted by MCD was fairly low lying and marshy. There was requirement of making
the site usable for setting up the plant which necessitated filling up the low-lying ground.
Considerable amount of C&D waste was used for this purpose in addition to some
segregated and processed aggregates.
COLLECTION OF C&D WASTE
Adequate transport is available at the plant at all times to cater for both scheduled and on
demand collection requests of MCD. Scheduled collection is done from different collection
points in the three designated zones.
Apart from MCD, other Government agencies like PWD, DDA, DSIIDC, NBCC have also
availed the services of IEISL for collection and transportation of C&D waste. Collection of
waste belonging to MCD and other agencies are handled separately.
PROCESSING OF C&D WASTE
The plant has a process stream of 500 TPD. The plant is designed to work in two shifts i.e.
16 hours per day and operates for 330 days in a year. Sequence of Unit operations is as
follows:
Receipt & Inspection of C&D Waste at the plant

Weighing of waste using computerized weigh bridge
Manual Segregation & Resizing
Dry/Wet Processing
Preparation of Final Products
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The waste, which is received at the facility, is first inspected for any hazardous substances.
After clearance from this step, the waste is weighed on an electronic bridge, and the
acknowledgement slip is provided. The weighbridge is equipped with CCTV cameras for
continuous monitoring of the weighing process.
After the first step, the waste is dumped to the tipping floor where the first step of
segregation is done. Whole bricks are removed manually and reused in construction work.
Then, big concrete pieces and C&D waste is then taken for further processing. It is manually
or mechanically crushed to 200mm-400mm size for further processing.
Wet processing line has a designed capacity to process 70 Tons per hour. Even taking into
consideration a 14 hours working scenario in the day time, plant can handle about 1,000
tons of C&D waste every day. Hence the plant has sufficient surplus capacity to process
waste in addition to 500 TPD of C&D waste generation of MCD, which it is mandated to
process.
The wet processing of the C&D waste with the CDE Asia C&D System is as under:
Collected C&D waste is first screened through a +200 mm Screen to segregate Concrete
blocks, bricks and other trash items from mixed C&D waste.
-200mm C&D waste is then screened through a +60 mm grizzly to remove loose soil and
muck. C&D waste in the size range of -200 to +60 mm are then passed through an
Impact crusher, for size reduction.
Segregated bigger size concrete boulders as well as mixed concrete are broken with help
of rock breaker. Further size reduction will be done with the help of processing machines.
For the wet process a total set of machinery consisting of Grizzly, Vibro Screens, Evo
Wash, Thickener etc, that is capable of segregating sand from mixed C&D waste is used.
The C&D waste is thereafter being recycled into aggregates at the waste management
facility, which is in turn converted to Ready Mix Concrete (RMC), Cement bricks, hollow
bricks, pavement blocks, kerb stones and concrete bricks. The products have been tested in
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various laboratories and found to be suitable for the specific purposes. These products are
actually being sold in the market. Some of the Products made from recycled material are:
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
Reduced use of virgin construction materials is the single most important environmental
benefit of C&D waste recycling facility. Therefore, one has to look at the life cycle of a
natural resource to assess environmental benefits accrued from C&D waste recycling.
From the entire C&D waste processed, the recovery of 40% of aggregate from the waste can
be used for manufacturing cement blocks, which require minimal quantity of cement. Using
of recycled aggregate in this process will reduce the consumption of fresh stones and sand.
This, when measured in quantity will lead to conservation of about 175 T of sand and soil
per day.
Similarly, the recovery of concrete aggregate is roughly 10%. This can be mixed with cement
and sand in designed proportion to make RMC. Segregation and processing of every 100
tonnes of C&D waste will result into about 10 tonnes of RMC in addition to other products.
C&D waste management facility reduces the burden on the landfill sites in and around the
city. Jahangirpuri site of IEISL has handled 1.4 million tons of waste since inception. This
translates to saving of land foot print of over 72,000 square meters even after assuming 10
meter tall heap of garbage and specific gravity of the C&D waste to be 1.65.
As this is the first project of its kind in the country, the selection of processing equipment
and methodology adopted for processing had to undergo a number of improvements. Due
to the heterogeneous nature of the incoming C&D waste, IEISL has had to constantly fine
tune the production process as well as the technology adopted for recycling. The unit has
wet and dry processing line cable of handling about 2000 tons per day of C&D waste in
three shift operations. It will be worth mentioning here, that IEISL has received and
processed approx. 15 lakh tones C&D Waste at the project site and approximately 4.78 lakhs
tons of C&D waste in FY 2013-14 has been received and processed. Soil and grit are one of
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the major constituent of C&D waste. In Fy 2013-14, 2.66 lakh tons of soil/grit has been
separated from mixed C&D waste and disposed as filling material. About 23000 tons of
recycled concrete aggregates has been produced. Part of this has been further converted
into value added products like Ready mix concrete, pavement block and other precast
products.
SOCIAL BENEFITS
The project established has given many social benefits to the people. It has primarily
generated awareness among people to avoid illegal dumping of C&D waste. For a very long
time, there was no awareness about safe disposal of C&D waste. All leading infrastructure
agencies would dump the waste in land fill sites, or other barren land around the city.
Moreover, even the government agencies did not have any organized method of disposal of
C&D waste.
PERCEIVED RISKS
Due to challenging land parcel, technological risk was the first to be addressed. Proper
compaction and additional factor of safety against settlement due to vibrations in the design
of foundation has helped manage this risk.
Increasing costs of transportation fuel, power and labour was a challenge at operating level.
Since the facility managers do not have any control on the process of power and fuel, they
decided to give an extra emphasis on the higher yield per tonne of C&D waste produced and
opted to produce high value products such as RMC.
Market risk and taxation are the two risks which are yet to be addressed effectively.
Acceptability of the recycled construction material is relatively less which poses market risk.
Lack of BIS codes, prevents it from selling to government agencies. RMC attracts very high
duty rates of 12.5% for VAT. Most of the cast products made out of C&D attracts very high
excise duty of 12.36%. Other products of C&D waste recycling attract VAT of 5% and excise
duty in the range of 6 to 8%. Delhi Government has been considerate in exempting VAT on
sale of Pavement Blocks and kerb stones made out of recycled C&D waste.
Policy or regulatory intervention and rationalization of excise duties may be required to
mitigate market risk and enhance bankability of the project.
In order to assess bottom line of the initiative the environmental and social benefits will
have to be considered. In prevailing policy environment, economic benefits of C&D waste
recycling facility are not very attractive. However if environmental and social benefits could
be monetized, C&D waste recycling facility becomes very viable option for waste
management.
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WAY FORWARD
Scale Up
Natural next step for a single C&D waste processing facility serving ever expanding metro
city of Delhi is to enhance capacity. Needless to say that IEISL is planning to run the facility
round the clock to double the waste handling capacity.
All metros and cities having population above 1 million will require such a facility. However,
this scale up would require developing ecology of investors, developers, consultants, service
providers, and skilled manpower. IEISL is willing to work with the governments to develop
such ecology in the national interest.
Policy Advocacy
Seeing is believing. IEISL C&D waste processing facility is acting as a reference point for
officials of several Urban Local Bodies. Despite this, a dialogue needs to be opened with the
urban development administration to secure the following:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Standardization of technology for C&D waste facility

Standardization of specifications for products of C&D waste recycling
Rationalization of excise duty and VAT for products of C&D waste management facility
Incentives for developers and investors by monetizing environmental and social benefits
of C&D waste management facility
(e) Revise schedule of rates (SOR) :Using publicly available scientific study by premium
institutes CPWD can revise its SOR to allow use of paver blocks and flooring tiles from
recycled C&D waste.
(f) Include detailed and stringent provisions on collection, disposal, recycling of C&D wastes
in Draft Municipal Solid Waste and Management Rules
(g) Need accountability in reporting of C&D waste. Develop data bases for each city
The underlying spirit behind the projects of waste management has far reaching
consequences and requires patience on the part of developers. These projects have more of
social value vis--vis business or economic value and therefore require greater support from
the system. The C&D recycling project being the first of its kind in the country requires more
support as against MSW projects where the model has more or less crystallized.
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Conclusion
Technical and regulatory requirements
Not much effort has been made in this sector and data regarding generation and
characteristics is scantily available. We need strong policy to support and develop this
sector.
We need steps for the whole country. Therefore, policy is required for mandating the
following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Each ULB should keep track of construction and demolition activity within its
jurisdiction and generate data regarding actual generation of C&D waste and
its characteristics. The data collection should be continuous for at least one
year at a time. The exercise should be repeated once in every 3 years to keep
track of the changes.
This information should be sent to the Nodal Agency in the State, which would
collate the data and create a data base for each ULB in the state.
Expert organizations / institutions should analyze the data and evolve ways to
use the material in the best possible manner. The solutions may be different
for different areas in the country.
Pilot demonstrations should be set up preferably at least one in each state for
experimenting, verifying and validating the findings. Private companies,
especially those associated with construction activities and waste management
should be involved and their inputs taken. Inputs from international experience
may also be considered, particularly regarding technical developments. But like
other waste management sectors one must keep in mind that waste
management is a highly localized sector and any technology imports would
require through analysis and adaptation exercise.
Based on the above the relevant regulations and by-laws for civil construction
would have to be changed so that the recycled C&D material can be used
legitimately.
Importance of IEC
One crucial factor for the success of C&D waste management program is IEC. Since the
concept of appropriate management of C&D waste is new in this country, information and
education would be necessary to garner public support as well as to change the mindset and
attitude of the public as well as the municipal staff, private operators and other stake
holders. The summary of analytical data and R&D results from the Expert Institutions as well
as Nodal Agencies should be put in public domain in the interest of the public, who are
deeply involved with generation of C&D waste in individual as well as institutional capacity.
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Recycling of C&D Waste Sustainability and Research Issues

K. N. Satyanarayana and V. G. Ram
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
ABSTRACT. Sustainable developmenthas become an increasing concern throughout the

world in the last two decades. Construction industry generates a huge quantity of waste,
which is termed as construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Construction industry being a
major contributor of solid waste in terms of C&D waste, adoption of sustainable practices in
its activities is vital for a society to move towards sustainable development. In the recent
years, C&D waste management issues have attracted the attention from researchers around
the world. A plethora of research on C&D waste management has been published in various
scholarly journals. In this paper, a review of the C&D waste management research is
presented. The research on C&D waste management has
been classified into ten
categoriesand discussed: C&D waste estimation, waste reduction & reuse, supply chain & its
optimization, demolition techniques, crushing technologies, waste recycling, studies on
recycled aggregates and recycled aggregate concrete, economic aspects of recycling, energy
and environmental aspects of recycling, and specification &codal provisions. Each of these
categories is discussed briefly in terms of research importance, research contribution,
developments and scope for future research.
INTRODUCTION
Construction industrys contribution to the development of a society is significant.
While acknowledging this fact, it is also been perceived as a major contributor to
environment degradation (Poon et al. 2004). Some of its negative impacts on the society are
land depletion, energy consumption, solid waste generation, dust and gas emission, noise
pollution, and consumption of natural resources including non-renewable resources (Lu W.
and Yuan H., 2010). Construction and demolition (C&D) activities generate huge quantity of
waste. The solid waste associated with these activities is termed as Construction and
demolition (C&D) waste.Researchers around the world have reported that C&D waste
constitutes around 20% to 30% of total solid waste. As it forms a significant portion, C&D
waste management is vital to move towards a sustainable society. Interestingly, most of the
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waste is inertin nature. It is reported by many researchers that around 70 % to 80 % of

construction and demolition (C&D) is concrete and masonry. In many areas, there exists an
acute shortage of natural aggregates in meeting the demand of the industry due to various
reasons like enforcement of environment protection laws, local ban on quarrying aggregates
etc. Quite often it becomes necessary to transport the aggregates from large distances at very
high costs. One of the effective ways of managing these situations is to produce recycled
aggregates from C&D wastethat is generated.
In the recent years, C&D waste management issues have attracted attention from researchers
around the world. A plethora of research on C&D waste management has been published in
various scholarly journals. It is of vital importance to examine systematically the literature
relating to C&D waste management to gain a comprehensive understanding of the research
progress and provide the trend of the research on C&D waste management. In this paper, a
review of the C&D waste management research is presented. The research on C&D waste
management can be classified into ten categories, each of which will be discussed in detail in
the coming sections of the paper.
LITERATURE ANALYSIS
Based on the literature analysis from the identified papers, the research on C&D waste
management can be classified into ten categories as mentioned below.
1. C&D Waste Estimation
2. C&D Waste Reduction and Reuse
3. Supply Chain and its Optimization
4. Demolition Techniques
5. Crushing Technologies
6. C&D Waste Recycling
7. Studies on Recycled Aggregates (RA) & Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC)
8. Economic Aspects of C&D Waste Recycling
9. Environmental Aspects of C&D Waste Recycling
10. Specifications and Codal provisions
1. C&D Waste Estimation
The magnitude and composition of a regions construction and demolition (C&D)
waste should be understood when developing strategies, rules and policies for managing this
segment of solid waste. The quantity of C&D waste getting generated will provide a realistic
picture of the impact of this waste stream on the environment. Furthermore, estimation of the
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future generation of C&D waste is crucial for decision making and planning. Researchers
around the world have reported the quantity of C&D waste generated in different economies.
It is reported that the US is generating over 100 million tons of C&D wasteannually (Yuan H.
and Shen L., 2011). In the UK, C&D waste contributes more than 50 % of overall landfill
volume. In Hong Kong, researchers have reported that around 20 million tons of C&D waste
was generated in 2004. These values are in absolute terms and hence the general public can
easily understand the severity of the C&D waste arising out of construction related activities.
Researchers have also reported the percentage of C&D waste in the total
municipal solid waste. Construction activities generate about 20 % to 30 % of all waste that
enters Australian landfills (Yuan H. and Shen L., 2011). Tam et al, 2008 mentioned that C&D
waste forms 19 % and 14 % of the waste disposed of at landfills in Germany and Finland
respectively, while in Hong Kong, it is about 23 %. However, these comparisons should be
treated with caution because the percentage is influenced by not only construction but also
other factors such as economy scale, population, territory, and behaviors in managing waste
etc. In order to have a comparable indicator in different economies, researchers introduced
waste generation rate (WGR).
Waste Generation Rate (WGR) serves as valuable quantitative information for
benchmarking various C&D waste management practices. The investigation of WGR has
long been attractive to researchers as well as constructors since the study by Skoyles (1976),
who examined WGRs for 37 materials in the UK through direct on site observations and by
comparing contractors records. However, methodologies adopted for obtaining data for
estimating WGRs are plenty. These typically include direct observation, comparing
contractors records, questionnaire and telephone survey, sorting and weighing the waste on
site, collecting data through consultation with construction company employees, and truck
load records. Normally, two approaches are prevailing: classifyingwaste into different
categories or treating them as awhole. Since Skoyles (1976) examined WGRs related to 37
materialsindividually, many later studies followed his approach and investigatedWGRs by
differentiating material wastes. However, studies (Poon et al, 2004) have also investigated
C&D waste without being sorted on site; by treating the waste stream as a whole, they
derived ageneral rate such as volume (m3) or quantity (tons) of waste generatedper m2 of
gross floor area (GFA).
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Lu et al. (2010) summarized the three main functions of WGR:first, it can provide
quantitative information for benchmarking differentconstruction waste management
practices; second, it helpsraise peoples awareness about WM in construction; and third,
itassists contractors in developing effective construction WM strategies. Thus data regarding
generation of C&D waste is of utmost importance for the success of waste management.
Many of the researchers have also pointed out that investigation of the amount of
demolition waste getting generated, in particular, for developing economies is one of the
major themes that have to be further explored. Studies indicate that relatively less research
attempts have been made at investigating the quantity of demolition waste, even though the
demolition activities have made a greater contribution to the generation of C&D waste than
construction activities. Furthermore,due to rapid urbanization and insufficient attention to
wastegeneration in developing economies during the past decades(such as China and
Malaysia), statistical data regarding theamount of waste generation is currently scarce in
thesecountries (Begum et al., 2007). Giventhe fact that volume of C&D waste, to a large
extent, providesfundamental data enabling the public to realize the real situationwe are
facing, it is essential to examine the quantity ofdemolition waste, in particular, in the
developing countries.
2. C&D Waste Reduction and Reuse

Waste Reduction is considered as the most effectiveand efficient method for
managing C&D waste. It can not only minimizethe generation of C&D waste, but also reduce
the cost forwaste transporting, disposal and recycling (Poon, 2007; Esin andCosgun, 2007).
As the highest priority for managing C&D waste,it is not surprising that reduction has been
examined extensivelyby many researchers. These studies have developed various solutionsfor
waste reduction, which can be generally summarized intofive categories (Esin andCosgun,
2007; Begum et al., 2007; Tam et al., 2006), encompassing:(1) reducing waste through
government legislation; (2)reducing waste by design; (3) developing an effective waste
managementsystem (WMS); (4) use of low waste technologies; and (5)improving
practitioners attitude towards waste reduction.
During the past few decades, considerableefforts have been devoted to dealing with barriers
and strategiesof C&D waste management in developed countries,such as the USA, the UK,
Germany and Japan. However, the barriers and strategiesfor managing C&D waste in
developing countriesare lagging far behind and hence must be explored in the future.
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Furthermore, existing studies have suggesteda wide range of C&D wastemanagement

strategies.However, to what extent can these strategies effectively address theC&D waste
management problems that would be encounteredin practice is still an unsolved
question.Therefore, development of approaches that can examinethe effectiveness of different
C&D waste management strategiesis probably a promising research direction in the future.
Research efforts on C&D waste reuseis relatively less than that on C&D waste reduction,
although they are considered among the three basic principles of C&D waste management,
the third one being C&D waste recycling. Literature reveals that this is probably because the
generatedwaste will be reused actively by contractors only when they realize thatbenefits can
be obtained from doing so. For example, Ling and Leo(2000) found that there were three
important factors affecting thereuse of timber formwork, in which two factors were highly
related toworkmen; working attitude of workmen and efficiencyof workmen. It indicates that
waste reuse dependhighly on the practitioners, rather than the waste materialitself.
Therefore,investigations into industry practitioners attitude towards C&D waste reuse will
be helpfulto further understand their waste reuse behaviour and thereby strategiesfor
improving the performance of C&D waste reusecould be presented.Further studiesshould be
carried out to develop ways to improve the efficiencyof waste reuse, such as identifying
barriers to wastereuse, improving present waste reuse plan/system, anddesigning and
implementing rewarding scheme to propel waste reuse.
3. Supply Chain and its Optimization
C&D waste management is a strategic supply chain issue. Construction firms
generally
carry
out
buildingprojects
situated
in
different
locations,
involving
numeroussuppliers, and using intensive unskilled labour.The rapid growth of construction

activities has increased thegeneration of C&D waste. This increase and the lack of
municipalpolicies have aggravated public problems related to the collection,transport and
disposal of wastes associated with those activities, with the illegaldisposal of C&D waste
being frequently observed in places such asstreets, pavements, wastelands, hillsides and
stream and river beds(Nunes, 2009).
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Figure 1 Direct & Indirect supply chains in construction (Nunes, 2009)
Figure 1 shows the productive chain of construction industry where the direct and indirect
distribution channels are illustrated. Within the direct channel, the flows of raw materials
that involve large quantities include sand and gravel. Quarries and production areas are
generally located remotely from urban centers as a result of which the costs of transporting a
material significantly influence the final prices. In reverse distribution channel, the largest
secondary flows of materials are the inert mineral wastes such as plaster, concrete and bricks.
To optimize transport costs, C&D waste recycling centres need tobe located near urban
centres, which are both the source ofC&D waste materials and the consumer market for
processed materials (Nunes, 2009).
C&D waste recycling can be increased by planning and establishing a reverse C&D network,
wherein, flows and activities must be optimized and incentives for making the reverse
distribution channels feasible have to be planned. The following aspects need to be taken into
account in theplanning of a post-consumption reverse network (Leite, 2003):
Definition of the objectives of the reverse network

Setting of the integration level and the type of reverse network
C&Dwaste characteristics and the definition of the final market for the processed
product
Location of consolidation, dismantling and remanufacturing centres
Measurement and information systems for reverse channeloperations.
4. Demolition Techniques
Demolition guidelines can constitute a powerful tool to improve the quality ofthe
waste and to raise the quantity of the recyclable fraction. However,demolition guidelines are
only effective if theycan act in synergy with other initiatives.Demolition is approached with
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respect to requirements of the final products,leading to specifications for the waste (RILEM,
1993).
A higher recycling rate can be obtained, if the waste is presented in a condition that a
marketable product can be obtained easily and economically.In order to obtain clean
fractions, a minimum degree of selectivity is required. Themore selective the demolition
practice, the higher the value of the secondary products. Onthe other hand, more selectivity
means generally a higher cost and more time to carry outthe work. Hence, on these two items,
price and speed, the trade-off in the demolition technique to be adopted happens.
Figure 2 Explosive demolition
Figure 3 Hydraulic breakers
Figure 4 Wrecking ball
The demolition techniques adopted commonly are explosive demolition (Figure 2), use of
hydraulic breakers (Figure 3), and use of wrecking ball (Figure 4). As reuse and recycle of
the materials is preferred, selective demolition is carried out in the recent years. In selective
demolition, following activities are carried out in an order (RILEM, 1993):
Removal of furniture and other items.

Removal of all wastes for special treatment: e.g. asbestos, oil tanks, chemical
wastesetc.
Removal of all indoor installations and building materials, doors, windows, floors for
reuse. All plaster, insulation and other dust-producing material must be removed
byvacuum in closed containers.
Dismantling of roof structure for reuse as roofing materials and timber
Demolishing of walls, leaving the rubble in proper heaps.
Sorting of the rubble for all impurities such as paper, wood, plastics etc.
Thus, demolition activities must be planned and synchronized with the waste management
plan in order to increase the recoverable portion of the waste and also to improve the quality
of the recycled materials.
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5. Crushing Technologies
Plants for production of recycled aggregates are notmuch different from plants for
production of crushedaggregate from other sources. They incorporate varioustypes of
crushers, screens, transfer equipment, and devicesfor removal of foreign matter.
Jaw crushers provide the best grain-size distributionof recycled aggregate for concrete
production. The conecrusher is suitable for use as a secondary crusher with200 mm
maximum feed size. Swing hammer mills are seldomused. Impact crushers provide better
grain-size distributionof aggregate for road construction purposes, andthey are less sensitive
to material which cannot be crushedsuch as reinforcing bars. When it comes to other
propertiesof recycled concrete aggregate than grain-size distribution,jaw crushers perform
better than impact crushers becausejaw crushers which are set at 1.2-1.5 times the
maximumsize of original aggregate will crush only a small proportionof the original
aggregate particles in the old concrete.Impact crushers, on the other hand, will crush old
mortarand original aggregate particles alike and thus produce acoarse aggregate of lower
quality (Hansen, 1986).
If demolition waste is to be recycled, methods of demolitionshould be used which will reduce
individual piecesof debris on the site to a size which will be accepted bythe primary crusher
in the recycling plant. This is 1200mm at most for large stationary plants and not more
than400-700 mm for mobile plants. Thus the recycling ofdemolition waste requires careful
planning on the part ofall parties involved in such an enterprise.
In line with specifications for natural aggregate andcrushed stone, recycled aggregate is also
required to befree from dirt, clay lumps, gypsum (from plaster), asphalt,wood, paper, plastics,
paint, cloth, lightweight concrete,and other impurities.In recycling plants larger objects such
as pieces of metalsheeting, wooden boards and beams, pieces of asphalt,loose reinforcing
bars, and sheets of paper, cloth, andplastics are removed by hand before primary crushing
ofthe debris. After primary crushing, dirt, gypsum, plaster,and other fine impurities are
eliminated by passing thecrushed materials over a set of scalping screens and wastingall
material below 10 mm. Self-cleaning magnetswhich are positioned in various patterns at
strategic locationsover conveyor belts effectively separate bits of reinforcingbars and other
pieces of iron and steel from thestream of crushed aggregate.
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Efficiency of various types of screens has been studied by researchersand it was found that
inclined vibrating screensworking at low frequencies and large amplitudes weremost efficient
in separating coarse material. Horizontalvibrating screens working at high frequencies and
smallamplitudes were more effective in separating fine material (Hansen, 1986).
6. C&D Waste Recycling
The quality of the recycled aggregates produced by crushing the demolished chunks
of concrete is generally lower than that of the natural aggregates. It is because of the adhering
mortar phase over the recycled aggregates which make them porous and weak when
compared with the natural aggregates. In order to produce high-quality recycled aggregates,
various researches have been done all over the world.
Shima et al. 2005 developed a technology to produce high-quality recycled aggregates using
a heating and rubbing method (HRM). Using this technology, aggregate can be recycled as
raw material for ready mixed concrete, while fine powder (HRM powder) from cement paste
can be recycled as raw material for cement, cement admixture or soil stabilizer. In the HRM
(Figure 5), when demolished concrete is heated to 300C, cement paste is made brittle by
dehydration. To remove the cement paste, heated concrete is rubbed in a mill by media.
Media in primary rubbing can be steel balls and secondary rubbing can be coarse aggregates
itself. Average ratios of aggregate recovery are 35% coarse aggregate, 30% fine aggregate
and 35% HRM powder (can be a soil stabilizer).
Another technique to remove the adhered mortar from the recycled aggregates is mechanical
scrubbing (Noguchi, 2012). In this technique, the aggregates are scrubbed by one another in
an eccentric tubular mill and the adhered mortar gets removed due to abrasive action.
Figure 5 Heating and Rubbing Method (Shima et al. 2005)
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Another technology to produce high quality recycled aggregates is by heated-scrubbing

method (Noguchi, 2012). In this method, the aggregates are subjected to hot air in a furnace
to make them brittle and weak. Then, they are scrubbed in a mill to separate the adhered
cement paste.
Mulder et al. 2007 developed a treatment process (Figure 6) for completely liberating the
different components of concrete which is based on the input of the combination of thermal
and mechanical energy. The unit operations include a jaw crusher to reduce size below 10cm,
a magnet to remove reinforcement, a rotary kiln for combined input of thermal (to
disintegrate matrix) and mechanical energy (to further release the components) and a
vibrating screen and an air separator to separate the coarse and fine fractions. For concrete
rubble, thermal treatment at >750C and there is hardly any residual cement paste left
attached to the aggregate grains. Masonry is subjected to thermal treatment at 540C for 24
hours and whole bricks are sorted.
Figure 6 Thermal treatment of concrete rubble (Mulder E. et al., 2007)
Apart from these, there are many other technologies that had been developed to produce high
quality recycled aggregates. However, the properties of those recycled aggregates produced
with those technologies have not been studied in detail. Furthermore, a comparative study of
high quality aggregates with the natural aggregates will help us in evaluating these advanced
recycling technologies better.
7. Studies on Recycled Aggregates (RA) & Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC)
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The quality of the recycled aggregates has to be assessed in terms of size distribution,
density, absorption, abrasion etc. as with natural aggregate. Numerous studies have been done
on recycled aggregates and recycled aggregate concrete around the world.
7.1 Properties of Recycled Aggregate (RA)

Since recycled aggregates are produced by crushing and screening of the demolished chunks
of rubbles, a certain amount of mortar from the original concrete remains attached to the
recycled aggregates. Hansen, 1986reported that the volume ofmortar attached to old
aggregates is between25 and 35% for 16-32 mm coarse recycled aggregates,around 40% for
8-16 mm coarse recycled aggregates, andaround 60% for 4-8 mm coarse recycled aggregates.
Studies indicate that, owing to the presence of old mortar being attached to the aggregates,
the recycled aggregates have lower density and higher percentage of water absorption when
compared to those of corresponding natural aggregates. In respect of mechanical action
likeimpact value and crushing value, recycled aggregateswere found to be weaker than
natural aggregates. Thisis expected because of the component of attachedcement mortar and
its weak bond with the aggregateparticle.
Hansen, 1986found water absorption values ofcoarse recycled aggregates ranging from 8.7%
for 4-8 mmmaterial to 3.7% for 16-32 mm material. Many otherresearchers have also
reported water absorption values of recycledcoarse aggregates between 3.6% and 8.0%
forcoarse recycled aggregates, and absorption values between 8.3% and 12.1% for fine
aggregates.The specific gravity of coarse recycled aggregates was reported to be around 2.3
to 2.5 whereas it is around 2.7 to 2.9 for the natural aggregates. Crushing and impact values
were also found to be around 30 to 35 % which is within the limit of 45% for non-wearing
surfaces as per IS 2386. Regarding abrasion resistance, research in the US showed that
almost all recycled aggregates, except thatfrom the very poor concrete, met the minimum LA
abrasion resistance requirements specified inASTM C33.Weathering resistance of recycled
aggregate can be considered satisfactory if the parent concretewas durable in its previous life.
7.2 Properties of Recycled Aggregate Concrete
The workability of RAC for the same water content as that of natural aggregate
concrete (NAC) is lower than that of NAC as reported by many researchers, especially when
the replacement levels exceed 50%. Many researchers have also reported that the rate of
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reduction in workability in RAC is higher than that of NAC. The air content of the RAC is
slightly higher (4% to 5.5%) than concrete made withNA (Katz, 2003) at 100%
replacement. This increased air content could be attributed to thehigher porosity of the RA.
The bulk density of fresh concrete made with natural aggregatesis in the range of 2400
kg/m, whereas the concrete made with recycled aggregates issignificantly lighter, 2150
kg/m, regardless of the type of cement (Katz, 2003). The lower density is the result of the
specific gravity of the aggregates,which is related to the type of concrete used for producing
the aggregate and the amount of mortar attached to the RA.
Regarding hardened concrete properties, though researchers have reported a reduction in
strength in RAC, it should be noted thatthe extent of reduction is related to the parameters
such as the type of concrete used formaking the RA (high, medium or low strength),
replacement ratio, water/cement ratio andthe moisture condition of the recycled aggregate
(Rao, 2005). For example, Katz found that at a high w/c ratio (between 0.6 and0.75), the
strength of RAC is comparable to that of reference concrete even at a replacementlevel of
75% (Katz, 2003).Rao, 2005 found that the strength of RAC and reference concrete to
becomparable even at 100% replacement, provided that the watercement ratio was
higherthan 0.55. However, as the watercement ratio is reduced to 0.40, the strengthof RAC
was only about 75% of the reference concrete. The modulus of elasticity for RAC has been
reported to be in the range of 5070% thenormal concrete (Rao, 2005)depending on the
watercement ratio and the replacement level of RA.
Durability studies have been done to better understand the effect of using differentqualities of
RA on the properties of the RAC. On the basis of carbonation test done after 6 months of
curing, the carbonation depthof the recycled concrete has been found to be 1.32.5 times
greater than that of thereference concrete (Crentsil et al., 2001).
The use of RA in concrete induces a large shrinkage due to the high absorption of the
recycled aggregates. Some studies show that in RAC at the age of 90 days, the shrinkage
couldbe about 0.550.8 mm/m, whereas shrinkage in NAC is only about 0.30 mm/m(Katz,
2003).The test results for creep in normal laboratory conditions are not so clear, thoughsome
studies have shown the tendency to be reversed, i.e. the creep after 1 year is about 20% lower
than concrete with NA (Rao, 2005).
7.3 State-of-the-art studies in RA & RAC
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In order to improve the workability, certain measures in the direction of changing the
moisture condition of the RA such as pre-wetting have been suggested (Poon et al., 2004). In
another study several concrete mixes were prepared with varying methods of recycled coarse
aggregate preparation, in terms of saturation. It was found that, extra water corresponding to
absorption of the aggregate mixed during concrete preparation produced the most consistent
results as far as workability is concerned (Rao, 2005).
Some ofthe barriers for the use of RAC to high-gradeapplications are poor compressive
strength and high variability in mechanical behaviour.Some advanced studies show that
weaker interfacial zones between RA and new cement mortar hampers the properties of RAC.
Tam et al. 2005 proposed a new approach inmixing concrete namely, two-stage mixing
approach (TSMA), intended to improve the compressive strength for recycledaggregate
concrete and hence lower its strength variability. In normal mixing approach (NMA), all the
materials are added including water before the rotation of thedrum or starting the pan mixer,
while TSMA divides themixing process into two parts and proportionally splits therequired
water into two which are added at different timing.Figure 7 illustrates the TSMA mixing
procedure. Based upon experimental works, improvements in strength to recycled
aggregateconcrete of around 15% were achieved. The effect can be attributable to the porous
nature of the recycled aggregate, and hence, the premix process can fillup some pores and
cracks, resulting in a denser concrete, an improved interfacial zone around recycled aggregate
and thus a higher strengthwhen compared with the traditional mixing approach.
Figure 7 Two-Stage Mixing Approach (Tam, 2005)
Influence of parent concrete on the properties of RA and RAC have also been studied in
detail by various researchers. Some of the observations made are: (i) fora given targetmean
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strength, the strength achieved increases withan increase in the maximum size of aggregate
obtained from almostsame strength of parent concrete, (ii) for a given RA, the strength
achieved increases with an increase inthe strength of recycled aggregate concrete, and (iii) for
a givenstrength of RAC, the strength achieved reduces with an increasein the strength of
parent concrete from which the RA is made. The reasons for such behaviour are due to the
influenceof recycled aggregate properties on concrete. As themaximum size of aggregate
decreases, the quantity of old mortarpresent in RA increases. This results in higher reduction
of strength in RAC. As the strength of parent concrete increases,presence of parent mortar in
recycled aggregates increasesirrespective of the size of aggregate. This also has influence
indetermining the strength of RAC (Padmini et al. 2009).Though, some studies have shown
that RACis significantly more permeable than NAC, it should also be noted that the
durabilityproperties can be improved by using flyash, silica fume etc. (Xiao et al, 2012).
8. Economic aspects of C&D Waste Recycling

Economic instrument is indubitably perceived as effective for encouraging or forcing
contractors to conductenvironmentally friendly construction practices. Generally,economic
feasibility is carried out using the standard measures of profitability such as cost benefit
analysis. Nunes et al 2007 presented a conceptual model for conducting viability analysis of
C&D waste recycling centres. It has been suggested that various stages of viability analysis
are as follows:
Market and competition analysis;

Estimated generation of C&D waste;
Estimated revenues and costs;
Analysis of investments
Breakeven point
Nunes et al 2007 also pointed out that viability of a recycling centre depends on continuity of
operation and the production volume reached. Tam, 2008 did a comparative cost benefit
analysis between the current practice where C&D waste is dumped and the concrete recycling
method. In his study, it was concluded that the concrete recycling method results in a positive
net benefit unlike the current practice which results in a negative net benefit. But, it was also
mentioned that one of the factors affecting the viability of aggregate recyclers is the
continuous availability of feed material. If constructiondebris or other sources of feed are not
consistently availableor if there is some seasonality to the availability of local feedmaterials,
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it will limit the recycler ability to operate at or nearcapacity, which can dramatically reduce
operational profitability.
Yuan H. P. et al. 2010 made an economic analysis of C&D waste management by integrating
all essential activities throughout the waste chain. It was intended to highlight the dynamics
and interrelationshipsof C&D waste management practices and analyze the costbenefit of
this process using a system dynamicsapproach.The findings reveal that net benefits from
conducting C&Dwaste management will occur, but a higher landfill charge will lead to a
higher net benefit, as well as anearlier realization of the net benefit. In addition, the general
public under a higher landfill charge willsuffer from a higher environmental cost caused by
illegal dumping. Though there are lot of models been developed by various researchers,
applicability of those models to the local scenario have to be studied.
9. Environmental aspects of C&D Waste Recycling

Economic analysis emphasizes money instead of harmony between economic benefit
and environmental effects. There is a dire need for integrating economic, social and
environmental aspects of recycling options. Though utilizing the C&D waste to produce
recycled aggregates and bringing them back in the supply chain as a replacement for natural
aggregates looks beneficial, its consequences are less clear in terms of energy and greenhouse
gas emissions. Many researchers have undertaken life cycle approach models to examine
these impacts and evaluate sustainable development.
McIntyre et al. 2009 employed Life cycle inventory (LCI) model to compare concrete using
natural aggregates to a selection of functionally equivalent concretes with varying
proportions of recycled coarse aggregates. He concluded that the LCIs for recycled aggregate
concrete indicate twofactors that have a significant impact on its environmental
performance:cement consumption and materials transport. For theNorth American cases
studied by them, cement consumption is the moreimportant factor. In terms of energy use and
GHG emissions, theoptimal level of RCA substitution corresponds to the utilization ofthe
maximum amount of RCA without affecting material propertiesof the resulting concrete.
Thus, it is generally not practical tosubstitute RCA at levels which will require additional
cement tomaintain a specified concrete compressive strength. Only veryextreme
transportation scenarios requiring very large distances for sourcing natural aggregate justify
higher degrees of RCA substitutionbased on energy use and GHG emissions
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performance.The environmental performance of RCA-based concrete isstrongly dependent

on the quality of the RCA, reflected in thesubstitution threshold. In turn, RCA quality is
dependent on thequality of the original debris, which varies by location. Thus,RCA
substitution in new concrete is best considered on an individualbasis by design engineers,
contractors
and
concrete
producers.These
parties
can
adequately
address
environmentalpriorities according to their specific situation, including the localtransportation

distances and the quality of available materials.
Many other researchers have also concluded a modest reduction of environmental impacts,
including CO2 emissions can be attributed to recycling of C&D waste. Thus, LCA studies can
provide initial guidance to design engineers and concrete producers in making
environmentally sound choices when considering the utilization of RCA in new concrete, and
may also inform policy makers with respect to implementing and promoting RCA
substitution in new concrete on a broad scale.
10. Specifications and CodalProvisions
Development of relevant standards for recycled materials would provide producers
with targets and users an assurance of quality of material. Hence, it is vital to incorporate the
permission to use recycled material in national codes and specifications. It will greatly help in
creating awareness and gain acceptability in the construction industry. Many developed
countries have realized the importance of codes and specifications and have taken initiatives
in developing the same. For instance, in Japan guidelines for using recycled aggregates have
been drafted in the year 1977 by Building Contractors Society. After the formulation of
guidelines with limiting values for crucial properties such as density and water absorption,
many research activities were carried out and improvements in the recycling technologies and
thereby recycled products evolved. In the year 2007, Japan Industrial Standards Committee
formulated three classes of recycled aggregates. The details of which are given in the Table 1.
Table 1 Japan Specifications for RA
Standard
JIS A5021
Class H
Coarse aggregate
Fine aggregate
Water
Density
absorption
g/cm
%
Water
Density
absorption
g/cm
%
2.5
3.0
2.5
16
3.5
Application
No limitations for concrete

with strength 45 MPa
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JIS A5022
Class M
2.3
5.0
2.2
7.0
JIS A5023
Class L
7.0
13.0
Members not subjected to

drying or freezing and
thawing
Concrete for backfilling,
blinding and levelling
In the US, ASTM C94/C94M allows 100% replacement of coarse aggregate for all nonstructural applications and structural applications with concrete strength requirements of up
to 20 MPa. For higher strengths exceeding 20 MPa in structural applications, replacement of
20% is allowed. Mentioning of recycled aggregates in ASTM standards, one of the widely
used and well reputed standards worldwide, reinforces the confidence of using recycled
aggregates in concrete. In Germany, several guidelines have been framed regarding the usage
of recycled materials. DIN 4226-100 specifies the replacement of recycled aggregates for
concrete and mortar. Though the predominant market for recycled aggregates in Germany is
in road construction, DIN 1045 allows up to 25% replacement with recycled coarse aggregate
in structural concrete up to strengths of 37.5 MPa.
European standards have also incorporated the permission to use recycled aggregates in EN
12620 by classifying it as a separate type of aggregates in addition to natural and
manufactured aggregates. In the UK, BS 8500 classifies recycled aggregates into two types:
Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) and Recycled aggregates (RA). In RCA, masonry
content is restricted to 5% unlike RA which may contain masonry up to 100%. In addition to
limitations on cube strengths up to which the recycled aggregates can be replaced, BS 8500
restricts the usage in terms of exposure classes. However, there are fewer restrictions for
RCA than RA for their use in concrete subjected to different exposure conditions owing to
the restriction of masonry in RCA.
Apart from the above mentioned standards, many countries such as Hong Kong, Australia,
Norway, Portugal and South Korea have specified rules and specifications for the use of
recycled aggregates in concrete in their national standards. As Indian standards (IS) have not
yet been framed, standards formulated in these countries can be a guideline for the
development of specifications for IS.
CONCLUSION
This paper presented the needs and trends in research on C&D waste management. Ten
broad areas of research have been identified and discussed. There is a need for countries like
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India to take up inter-disciplinary research in all areas related C&D waste management. With
the growth of the economy leading to increased construction activity, it is important that this
area is addressed in a mission mode to ensure sustainable growth.
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Utilization of Recycled Concrete Aggregate for Structural

Applications
Dr. Lakshmy Parameswaran
Chief Scientist
Bridges & Structures Division
CSIR-Central Road Research Institute
New Delhi-110 025
Email: lakshmy.crri@nic.in
ABSTRACT
Recycled concrete aggregates are used in the construction of pavements, retaining

structures, buildings and other structures. This paper highlights the properties of recycled
concrete aggregates produced in India in comparison to the properties of normal aggregate
prescribed in Indian Standards. It briefly discusses about some of the guidelines/
specifications of recycled concrete aggregate adapted for structural applications in various
countries. Also, based on the experimental studies carried out at CSIR-CRRI on concrete
made of recycled concrete aggregate, conclusions are drawn on their utilization for making
structural concrete with the help of improved mix design, triple mixing technique and with the
addition of mineral admixtures.
1.0
INTRODUCTION
With rapid urbanization and exponential rise in construction of concrete structures, the
demand for natural aggregates is increasing day by day. Extraction of natural aggregates
from mother earth leads to destruction of environment. Also, many of the buildings and other
structures which are old / deteriorated are often demolished. However, the disposal of this
demolition waste is becoming a major concern. The use of the Construction and Demolition
(C&D) waste in concrete as a replacement of the natural aggregates is recognized as a
viable solution. Lot of research has been carried out regarding the use of recycled concrete
aggregate (RCA) in concrete mixes recycled from original concrete containing natural
aggregate (NA), referred as first generation recycling. Also, research is being conducted on
second generation loop of recycling, i.e., recycling of RCA [1]. The life cycle of concrete
material for first and second generation of concrete is depicted in Fig. 1.
The generation of C&D waste around the globe for the top 14 developed countries has been
estimated to be approximately 1363 mt annually [2]. In India, the estimated annual quantity
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of construction and demolition waste for the top 20 cities is 19.1 million tonnes [3]. The
composition of C&D waste depends on the type of demolished structure and the typical
composition of building demolition waste in India as estimated by TIFAC [4] is shown in Fig.
2.
Fig. 1 Life cycle of concrete material
Wood
2%
Concrete
23%
Others
1%
Soil
36%
Masonry/ Bricks
31%
Metals
5%
Bitumen
2%
Fig. 2 Typical composition of C&D waste in India
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Even though the usage of construction and demolition waste in concrete in infrastructure
projects has been in practice for a long time around the world, its use in India is limited till
date. This may be due to the non-availability of guidelines/ standards which in turn may be
due to non-availability of sufficient experimental evidence on the efficacy of the recycled
concrete aggregates for their use in concrete construction.
In this paper an attempt have been made to present the development in the production of
recycled concrete aggregate, study the properties of Indian RCA (coarse aggregate)
reported in literature, comparison of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) and Normal
Aggregate Concrete (NAC), methods to enhance the performance of RAC, specifications of
RCA for use in structural concrete and briefly discuss the exploratory investigations
conducted at CSIR-CRRI in this context.
2.0
PRODUCTION OF RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATE
The recycled aggregates may be produced from demolished buildings, RCC or prestressed
concrete elements, concrete pavements, kerbs, culverts, bridges, power plant structures or
from left over concrete in ready mix concrete trucks, ready mix plants and precast concrete
plants. The recycling can be off-site (stationary) or on-site (mobile plant). The various
processes involved in the production of recycled aggregate is given below.
Removal of potential contaminants before demolition of concrete structure
Demolition
Transport the demolition waste to crushing plant
Separation
Crushing and Sizing RCA
Secondary removal of contaminates
Scrubbing
Sieving for Removal of dust and nes
Washing (if required)

Quality Control
Stockpiling under consistent moisture conditions
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Thus the production of RCA primarily involves five important stages namely, (i) demolition
(ii) separation, (iii) crushing (iv) scrubbing, and (v) sieving. The demolition techniques
presently adopted are use of i) explosive or implosive demolition ii) non explosive demolition
iii) demolition using a wrecking ball iv) hydraulic breakers v) water jet blasting and vi)
mechanical splitting [4].
As the debris from the demolition of a dilapidated building /
structure contains other materials such as bricks, plaster, steel, plastic material etc, besides
the concrete material, the same need to be separated. The process of separation involves
(a) pre-sorting by gravity separation and hand picking for removal of wood and other
materials, (b) sieving for removal of fines, (c) removal of light weight impurities by air sifting
and using buoyancy of water, (d) magnetic separation for removal of ferrous materials and
(e) hand picking for the removal of non ferrous impurities [5]. If the RCA is to be produced
from construction waste, the process begins from stage (iii). The crushing is carried out in
stages i.e. primary crushing and secondary crushing to reduce the size of the C&D waste to
about 20 mm. The aggregate particle thus produced generally contains some adhered
mortar (up to about 35%). This mortar, being porous in nature and weak in strength, affects
the properties of the RCA. The adhered mortar sometimes is partly removed ( as complete
removal involves use of high energy) through scrubbing techniques. Two methods namely
mechanical scrubbing and heat scrubbing are in vogue. Removal of adhered mortar using
micro-wave energy is also being explored [6].
Finally sieving is done to separate out the
fine aggregate component of the RCA.

In India, for recycling of the demolished concrete structures, Municipal Corporation of Delhi
(MCD) has established a C&D waste processing facility at Burari, West Delhi with a capacity
of 500 T waste materials per day.
3.0
PROPERTIES OF RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATE
The properties of RA primarily depend on the process of manufacture, properties of recycled

concrete, age and conditions to which the recycled concrete has been exposed. Owing to
these influencing parameters, unlike the NA, the properties of RA are highly varying. Also,
RA is a two phase material constituting both original virgin aggregate and the adhered
mortar. Thus, the differences between the properties of RA and NA can be attributed to the
presence and quantity of this adhered mortar and its porosity. A comparison of properties of
recycled coarse aggregate with that of natural aggregate is given in Table 1.
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Also, sometimes the RCA has increased quantity of organic impurities if concrete is mixed
with earth during structure demolition and possible content of chemically harmful
substances, depending on the atmospheric condition to which the structure is exposed
before its demolition.
Table 1 Comparison of Properties of Natural and Recycled Coarse Aggregate

Property
RCA studies in India
NA
Particle size distribution
Acceptable [7,8]
IS: 383 [9]
Water absorption (%)
0.9 to 7[10,11]
Bulk density (Kg/m3)
1170 to 1470 [7,11]
1280-1920
ACI (E1-07)[12]
Specific gravity
2.32 to 2.56 [13,14]
Crushing value (%)
17.77 to 36.3 [15]
Impact value (%)
9.66 to 38 [15,16]
Abrasion loss (%)
7 to 48 [15,11]
2.3 to 2.9
ACI (E1-07)[12]
Max 30*
Max 50**
IS:383
Max 30*
Max 45**
IS:383[9]
Max 30*
Max 50**
IS :383[9]
*for non wearing surface, ** for non-wearing surface
4.0
MIX PROPORTIONING AND PRODUCTION OF RAC
From the available literature, it can be seen that there is no standard method for mix
proportioning of RAC. As seen from the preceding Section, the properties of RCA is inferior
to that of NA, as the adhered mortar alters the properties of RCA such as water absorption,
specific gravity and other mechanical properties. Therefore, it is necessary to have a
separate mix proportioning method for RAC. RILEM [17 ] suggests that the mix proportioning
procedure for RAC can be same as that of NAC as given in prENV-1992-1-1 [18], but to
consider the influence of RCA on the mechanical properties of reinforced concrete at the
time of design of concrete.
Also, often, RAC is designed as per the existing standard
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method for NAC and the NA is replaced by a known percentage of RCA. In this context,
three replacement methods are available [19], i.e., (i) Direct Weight Replacement (DWR)
method, (ii) Direct Volume Replacement (DVR) method and (iii) Equivalent Mortar Volume
(EMV) method. However, after studying these methods an improved mix design method has
been proposed in [20]. This involves the modification of quantity of coarse aggregate
obtained by the method stipulated in IS: 10262 [21] by the ratio of specific gravity of RCA to
that of NA.
The RAC is produced in a way similar to the way the NAC mix is prepared, with minor
modifications. The effect of high water absorption of RCA can be minimized by pre-soaking
of RCA up to 80% of its water absorption capacity, or by adding extra water to the mix. Also,
the sequence of addition of the ingredients in RAC mix, such as, two stage or double mixing
[22] and three stage or triple mixing [23] also have resulted in RAC with better properties.
5.0
COMPARISON OF PROPERTIES OF RAC and NAC
5.1
Yield
When direct weight replacement was adopted for mix proportioning, the yield of RAC and
NAC for 50 kg of cement was found to be 0.141 0.145 m3 and 0.131 0.138 m3
respectively [24].
5.2
Workability
The slump and compaction factor of RAC are lower than that of NAC, and keeps reducing
with increase in proportion of RCA in RAC mix. The adhered mortar, rough surface texture
and angularity and high water absorption of RCA influence the workability. This is evident
from the reported observation that while NAC requires 0.05% of super plasticizer, 0.225 % of
the same is needed for RAC to achieve a slump of 50 60 mm, when the w/c ratio is
maintained constant [25].
5.3
Unit weight
The unit weight of RAC was found to be in the range of 2207 2265 kg/m3 whereas the
same for NAC was found to be 2320 2440 kg/m3. The reduced unit weight of RAC is
attributed to low specific gravity of RCA [24].
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5.4
Compressive Strength
The compressive strength was found to decrease by upto 30% with increase in percentage
of RCA [26]. Also, the percentage reduction of compressive strength with replacement of
RCA was found to be higher in concrete of high strength grade [10, 11].
5.5
Split Tensile Strength and Flexural Strength
For a given compressive strength of concrete the split tensile strength of RAC was found to
be lower than that of NAC [16, 15, 27]. The split tensile strength of RAC was found to be
2.75 3.5 MPa and the same for NAC was found to be 3.25 5 MPa. Also, the size RCA
appears to influence the split tensile strength and it was observed that the RAC mixes with
20 mm aggregates had better split tensile strength than the mixes with 10 mm and 40 mm
aggregates [16]. The reduction in flexural strength of RAC in comparison to NAC is in the
range of 3 to 23 % [11, 28, 24].
5.6
Elastic Modulus
The elastic modulus of RAC was found to decrease with increase in percentage of RCA [27]
mainly because the porosity of the RCA. The presence of adhered mortar, affects the ability
of the aggregates to restrain the matrix strain when loaded [16]. The higher percentage of
reduction in elastic modulus occurred for samples with smaller size of RCA as the smaller
size aggregates were reported to have higher mortar content [16]. Also, it was observed that
the elastic modulus of RAC was lower than NAC by 18.4, 13.1 and 10.9 % for M25, M30 and
M35 grades of concrete, respectively [10].
5.7
Creep and Drying Shrinkage
The creep strain of the RAC sample is 1.15 times the creep strain of NAC sample at 30 days
of loading [20]. The drying shrinkage of RAC mix was found to be 40% higher than that of
NAC. The relatively higher shrinkage of the RAC may be due to high water absorption of the
RCA and the higher volume of mortar in the mix, which includes both new mortar and
residual mortar.
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5.8
Water absorption
From the water absorption of RAC for various percentages of RCA reported in
various studies, it is seen that due to increased water absorption of RCA, the water
absorption of RAC increased with increase in percentage of RCA [24, 20].
5.9
Chloride permeability and chloride penetration
The rapid chloride penetration test on RAC indicated that both RAC and NAC mixes
had moderate chloride permeability. But the permeability of RAC mixes was found to
be marginally greater than that of NAC [10]. The depth of penetration of chloride ions
for NAC and RAC was found to be 5 mm and 5.4 5.7 mm, respectively, when the
NAC and RAC cubes were immersed in NaCl solution for 28 days [25].
5.10
Permeability of concrete
Gupta [29] studied the permeability of RAC according to the procedure given in
Specifications for Road and Bridge works of Indian Road Congress [30], and
reported that the impermeability coefficients were 5.09 10 -4 for NAC and 1.71 10-4
for RAC. Thus, it can be observed that the RAC is more permeable than NAC. This
can be attributed to the high porosity of adhered mortar.
5.11
Concrete Resistivity
The resistivity of RAC with flyash was found to be in the range of 24.5 25.33 K
cm, while that of NAC mix with flyash was found to be 36.675 K cm and NAC mix
without flyash was found to be 18.55 K cm. Thus, it can be seen that resistivity
decreases with use of RCA and it can be enhanced with the use of flyash [8].
6.0
MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF RCA AND RAC
As the properties of the RAC are inferior to that of NAC, attempts have been made to
improve different properties of RAC and make it usable at par with NAC. The workability of
RAC can be improved by (i) addressing the problem of high water absorption of RCA
through pre-wetting and bringing the aggregate to SSD condition; This would make the
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mixing water contribute to the workability of concrete, (ii) use of aggregates coated with poly
vinyl alcohol (PVA) [31], (iii) increasing the powder content of mix and (iv) use of super
plasticizer.
The strength properties of RAC can be improved by (i) reduction in water cement ratio of
concrete (ii) using supplementary cementitous materials (SCMs) like fly ash, silica fume,
GGBFS, rice husk ash, etc. [32,33,34], (iii) adopting two stage mixing [36] or three stage
mixing [22]. Increasing the curing period has also been found to be beneficial in improving
the elasticity of RAC [27]. Using aggregates in SSD condition helps in improvement of
tensile strength of recycled aggregate concrete. The rebar bond strength of RAC can be
improved by increasing the cover depth.
Use of SCMs, reduction of w/c ratio of RAC or treating the aggregates with impregnation of
PVA can also reduce the drying shrinkage of RAC. The creep of the RAC can be reduced by
using fly ash in concrete as cement replacement (i.e.) by increasing the contents of fines, or
by decrease in w/c ratio. The double mixing method improves the micro structure of concrete
and decreases the depth of transition zone, depth of chloride penetration and depth of
carbonation and thus enhances the durability of concrete. Triple mixing method reduces the
chloride penetration [23].
7.0
SPECIFICATIONS FOR CONCRETE WITH RCA
Worldwide efforts are on to increase the use of C&D waste as aggregate in concrete
construction by partly or fully replacing the NA. Countries such as Australia, Hong Kong,
Japan, Korea, UK, USA and European countries such as Germany, Portugal, Denmark and
Spain have developed specifications/guidelines for regulating the quality of RCA and for their
use in concrete construction. The overview of some of these specifications for RCA for use
in new structural construction is discussed in brief below:
RILEM: RILEM (1994)[17] specifies three types of RCA for use in concrete, Type I, Type II,
and Type III , each is differentiated by its dry particle density, weight of foreign materials
present, etc., and based on the same Type I RCA is recommended for use concrete grades
up to C 16-20, while the other Types are commended for higher grades of concrete.
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BRE: The Building Research Establishment (BRE, 1998) [37] classifies aggregates into 3
classes namely RCA I, RCA II and RCA III based on the relative proportions of crushed
concrete to brick masonry, relative quality and 10 % fines strength, and recommends use of
RA I aggregate for concrete up to C 35 and, RCA II and RCA III aggregates for higher
grades of concrete. The % of RCA III is limited to 20% with 80% NA.
BRITISH STANDARD: BS (8500)-2(20020 [38]classifies crushed recycled aggregates into
two classes i.e
i) Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) containing
more than 95% of
crushed concrete content ii) Recycled aggregate containing less than 95% crushed
concrete, with maximum percentage of impurities specified.
This guideline also suggests
that coarse RCA can be used in concrete of strength class lesser than C 40/50.
BA 92/07[39]: It considers the use of RCA complying with BS 8500 (2006) or BRE (1998)
specifications.
The code has also quantified the maximum allowable differences in
properties of RAC in comparison to those of NAC, i.e., a) a reduction in density up to 5%, b)

a reduction in modulus of elasticity (E) up to 20% and c) an increase in shrinkage up to 90%.
Further, the code cautions that the existing relation between cube compressive strength and
E for normal aggregate concrete may not hold good for RAC and suggests obtaining the
same from load deformation curves.
Besides, the following recommendations are given in the above code:
i.
Recycled aggregates should not be used in structurally critical members like bridge
decks of span greater than 20 m and members which are difficult to access for future
inspection. The suggested areas of usage are structurally less critical concrete
structures such as abutments, piers, retaining walls and foundations.
ii.
In pre-stressed and post tensioned concrete and also in buried concrete structures,
where the future access is difficult, the use of RCA is limited to 20% replacement.
Australian Standard: HB 155:2002 [40] defines two classes of RA namely Class 1A,
predominantly consisting of recycled concrete and, Class 2A consisting of up to 30 % brick
content. The standard specifies maximum limits on proportions of different types of
impurities, the particle shape, particle density, water absorption, aggregate crushing value,
LOI, soundness loss, etc. It also defines two classes of RACs:
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Grade 1 RAC is a concrete with up to 30% substitution level of Class 1A recycled

concrete coarse aggregate. Grade 1 recycled aggregate concrete has a maximum
specified strength limit of 40 MPa.
Grade 2 RAC is allowed up to 100% substitution level of Class 1A or Class 1B
recycled concrete coarse aggregate. Grade 2 recycled aggregate concrete has a
maximum specified strength limit of 25 MPa.
Hong Kong Specifications: The Hong Kong specifications [41] developed in 2002 for use
of RCA in concrete allows only 20% and 100% replacements of NA by RCA at that time. The
other replacement levels were not specified. The code does not allow the usage of recycled
fine aggregates.
Japanese Specifications: The Recycled Aggregate Standardization Committee of the
Japan Concrete Institute developed three standards [42-44] for RCA in 2002, for use in
concrete, such as (i) JIS A 5021 (Recycled aggregate for concrete -Class H), (ii) JIS A 5022
(Recycled aggregate for concrete -Class M) and (iii) JIS A 5023 (Recycled aggregate for
concrete -Class L)
Korean Specifications: The Korean specification [45] suggests that concretes up to 27

MPa strength can be manufactured using recycled coarse aggregate (30% replacement by
volume). Similarly, concretes up to 21 MPa strength can be manufactured using recycled
coarse and fine aggregates (30% replacement by volume).
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA): The NRMCA (USA) report [36]
on Crushed Returned Concrete specifically deals with returned leftover concrete. Its
recommendations include the use of leftover concrete aggregate in non-structural
applications up to 30% by total weight of aggregate. This recommendation presumes to use
only leftover concrete of 20 MPa and above. Up to 100% replacement of coarse aggregate is
allowed only for non-structural applications.
8.0 RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON RCA AT CSIR-CRRI
Experimental investigations were carried-out in CSIR-CRRI to study the properties of RCA
and RAC [20]. The RCA for the work was generated by crushing the crushing of concrete
cubes which were cast and tested in CSIR-CRRI over a period of 2 to 3 years, and also
some of those cast at various bridge construction sites near Delhi. The grade of concrete
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cubes crushed ranged between 35 45 MPa. Both manual crushing and jaw crushing were
adopted to generate the RCA of size from 4.75 - 20 mm. In addition, crushed granite NA,
OPC 43 grade, natural sand available in Delhi region conforming to Zone I of IS 383 [9], fly
ash from Dadri power plant conforming to IS 3812 Part II [47] and a second generation super
plasticizer poly carboxylic ether polymer were used in the experimental studies.
The particle size distribution of both NA and RCA were within the margins as specified in IS
383 [9]. The physical and mechanical properties of coarse aggregates were found to satisfy
the acceptance criteria prescribed in JIS A 5021 for Class H [42], according to which such
aggregate can be used for concrete structures and segments requiring a nominal strength of
45 MPa or less and the RAC prepared with this aggregate can be subjected to any exposure
condition without any limitations.
Five types of concrete mixes namely (a) 100 % NAC without fly ash, (b) 100 % NAC with fly
ash ((NAF), (c) RAC with 50%, 75%, and 100 % (R 50, R 75 and R 100, respectively)
replacement of NA were made. The RAC mixes were made with 25% fly ash. The concrete
mixes were designed for a characteristic compressive strength of 40 MPa, slump of 25-50
mm and very severe exposure condition. A modified mix design method was developed and
adopted for RAC mixes [20, 8]. This method yielded concrete mixes of similar workability as
seen from Table 2. Triple mixing method was adopted where in the mixing water was added
in two parts so that it allows less water at the interfacial zone. The steps involved are :
(a)coarse (RCA and NA) and fine aggregates were initially mixed for 15 s, (b)a part of water
equal to the water absorption of aggregates was then added to the aggregate mixture and
mixed for 15 s, and to this wet saturated aggregate the fly ash was added and further mixed
for 15 s to facilitate coating of the surface of aggregate with fly ash, and (c)cement was then
added to the surface coated aggregate and the remaining water was added and the mixing
was continued for further 60s.
The concrete test specimen were cast for testing of compressive strength, split tensile
strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, water absorption and concrete resistivity at
various ages from 3 to 56 days and methods specified in relevant Indian standards were
adopted for carrying out the first four tests.
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Table 2: Details of mix proportions
Mix
Designation
Cement
(kg/m3)
Water
(kg/m3)
Fine Aggregate
(kg/m3)
Fly Ash
(kg/m3)
Coarse Aggregate
(kg/m3)
Super plasticizer
Slump
(Percentage by
weight of cement )
(SSD Condition)
(mm)
(SSD Condition)
NA
RCA
NAC
410
164
706
1172
0.6
65
NAF
410
164
82
706
1172
0.6
61
R50
410
164
82
706
568
568
0.6
63
R75
410
164
82
706
280
839
0.6
62
R100
410
164
82
706
1119
0.6
68
The test results are summarized in Table 3. It can be seen that the dry density of concrete
decreased with increase in percentage of RCA. It was observed that all the mixes had
similar compressive strength range. This is attributed to the triple mixing method, adopted for
production of RAC, in which the sequence of mixing is led to form a strong interfacial zone in
concrete produced [22].
Table 3: Properties of NAC and RAC mixes

Mix
Designation
Density
kg/ m
Compressive strength
MPa
Split tensile
strength
MPa
Flexural
strength
MPa
Elastic
Modulus
GPa
(Dry)
3
days
7
days
28
days
56
days
28
days
56
days
56 Days
28
days
56
days
NAC
2408.8
33.85
43.85
45.63
53.19
3.49
3.96
5.35
28.55
30.15
NAF
2396.7
33.33
41.03
47.25
57.77
3.74
4.15
5.46
29.15
35.20
R50
2309.7
28.89
37.49
47.40
54.02
3.49
3.53
4.78
24.07
27.17
R75
2281.6
30.67
34.96
46.61
54.22
3.11
3.63
4.77
21.54
26.28
R100
2257.3
30.15
43.11
48.89
57.33
3.68
4.15
5.72
19.38
25.03
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The split tensile strength of concrete with different percentages of RA increased with age
and there was not much variation between the split tensile strength of NAC and the RAC,
besides the R100 mixes exhibiting better split tensile strength. This could be because of the
rough texture of RCA which provides better bonding and interlocking between the cement
mortar and the RCA. The flexural strength of R100 mixes is higher as compared to other
mixes. The higher flexural strength of R 100 mix could be attributed to the improved
interfacial transition zone due to the addition of fly ash, and improved pore size distribution of
RAC mix due to the pozzolanic action of fly ash which exhibits its effect at later ages. The
modulus of elasticity was found to decrease with increase in percentage of RCA. The
reduction was found to be up to 33.5% for RAC with 100% RCA. Thus, it can be inferred that
the deflection of an RAC member in a structure is expected to be more than that of a NA
concrete member.
The durability of concrete was studied with respect to water absorption, concrete resistivity
and rapid chloride penetration test (RCPT). The water absorption increased with increase in
proportion of RCA. In this study the water absorption of RCA is about 6.5 times higher than
that of NA. This may be attributed to higher water absorption of RCA when compared to NA.
It is to be noted that the concrete resistivity of R50, R75 and R100 mixes were greater than
that of NAC samples however the same is found to lesser than NAF sample. Thus the
resistivity of RAC is found to have improved with use of fly ash and this higher resistivity of
concrete is useful in resisting the initiation of reinforcement corrosion. It was observed that
the resistivity of the RAC mixes fit in the category of low chloride ion permeability,
according to the criteria of Florida Method [48] and similar results were obtained from RCPT.
The details of the tests and results are presented in [8].
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9.0 APPLICATIONS OF RCA IN STRUCTURES

Despite of the apparent menial properties of RCA and RAC, the same have been
successfully used for the constructions of real life structures and few examples are listed in
Table 4.
Table 4: Structures Constructed using RCA
Sl
Structure
Location
no.
1
Year
of Remarks
Construction
BRE
office Watford,
Building [49]
1995-96
UK
1500m3 of RAC was used for

foundations, floor slabs, structural
columns and waffle floor
Waldspirale
Darmstadt,
residential
Germany
1998
12000m3 of RAC used
2012
RCA used for Aquatics Centre,
building[49]
Olympic Stadium
London
Hand Ball Arena

4
Student
Norway
2001-2002
Reuse of grain silo
Norway
2005
100% replacement of coarse NA
Apartments [2]
5
Retaining wall
E6 Taraldrud
[2]d
10.0 CONCLUSIONS
Recycled concrete aggregates can be used for both non-structural and structural
construction. However, based on the studies presented in this paper, it is clear that recycled
concrete aggregate produced in India does not fulfill some of the specifications given in IS:
383, so it should be blended with natural aggregates of improved properties. Hence, the
maximum replacement limit of NA needs to be specified for RCA to be used in structures.
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To promote the use of RCA in India for structural applications requires an immediate
development of technical guidelines or specifications for recycled aggregate, in order to
guarantee its safe use.
While drafting the specifications, there is a need to specify the maximum value of water
absorption (7%), minimum dry density (2.2kg/m3), mechanical properties, permissible limits
of fines, clay, brick and chemicals of RCA keeping the durability requirements of new
structure.
Also, there is a need to control the quality of demolition waste (compressive strength
>20MPa) used to produce RCA for structural applications.
The guidelines for mix proportioning of concrete containing RCA, needs to be drafted to
achieve the desired fresh and hardened properties of RAC for construction of durable and
sustainable construction. Also, more research is required using commercially produced RCA
obtained from recycling of C&D wastes.
11.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is grateful to the Director, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi for
giving permission to publish this paper.
12.0 REFERENCES
[1] Marie, I and Quiasrawi. (2012), Closed-loop recycling of recycled concrete aggregates, Journal of
Cleaner Production, pp, 1-6, Elsevier.
[2]Engelson. J.C. (2013), Best practice for processing construction and demolition waste into
recycled concrete aggregates, Proc. Of Workshop on C&D Waste Recycling organized by Indian
Concrete Institute-Central Public Works Department, New Delhi.
[3]Ramanathan. M. (2013), Recycling of C & D waste in developing countries, Proceedings of
International Workshop on Construction and Demolition (C & D) Waste Recycling, IIT Madras,
Chennai, pp 127-146.
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[4]Mullick.A.K. (2013), Recycled concrete aggregate processing using and specifications, Indian
Concrete Institute-Central Public Works Department Workshop on C&D Waste Recycling in New
Delhi.
[4] American Concrete Institute, Removal and reuse of hardened concrete, ACI 555R 01, 2001,
26 p, American Concrete Institution, Farmington Hills, USA.
[5]Broere, P. (2003), The recycling of construction & demolition waste, The International Society for
the Environmental and Technical Implications of Construction with Alternative Material, ISCOWA,
Sansebastian, Spain.
[6]Ong, K. C. G., Akbarnezhad, A., Zhang, M. H., Tam, C. T., and Foo, T.W.J.(2013), Microwave
beneficiation to improve the yield and quality of recycled aggregates, ICI-CPWD Workshop on
Construction & Demolition Waste Recycling, August 5-6, 2013, IIT Chennai, India.
[7]Deshpande, N, Kulkarni, S.S., Patil, N. (2011), Effectiveness of using coarse recycled concrete
aggregate in concrete, International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, V. 04, No. 06, pp
913-919.
[8]Surya, M., Rao, V.V.L.K. and Lakshmy, P.(2013), Recycled aggregate concrete for transportation
Infrastructure, Proceedings of 2nd Conference of Transportation Research Group of India, Agra,
India, 2013.
[9] IS 383 (1997), Indian standards specification for coarse and fine aggregates from natural sources
for concrete, (Second Revision), Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
[10] Rao, P. and Madhavi, M. (2013), A study on partially used recycled coarse aggregate cement
concrete, Asian Journal of Civil Engineering (BHRC), V. 14, No. 6, 2013, pp 917-933.
[11]Sonawane, B. M. T. R., & Pimplikar, S. S. (2013), Use of recycled aggregate In concrete,
International Journal of Engineering, V. 2, No. 1, pp 1-9.
[12] ACI E1-07, (2007),ACI committee education bulletin-Aggregates for concrete, American
concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, USA.
[13]Kishore, R. (2007), Influence of recycled aggregates on flexural behavior of reinforced beams,
Proceedings of International conference on sustainable construction materials and technologies,
University of Wilconsin, Milwoukee, US, pp 36 44.
[14] Bairagi, N. K., Vidyadhara, H. S., and Ravande, K. (1993), Mix design procedure for recycled
aggregate concrete, Construction and Building Materials, V. 4, No. 4, 1990, pp 188-193.
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[15] Kumar, P.S. and Dhinakaran, G. (2012). Effect of admixed recycled aggregate concrete on
properties of fresh and hardened concrete , Journal of Materials in civil engineering, American
Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, USA, 24(4), 494 498.
[16]Padmini, A. K., Ramamurthy, K., and M. S. Mathews. (2009), "Influence of parent concrete on the
properties of recycled aggregate concrete" Construction and Building Materials,V.23, No.2, pp. 829836.
[17] RILEM (1994), Specifications for concrete with recycled aggregates, Materials and Structures,
RILEM, 27, pp. 557-559.
[18] prENV (1991), Design aids for design of concrete structures, European Committee for
Standardization.
st
[19] Ames, D., Droesseler, T.L., and Hoit, M. Structures Congress 2011, 2011, ASCE, 1 edition,
Virginia, USA.
[20] Surya, M. (2013), Experimental studies on structural properties of recycled aggregate concrete,
M.Tech Dissertation, AcSIR, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi, 125p.
[21] IS: 10262. (2009), Concrete mix proportioning-guidelines, Bureau of Indian Standards, New
Delhi.
[22] Otsuki, N., ASce, Miyazato, S., and Yodsudjai, W. (2003), Influence of recycled aggregate on
interfacial transition zone, strength, chloride penetration and carbonation of concrete, Journal of
Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE (October), 443451.
[23] Kong, D., Lei, T., Zheng, J., Ma, C., Jiang J. (2010), Effect and mechanism of surface-coating
pozzalanics materials around aggregate on properties and ITZ microstructure of recycled aggregate
concrete, Construction and Building Materials, 24(5), 701708, Elsevier.
[24] Arundeb, G., Saroj, M., and Somanath, G.(2011), Direct compressive strength and elastic
modulus of recycled aggregate concrete, International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering, V.
2, No. 1, pp 292 305
[25] Rao, M. C., Bhattacharyya, S. K., & Barai, S. V.(2010), Recycled aggregate concrete: a
sustainable built environment, Proceedings of International Conference on Sustainable Built
Environment, pp 227-233.
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[26] Rao, H.S., Reddy, V.S.K., and Ghorpade, V.G.(2012), "Influence of recycled coarse Aggregate
on punching behaviour of recycled coarse aggregate concrete slabs.", International Journal of Modern
Engineering Research, V.2, No. 4, pp 2815-2820.
[27] Rao, M.C., Bhattacharya S.K. and Barai S.V. (2011), Influence of field recycled coarse
aggregate on properties of concrete, Materials and Structures, RILEM, 44, 205-220.
[28] Akbari, Y. V., Arora, N. K., & Vakil, M. D.(2011), Effect on recycled aggregate on concrete
properties, International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, V.4, No. 6, pp 924-928.
[29] Gupta, Y. P.(2009) "Use of recycled aggregate in concrete construction: A need for sustainable
environment.", 34th Conference on Our world in concrete & structures, Singapore, pp. 16-18.
[30] MOSRTH (2001), Specifications for road and bridge works, Ministry of Shipping, Road
Transport and Highways, Indian Road Congress, New Delhi.
[31]Kou, S.C., and Poon, C.S. (2010), Properties of concrete prepared with PVA-impregnated
recycled concrete aggregates, Cement and Concrete Composites, 32(8), 645-654, Elsevier,
Amsterdam.
[32] Prameettha, J., and Bharathkumar, B.H.(2013), Experimental investigation on the influence of
micronized biomass silica in recycled aggregate concrete, International conference on advances in
civil, structural and mechanical engineering, Hong Kong.
[33]Kou, S.C., Poon. C.S., and Chan, D.(2008), Influence of flyash as cement addition on the
properties of recycled aggregate concrete, Materials and Structures, RILEM, 41, 2008, p. 1191
1201.
[34]Limbachiya, M., Seddik, M. M., and Ouchagour, Y.(2012), Performance of Portland/silica fume
cement concrete produced with recycled concrete aggregate, ACI Materials Journal, 109 (1),
2012,p.91-100, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, USA.
[35]Poon, C.S., and Chan, D.(2007), The use of recycled aggregate concrete in Hong Kong,
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 50, p. 293 305, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
[36] Karthik Obla, K., Kim, H., and Lobo, C. (2007), Crushed returned concrete as aggregates for
new concrete Final Report to the RMC Research & Education Foundation, Project 05-13, National
Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) Report.
[37]Building Research Establishment Digest 433 Recycled aggregates, 1998, BRE, Garston,
Watford WD2 7JR.
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[38] BS8500-2. Complementary British Standard to BS EN 206-1 specifications for constituent

materials and concrete, 2002, London, UK.
[39] BA-92, The use of recycled aggregate in structural concrete Highway Structures Design, Design
Manual for Roads and Bridges, 2007, London, UK.
[40] HB 155 (2002), Standards Australia, guide to the use of recycled concrete and masonry
materials, 2002, Sydney, Australia.
[41] WTBC, Specifications facilitating the use of recycled aggregates. WBTC No. 12/2002, Works
Bureau of Hong Kong.
[42]JIS A 5021, Japan Industrial Standard Recycled aggregate for concrete Class H, 2005, Japan
Standards Association, Tokyo, Japan.
[43]JIS A 5022, Japan Industrial Standard Recycled aggregate for concrete Class M, 2005, Japan
[44]JIS A 5023, Japan Industrial Standard Recycled aggregate for concrete Class L, 2005, Japan
[45]KS F 2573, Recycled aggregates for concrete, Korean Industrial Standards, 1999, Seoul, Korea.
[46]Fathifazl, G., Abbas, A., Razaqpur, A.G., Isgor, O.B., Fournier, B., and Foo, S.(2009), New
mixture proportioning method for concrete made with coarse recycled concrete aggregate, Journal of
Materials in Civil Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, USA,. 21, 601-611.
[47]IS 3812- Part 2.(1981), Specification for fly ash for use as pozzolana and admixture, Bureau of
Indian Standards, New Delhi.
[48]FM 5-578, Florida method of test for concrete resistivity as an electrical indicator of its
permeability, 2004, Florida, USA.
[49]Marinkovic,
S.,
Radonjanin,
V.,
Malasev,
M.,and
Igjatovic,I.(2010),
Comparative
environmental assessment of natural and recycled aggregate concrete, 30. 2255-2264.
and
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Recycling of Bituminous Pavement Materials : A Technique for Conservation of Materials

K. Sitaramanjaneyulu
Pavement Engineering Area
CSIR-Central Road Research Institute
New Delhi
1. Introduction
Recycling of pavement is the process in which the existing pavement materials are
reclaimed and re-used after reprocessing for either (a) resurfacing, or (b) repaving, or
(c) reconstruction of pavement depending upon the condition of the existing pavement,
the nature of the reclaimed materials, the method of reprocessing, and the treatment
that the pavement requires. The justification for reclaiming the pavement materials,
consisting mainly of aggregates and bituminous binders, is both environmental as well
as economic. The aggregates existing in the pavement are part of natural resources
drawn from the environment and should not be simply dumped at dump sites if a
pavement fails or becomes unserviceable because it will cause damage to the
environment, which will be further accentuated by extracting more virgin aggregates
from the environment in the replacement of the waste materials. Economic justification
comes from the utilization of the bitumen already existing in the pavement, which
reduces the requirement of expensive virgin bitumen.
The reclaiming and reprocessing of pavement materials involve both design (how the
pavement should be designed using reclaimed materials with the given properties) and
technology (the methods to reclaim and reprocess, equipment, knowhow and quality)
issues. Once both the issues are satisfactorily handled, there should be evidence of
good performance of the recycled pavements in terms of strength, durability, and
serviceability. If the three factors (design, technology and performance) combine,
recycling of pavements is environmentally and economically better option for pavement
repair, rehabilitation or reconstruction compared to one which uses fresh or virgin
materials.
2. Importance of Pavement Recycling
Pavement recycling offers financial savings in materials costs, energy costs, and total
job costs. There is an additional benefit in that our natural resources are preserved, as
is the environment. Studies have shown that mixtures with
Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) can be expected to age at a slower rate than
mixes with virgin materials. This is attributed to the binder in the RAP having already
undergone oxidation, so the rate of hardening of the RAP mix is slowed.
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The specific benefits of recycling can be summarized as follows: (a) substantial savings
in use of new materials, (b) conservation of natural resources, (c) pavement geometrics
is maintained, and (d) saving of energy. The ultimate benefit is very important due to the
recent urgent need for reducing greenhouse gases that is, reducing carbon footprint
thereby earning carbon credits for India.
Over the years, recycling has become one of the most attractive pavement rehabilitation
alternatives in various countries abroad. The burial of bitumen which is our countrys
property is being done indiscriminately on some of our highways, which are being
upgraded to six-lanes from the existing four lanes. Existing four lanes of bituminous
pavement get buried while constructing vehicle under passes, and flyovers. In such
cases, the existing bituminous pavement usually consisting of Dense Bituminous
Macadam (DBM) and Bituminous Concrete (BC) can be milled off and the RAP
transported to hot mix plant for recycling on service roads and/or main lanes. Asphalt
pavement is 100% recyclable.
Besides huge savings in cost and earning carbon credits, we will also have to obtain
less virgin aggregate from our stone quarries and also will have to import less crude oil
to produce the paving bitumen.
Recycling or reuse of pavement material is a very simple but powerful concept.
Recycling of existing pavement materials to produce new pavement materials results in
considerable savings of material, money and energy. At the same time, recycling of
existing material also helps to solve disposal problems. Because of the reuse of existing
material, pavement geometrics and thickness can also be maintained during
construction.
3. Recycling Procedures
Recycling can be divided into three basic categories based on the recycling methods
used:
A) Hot Recycling, and
B) Cold Recycling
C) Full Depth Reclamation (FDR)
3.1 Hot Recycling
Hot recycling is so named because RAP is used as an aggregate in Hot Mix Asphalt
(HMA). In hot recycling, old HMA pavement is removed, broken down into aggregatesized chunks and then incorporated into new HMA as an aggregate. There are two
basic methods for accomplishing this:
a) Recycled Hot Mix (RHM) - Recycled Hot Mix (RHM) is the most common way of
using RAP. Basically, new HMA is produced at a batch or drum plant to which a
predetermined percentage of RAP is added. RAP addition is typically 10 to 30
percent by weight although additions as high as 80 percent by weight have been
done and additions as high as 90 to 100 percent by weight are feasible. There is
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ample evidence that HMA which incorporates RAP performs as well as HMA
without RAP. RAP addition may require longer HMA plant heating times. This can
sometimes reduce plant output by as much as half. In general, RAP will be more
viscous than new HMA because of asphalt binder aging. Therefore, if enough RAP
is added, a softer asphalt binder should be used.
After milling or crushing, RAP gradation is generally finer than pure virgin
aggregate because of the degradation that occurs during removal and processing.
Photo 1 shows introduction of RAP material in a drum plant.
Photo 1: Introduction of RAP Material in a Drum Plant

b) Hot In-Place Recycling (HIPR)-For hot in-place recycling, the asphalt pavement is
softened by heating, and is scarified or hot milled and mixed to a depth 18.75-37.5 mm.
New hot-mix material (virgin aggregate and new binder) and/or a recycling agent is
added in a single pass of a specialized machine in the train. A new wearing course may
also be added with an additional pass after compaction.
Heater scarification: This method uses a plant that heats the pavement surface
(typically using propane radiant heaters), scarifies the pavement surface using a bank of
non-rotating teeth, adds a rejuvenating agent to improve the recycled asphalt binder
viscosity, then mixes and levels the recycled mix using a standard auger system. The
recycled asphalt pavement is then compacted using conventional compaction
equipment. Heater scarification is limited in its ability to repair severely rutted
pavements, which are more easily rehabilitated with a conventional HMA overlay.
Repaving: This method removes (by heating and scarification and/or grinding) the top
25 to 50 mm of the existing HMA pavement, adds a rejuvenating agent to improve the
recycled asphalt binder viscosity, places the recycled material as a levelling course
using a primary screed, and simultaneously places a thin (usually less than 25 mm)
HMA overlay. Conventional equipment and procedures are used immediately behind
the train to compact both layers of material.
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c) Remixing- This method is used when additional aggregate is required to improve the
strength or stability. Remixing is similar to repaving but adds new virgin aggregate or
new HMA to the recycled material before it is leveled.
HIPR is only applicable to specific situations. First, air void content of the existing
asphalt binder must be high enough to accept the necessary amount of asphalt binder
rejuvenator. Second, HIPR can only adequately address shallow surface distress
problems (less than 50 mm). Third, pavements with delimitations (subsequent layers not
binding together) in the top 50 mm should not be considered for HIPR projects. Finally,
pavements that have been rutted, heavily patched, or chip-sealed are not good
candidates for HIPR projects. Photos 2 and 3 shows process of hot-in place recycling
and hot-in place recycling operation with remixing respectively.
Photo 2: Process of Hot-In Place Recycling
Photo 3: Hot In-Place Recycling Operation with Remixing
3.2 Cold Recycling
Cold recycling is so named because RAP is used as an aggregate in cold mix asphalt.
In cold recycling, old HMA pavement is removed, broken down into aggregate-sized
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chunks and then combined with emulsified or foamed asphalt. This mix is then typically
used as a stabilized base course for reconstructed pavements. There are two basic cold
recycling methods:
a) Cold In-Place Recycling (CIR) For cold in-place recycling, the pavement is removed
by cold planing to a depth of 75-100 mm. The material is then pulverized, sized, and
mixed with an additive. Virgin aggregate may be added to modify RAP characteristics.
An asphalt emulsion or a recycling agent is added. Once the gradation and asphalt
content meet specifications, the material is placed and compacted. An additional layer is
optional, such as a chip seal or 75-100 mm of hot-mix asphalt on top.
A 3-piece train may be used. This consists of a cold-planing machine, a screening and
crushing unit, a mixing device and conventional lay down and rolling equipment. This
train occupies only one lane, thus maximizing traffic flow. Cost savings range from 20 to
40% more than conventional techniques. Since heat is not used, energy savings can be
from 40 to 50%.
b) Cold Plant Mix Recycling - Cold plant mix recycling, the less common of the two
cold recycling methods, involves mixing RAP with an asphalt emulsion or foamed
asphalt at a central or mobile plant facility. A rejuvenating agent can be added to
improve the recycled asphalt binder viscosity and new aggregate can also be added to
improve overall performance. The resulting cold mix is then typically used as a
stabilized base course. Photo 4 shows cold in-place recycling process.
Photo 4 : Cold In-Place Recycling Process
3.3 Full Depth Reclamation (FDR)

FDR has been defined as a recycling method where all of the asphalt pavement section
and a predetermined amount of underlying base material is treated to produce a
stabilized base course. It is basically a cold mix recycling process in which different
types of additives such as asphalt emulsions and chemical agents such as calcium
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chloride, Portland cement, fly ash, and lime, are added to obtain an improved base. The
four main steps in this process are pulverization, introduction of additive, compaction,
and application of a surface or a wearing course. If the in-place material is not sufficient
to provide the desired depth of the treated base, new materials may be imported and
included in the processing. New aggregates can also be added to the in-place material
to obtain a particular gradation of material. This method of recycling is normally
performed to a depth of 100 mm to 300 mm. The train consists of recycling machine
hooked to a water tanker and steel drum roller with pad foot shell. The advantages of
full depth reclamation are that most pavement distresses are treated, hauling costs are
minimized, significant structural improvements can be made (especially in base),
material disposal problems are eliminated, and ride quality is improved. Photo 5 shows
full depth reclamation in process.
Photo 5 : Full Depth Reclamation in operation

4.0 Advantages and Drawbacks of Various Recycling Techniques
4.1 Advantages and Drawbacks of Hot and Cold Recycling

Recycling
Category
Hot Recycling
Cold Recycling
Advantages
Drawbacks
High quality of recycled mixes

High energy consumption
Reactivates old bitumen
Air pollution emissions
Enables the old asphalt to be
Depends on environmental
entirely reused at the highest
regulations
level of quality
Requires special knowledge
100 % reuse
of
binder
technology
(emulsion, foam bitumen)
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4.2 Advantages and Drawbacks of In-Place and In-Plant Recycling Techniques

Recycling
Category
Advantages
In-plant
Recycling
High quality of recycled mix

Grading control
Very homogenous mix
Upgrading of mix possible
Reactivate old bitumen
Reuse in new asphalt wearing
course
High flexibility of use
In-place
Recycling
Drawbacks
Potentially
expensive
solution
High energy consumption
Extensive
material
transportation required
Stockpiling
of
RAP
necessary
Air
pollution/emissions
sensitive
Requires generally a new
100 % reuse of RAP
surface course
Minimizes transportation costs Difficult to counteract the
Very economical
heterogeneity
of
the
existing asphalt
Very efficient
Long recycling trains not
Quick opening to traffic
suitable for small stretches
Suitable for big and small
or rural roads
projects
Single traffic lane recycling Simple recycling equipment
only suitable for lower
possible
volume and rural roads
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5.0
Methodology and Steps for the Laboratory Evaluation of Reclaimed Asphalt

Pavement(RAP)
In order to get the required performance of recycled pavement, a proper laboratory

evaluation is required. The methodology for carrying laboratory evaluation of RAP is
given in the following flow chart.
Identification of
Rejuvenating Agent
Collection of RAP
Samples
Separation of bitumen
and aggregate (ASTM
D-2172)
Analysis of
Engineering Properties
of washed Aggregate
and Virgin Aggregate
Determination of
bitumen content in the
RAP material
Determination of
Properties of
Recovered Bitumen
Determining
proportions of
rejuvenator
Optimizing the dosage

of Rejuvenator
Proportioning of
Virgin and RAP
aggregates
Fixing the proportion

of virgin binder and old
binder in the mix
Marshall sample
preparation to check mix
properties and its
compliance as per
MoRTH specifications
Desired Aggregate
Gradation as per
MoRTH
specifications
Figure 1 : Flow Chart of Methodology for Laboratory Evaluation of Mixes

Containing RAP
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Steps for carrying out laboratory evaluation of mixes containing RAP are given
below :
Step 1: Collection of the milled material from the source.
Step 2: Separating the aggregates and the bitumen by centrifuge extraction. The
solution containing the bitumen is subjected to fractional distillation and abson recovery
for the recovery of oxidized binder for further analysis.
Step 3: The average binder content of the RAP is to be determined.
Step 4: Restoring the properties of the oxidized binder by adding the rejuvenator .
Optimizing the dose of rejuvenator is done by checking the binder properties such as
penetration, softening and viscosity etc. for both old binder as well as rejuvenated
binder.
Step 5: The gradation of the RAP aggregates is found and the proportioning is to be
done such that the resultant gradation meets the requirements for the required mix as
per MoRTH, specifications.
Step 6: Marshall Samples were prepared and checked for its compliance as per
MoRTH specifications.
6.0 Issues/ Points Needed Attention while Executing Recycling
Variable nature of RAP
Determination of Combined Sp. Gr. for mix design
Mix design based on gradations from core samples
Determination of exact binder (%)
Binder Extraction method
Pre-heating of RAP
Blending between old and virgin binder
Available Moisture in RAP
Arriving of dosage and Mixing of Rejuvenating agent
Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste - Laboratory Feasibility Study

and Field Usage
U.K.Guru Vittal
Geotechnical Engg Division
CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi 110 025
(vittal.crri@gmail.com)
ABSTRACT
Use of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste aggregates in road works is a widely accepted practice in
many countries like, Denmark, USA, UK, France, Japan, etc. But unfortunately its usage for road construction
is not practiced in India. Re-utilisation or recycling is an important strategy for management of C&D waste.
Recycling of aggregate material from construction and demolition waste can help to reduce the demand-supply
gap for aggregates, conserve depleting sources of good quality stone aggregates and decrease environmental
degradation due to quarrying activities. To evolve more avenues for utilisation of C&D waste in the area of
road construction, CSIR Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi carried out a Feasibility study
on use of Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste in Road Works. After establishing feasibility of this material,
a road stretch was constructed in North Delhi to study its performance. Salient details of this study are
presented in this paper.
Introduction
Construction & Demolition wastes consist of the materials generated during the construction, renovation and
demolition of buildings and other structures. C&D waste constitutes one of the largest waste streams in the
world. Management of C&D waste is a major concern due to increasing quantum of demolition rubble,
continuing shortage of dumping sites, increase in transportation and disposal cost and above all growing
concern about pollution and environmental degradation. Demolition of Pucca and Semi-Pucca buildings, on an
average generates about 500 and 300 kg of waste per sq.m respectively. C&D wastes thus consist of
materials, which had been originally used for construction.
Large quantum of bricks and masonry arise as waste during demolition. These are generally mixed with
concrete, tiles and other construction materials. Concrete appears in two forms in the waste. Structural
elements of building have reinforced concrete, while foundations have mass non-reinforced concrete. Metal
waste is generated during demolition in the form of pipes, conduits, and light sheet material used in ventilation
system, wires, and sanitary fittings and as reinforcement in the concrete. Metals are recovered and recycled by
re-melting. Timber recovered in good condition from beams, window frames, doors, partitions and other fittings
can be reused. Even then a large quantity of remaining C&D waste is generally dumped in landfill sites in our
country. Management of such huge quantity of waste puts enormous pressure on solid waste management
system. The growing population of our cities and requirement of land for other uses has reduced the
availability of land for waste disposal. It is mainly due to lack of awareness of the recycling techniques in that
C&D wastes have not been effectively utilised in India. To effectively use C&D waste in road works, first
requirement would be to characterise the material in terms of its physical and engineering properties.
Preparation of C&D Waste Samples for Laboratory Investigations
CRRI team visited two C&D waste dumping yards in Delhi and examined the type of C&D waste available at
these locations. C&D waste dumped at these locations mainly consisted of demolished building rubble having
particles of different sizes Big sized chunks as well as finely crushed material were found to have been
mixed (Fig 1). So it was decided to crush and sieve the sample to make it suitable for laboratory investigations.
One truckload of C&D waste (about 6 tons) was collected from C&D waste dumping yard and the material was
got crushed from an aggregate crushing plant in Delhi-Haryana border. Crushed C&D waste was sieved using
mechanical sieving screens available at the aggregate crushing plant and separated into three fractions as
given below. Photographs of these samples are shown in Fig 2 to 4.
a) C&D waste coarse aggregate particles passing 20 mm sieve and retained on 6.3 mm sieve (Comprising
about 42 per cent of the material crushed)
b) C&D waste aggregate Jeera size particles (6.3 mm nominal size About 30 per cent of crushed
material)
c) Powdered C&D Waste (About 28 per cent of crushed material)
Characterisation of C&D Wastes
Examination of C&D aggregate sample after crushing (passing 20 mm and retained on 6.3 mm) showed that
typically, it consisted of about 22 per cent (by weight) of cement mortar/tile pieces, 14 per cent (by weight)
were brick pieces and the rest, i.e., 64 per cent consisted of stone aggregates (Delhi quartzite). The chemical
composition of C&D wastes showed that silica (about 82 per cent) and alumina (about 6 per cent) are the main
components and pH value was about 9.78. C&D aggregate samples were then subjected to various tests as
per relevant IS codes.
Physical Properties of C&D Aggregates
The specific gravity of C&D waste aggregates was found to be 2.30, which is lesser than specific gravity of
conventional hard stone aggregates used in road construction. Generally specific gravity of aggregates used in
road works varies from 2.60 to 2.85. Lower value of specific gravity of C&D waste aggregates indicates lower
strength of C&D aggregates and it may probably be attributed to presence of brickbats, which are porous.
When C&D waste aggregates are further crushed to either Jeera size (less than 6.3 mm) or powder form, the
specific gravity of such a material increases to about 2.67.
Fig 1
C&D Waste at the dumping yard
Fig 2
C&D Waste Aggregates
(20 mm to 6.3 mm size)
Fig 4
Fig 3
C&D Waste Jeera Size
Aggregates (6.3 mm nominal size)
Powdered C&D Waste
Water absorption of C&D aggregates was found to be about 4.50 per cent, higher than 2 per cent limiting value
as specified by MORTH for many of the road works. Stone aggregates having water absorption upto 4 per cent
have been used in base course construction. However such porous aggregates require higher quantity of
bitumen when used in bituminous layers. Further it was noted that water absorption of Jeera size C&D
particles as well as powdered C&D waste was quite high, at about 13 to 14.8 per cent. This may be because
while crushing, all most all brick particles tend to get powdered when compared to stone aggregates. This
higher quantity of brick particles in Jeera size aggregates and C&D waste powder would contribute to increase
in water absorption. The sieve analysis test showed that powdered C&D waste comprises of sand size
particles with very low fines content (low percentage of particles finer than 75 micron sieve). Cu and Cc value of
powdered C&D waste were found to be 6.4 and 1.0 respectively. Thus this material can be classified as SW
as per IS Classification.
Engineering Properties of C&D Waste Aggregates
The test results relating to engineering properties of C&D waste aggregates are presented in Table 1. From
Table 1 it may be seen that unit weight of aggregates in loose and compacted state were found to be 1280 and
1650 kg/m3. This value is considerably lower than unit weight of conventional hard stone aggregates. The
aggregate crushing value of C&D aggregates was found to be 37 per cent. Ten per cent fines value of C&D
aggregates was determined separately for stone chips, brickbats, mortar pieces as well as representative C&D
sample (Table 1). Aggregate impact value (AIV) of C&D aggregate sample was found to be 33 per cent.
Generally for aggregates to be used in road construction, AIV should be less than 30 per cent. Hence C&D
waste aggregates can be considered as a marginal material. The higher value of AIV may be attributed to
presence of brickbats and mortar pieces in C&D waste aggregates. To further study the AIV characteristics of
these materials, C&D waste was segregated into stone chips, brickbats and mortar pieces and AIV test was
carried out separately on these individual samples. AIV tests on soft aggregates can be carried out as per IS
5640. The test procedure as per this code, stipulates that sample passing 12.5 mm sieve and retained on 10
mm sieve should be immersed in water for 3 days before subjecting it to impact test. Accordingly all the three
samples were immersed in water for three days and tested. To further study the effect of soaking on AIV
results, C&D aggregates soaked in water for 24 hours as well as oven dry aggregates were tested. The results
of these AIV tests are given in Table 2. From these results it can be seen that brickbats and mortar pieces
have a high aggregate impact value in dry state itself. Soaking in water further degrades such aggregates and
marginally increases the AIV. The stone chips in C&D waste mainly comprise of Delhi Quartzite and hence
they have aggregate impact value of about 26 per cent in dry state, which increases to 29.3 per cent after 3
days of soaking. Soundness test was conducted to determine the resistance to disintegration of aggregates by
using saturated solution of sodium sulphate. This test furnishes information helpful for judging the soundness
of aggregates subjected to weathering action. The test indicated a weight loss of 1.6 per cent after 5 cycles of
alternate immersion in the Na2SO4 solution and drying. As per the IS: 383, weight loss after 5 cycles should
not exceed 12 per cent. Thus, it can be inferred that the C&D waste aggregates satisfy the soundness test
requirement.
Table 1 Engineering Properties of C&D Waste Aggregates (20 mm to 6.3 mm)
Property
Unit weight (C&D aggregates) - Loose state (kg/m3)
Compacted state (kg/m3)
Aggregate crushing value (%)
Aggregate impact value (%)
Ten per cent fines value
(C&D Waste aggregate Representative sample)
(C&D Waste comprising of stone chips only)
(C&D Waste comprising of mortar pieces only)
(C&D Waste aggregate comprising of brick bats only)
Soundness (%)
Test Result
1280
1650
37
33
45 kN
98 kN
24 kN
25 kN
1.6
Table 2 Aggregate Impact Value (AIV) of C&D Waste Constituents

Constituents
Stone Chips in C&D
Aggregate
Brick bats in C&D
Aggregates
Mortar pieces in C&D
Aggregates
Testing Condition
3 days of soaking
1 day soaking
Dry
3 days of soaking
1 day soaking
Dry
3 days of soaking
1 day soaking
Dry
AIV (%)
29.3
28.6
26.0
46.4
45.0
42.2
46.5
45.2
51.3
Engineering Properties of Powdered C&D waste

The density of compacted layer is one of the important factors, which controls strength properties. From the
results tabulated in Table 3, it may be noted that standard proctor compaction test conducted on C&D waste
powder yielded MDD value as 1.75 gm/cc and OMC as 12.5 per cent. Modified proctor compaction test
conducted on the same material showed MDD to be 1.93 gm/cc and OMC to be 10.5 per cent. The density
and water content relationship curves obtained were found to be relatively flat. The MDD values obtained are
comparable to MDD values of soil particles of similar gradation.
Table 3 Engineering Properties of Powdered C&D Waste
Property
Modified Proctor compaction Test
Maximum Dry Density (MDD) (gm/cc)
Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) (%)
Standard Proctor compaction Test
Maximum Dry Density (MDD) (gm/cc)
Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) (%)
California Bearing Ratio (Soaked), (%)
Direct Shear Test - Angle of internal friction ()
Cohesion (c)
Liquid limit (%)
Plasticity index
Permeability (cm/sec)
Test Result
1.93
10.5
1.75
12.5
74
500
6 kN/m2
31.0
Non Plastic
1.86 X 10-4
Powdered C&D waste was found to be non-plastic in nature and hence could not be rolled into threads to
determine its plastic limit. The coefficient of permeability of powdered C&D waste was found to be 1.86x10 -4
cm/sec (Table 3). This value of permeability indicates that it is a free draining material and has potential for its
utilisation in sub-base layer. Powdered C&D waste was found to be having a high angle of internal friction
equal to 500. California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of powdered C&D waste compacted to MDD and tested after four
days of soaking, was found to be as high as 74 per cent.
Feasibility of Using C&D Waste for Embankment Construction
C&D waste has potential for use as embankment fill material as it meets MORTH/MORD criteria for density
and plasticity of fill material. However the maximum size of the material in the fill shall ordinarily not exceed 75
mm when placed in the embankment. C&D waste in unprocessed form normally contain particles bigger than
this size. So it would be necessary to crush it so that maximum size of the particle is lesser than the specified
limit. Since C&D waste is a non-plastic material, embankments constructed using C&D waste would be prone
for erosion. Hence it is suggested that side slopes of embankments constructed using C&D waste should be
protected against erosion by providing a good earth cover, in a manner similar to fly ash embankments.
Feasibility of Using C&D Waste for Sub-base Construction
Powdered C&D waste is a free draining material and possesses good CBR value. However the gradation of
powdered C&D waste does not satisfy the gradation for GSB material specified by MORTH. By adopting
mechanical stabilisation techniques and mixing C&D waste aggregates and powdered waste, it would be
possible to obtain desired gradation.
Feasibility of Using C&D Waste for Stabilised Base Course Construction
The base course of flexible pavements normally consists of either WBM or WMM. C&D waste being a marginal
material, stabilisation technique using cement can be adopted for its usage in base course. To study the
feasibility of C&D Waste usage in pavement layers, C&D waste was stabilised using cement and unconfined
compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted on the stabilised mix. Results of the tests conducted on
cement stabilised C&D waste are given in Table 4. It may be seen that cement stabilised C&D waste develops
enough compressive strength to be used in base / sub-base layer for low traffic volume roads.
Table 4
Unconfined
Compressive Strength
(UCS) Test Curing Period
3 days curing
14 days curing
28 days curing
UCS of Cement Stabilised C&D Waste Mix
UCS of C&D Waste

Mix + 3% cement
(kg/cm2)
UCS of C&D Waste

Mix + 5% cement
(kg/cm2)
UCS of C&D Waste

Mix + 7% cement
(kg/cm2)
11.35
14.00
22.21
11.53
26.62
32.06
13.19
31.80
44.34
Construction of Test Road Constructed Using C&D Waste

Extending this laboratory feasibility study, test road construction of about 150 m length involving widening work
on both sides of existing road was taken up in North Delhi. The pavement cross adopted is shown in Fig 6. For
sub-base, crushed C&D waste conforming to GSB Gradation specified by MORTH was adopted. Over the
granular sub-base, 150 mm cement stabilised base course (5 per cent cement admixture) was laid. WBM
Grade III layer of 75 mm thickness was provided over this stabilised layer. 75 mm thick blacktop was provided
above this layer. The length of test stretch was 140 m on both sides of the road and width of test stretch on
each side was 4 m. Construction of this stretch was taken up by initially excavating soil material in the shoulder
region of the stretch to be widened. after excavating to requisite depth, the in-situ soil was scarified, watered
and compacted using vibratory rollers, to prepare it as subgrade. Crushed C&D waste was spread and
compacted to form sub-base layer. For mixing cement with crushed C&D waste, tractor towed disc harrow was
used (Fig 7 and 8). Construction of other pavement layers was carried out as per MORTH specifications.
Performance of this stretch monitored over a period of two years was very good.
Fig - 6 Typical Cross Section of Proposed C&D Waste Test Road
Fig - 7 Cement Stabilisation of C&D Waste

for Test Road Construction
Fig - 8 Cement Stabilised Base Course of

C&D Waste Test Road
Conclusions
C&D waste is a marginal material having some of its strength properties slightly lower than the specified limits
as per IRC/MORTH/MORD. However at the same time, it is non-plastic, permeable and its strength can be
improved by stabilisation. Hence C&D waste can be adopted for road construction in different forms. While
using it road works, it must be noted that C&D Waste is heterogeneous in nature. It comprises of materials like
stone aggregates, tile pieces, brick bats, cement concrete, cement mortar, etc. Hence, the properties of C&D
waste material depends upon its relative percentage composition of stone aggregates, brick bats, mortar
pieces, etc and generalisations for the entire C&D waste material based on test results reported in this paper
cannot be made. Each deposit of the C&D waste before usage needs to be characterised.
Acknowledgement
The author would like to acknowledge Municipal Corporation of Delhi for sponsoring this study. Our thanks are
also due to IL&FS Ecosmart Ltd for providing technical support and valuable inputs during this work. My
thanks are due to my colleagues in CRRI who helped in laboratory and field work. This paper has been
published with the kind permission of Dr.S.Gangopadhyay, Director, CSIR - CRRI.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
U.K. Guru Vittal, Smt.Farhat Azad, J. Ganesh, Binod Kumar and Sudhir Mathur, 'A Laboratory Study of
Construction and Demolition Waste for Use in Road Works' Published in IRC Highway Research Journal,
Volume 5 No.1, 2013, New Delhi
Utilisation of Waste from Construction Industry, Technical Report Published by TIFAC, Department of
Science & Technology, Government of India
Dr.A.Ramakrishna, Indian Construction Industry Challenges and Opportunities, Fourteenth ICI Lecture
at Nagpur, Indian Concrete Journal, Bulletin 62, Jan-Mar 1998
Sherwood.P.T, Alternative Materials in Road Construction, Thomas Telford Publications, U.K, 1995
Recycling of demolished concrete and masonry, Report of Technical Committee 37-DRC, RILEM, Edited
by Hansen.T.C., 1992
IS Codes 1498, 2720, 5640, 2386
MORTH, Specifications for Road and Bridge Works, Published by Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/sqg/c&d-rpt.pdf
Workshop On Construction & Demolition Waste

Recycling (CDWR) 28th February 2015 JNTU,
Kukatpally, Hyderabad
Waste? What a Waste to Waste WASTE???
Waste? What a Waste to

Waste WASTE???
Madhav Madhira
JNTU & IIT, Hyderabad
Recycling!!!
by Dr. Madhav Madhira

Economic Benefits of Waste

Materials
Fly Ash/Bottom Ash/Pond Ash

Waste Tyres
Incinerated MSW
C & D Waste
Background
Large volumes of waste or recyclable

materials
Examples:
Waste Glass
RAP
Concrete Rubble and Dust
Waste-to-Energy Ash
Engineering characteristics of these materials
may be improved by adding common fill

Background (Cont.)
Proper re-use would produce savings for

construction and landfill industries
Construction boom has caused a large demand
for quality fill
Engineering properties of RAP improved by
adding sand
Blending is common practice and often
economical
Objective
Evaluate waste materials and improve their

engineering behavior by adding conventional
fill to make them economically attractive

Flow
Chart
Identify Re-Usable Waste Streams

Identify Engineering
Environmental and
Economic Conditions
Sample Waste
Materials
Accept
Dry Rodded Unit Weight Evaluation
g
Reject
Reject
Mix %
Accept
Fundamental
Geotechnical Testing and
Analysis of Blends
Consistency and
Economic Impact
Accept
Reject
Reject
Landfill
Applications
Tasks
1 Identify Candidate Waste Materials

2 Sampling
3 Fundamental Geotechnical Testing
4 Analysis of Testing
5 Waste-Soil Mixing Program
6 Waste-Soil Geotechnical Testing
7 Analysis of Mixing Results
8 Economic Impact of Re-Usable Materials
9 Specifications

Anticipated Benefits
End users groups will benefit:

Contractors who use soils and borrow materials in highway
construction
Landfill operators at solid waste or construction and
demolition landfills
Suitable fill is becoming costly. Providing more

choices, will control costs and save money.
Re-use of waste materials diverts them from the waste
stream, and reduces land-filling costs & increases
landfill space.
Applications of Waste
1. Waste Pre-treatment: To increase

Suitability;
2. Geotechnical Applications: Drainage
Layers; Capillary Barriers; Permeable
Layers; Vertical/Horizontal Filter Layers;
Backfill; Base course, etc.
3. Chemical Stabilization;
4. Remediation, etc.

Environment Risk
Management of CDW
Evaluation of CDW Technologies

for Geotechnical Applications



C & D Waste for Pipe Backfilling
Fine Recycled Glass (FRG)+Waste Basaltic Rock (WR)

Gradation
Stress-Strain & Mohr

Envelopes for FRG85+WR15
10

Compaction & Clegg Hammer

Comparisons for CBR & Strength
Base Course & Pavement
11

C & D Waste
RCA Recycled Concrete Aggregate
WR Waster Rock
CB Crushed Brick
FRG Fine Recycled Glass
RAP Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement
12

Gradation
Modified Compaction Curves
13

Typical Stress Strain Curves

for RAP
Permanent Strains
14

Resilient Moduli
Resilient Moduli for C & D

Waste Materials
15

Permanent Strains & Resilient Moduli
16

Grain Size Distribution
CDW Plant
17

18

19

Stages of Construction &

Instrumentation
20

Characterization of Ground
Performance of Wall and Foundation
21

Horizontal Displacements of Wall
Summary
Waste Materials can be re-used in Highways

Economic Benefits to Construction Industry
Economic Benefits to the Solid Waste Industry
Environmental Benefits to the Public
22

Arulrajah et al. (2012)

RE Walls with Recycled C & D Backfill,
Santos & Palmiera
RE Wall on Collapsible Foundation Soil with CDW Backfill
by Santos et al. (2013)
Arulrajah et al. (2012)

Gruiz et al.
Developing Re-Use Applications and Improving the Economic Benefits
of Floridas Waste Materials, Cosentino, P J. and Heck, H H
23
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
By Mr. Ramesh Kommajosyula* & Dr. N V Ramana Rao**
Especially in India, Construction is reasonably mechanised and more organised than what it was about 10
to 15 years ago. Now even for small projects it has been made mandatory to use Ready mix Concrete or
compulsory use of Batching Plant. Even the shuttering systems have improved. However, except for
large projects and some industrial projects, Demolition of structures is not yet mechanised. In smaller
projects, time is not a constraint and economy takes credence over Time and Safety.
The need of the hour is safe and fast demolition techniques with better waste management and less
environmental effect. For small structures such as buildings etc., conventional methods are adopted such
as pneumatic breaking/sledge hammer breaking. This not only is highly time consuming but also leads to
high pollution in form of dust and noise. This has to change in India and it should be made mandatory
to use latest techniques available for demolition of such structures.
In most such conventional demolition techniques, either the concrete/construction waste is left at site or
dumped at the nearest low level area/road sides without permission. The demolition techniques not only
generates dust pollution but also noise pollution.
This paper highlights some case studies of demolition of structures using the available techniques in
India.
Managing Director, Varshitha Concrete Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad.
**
Prof. of Civil Engineering & Registrar, J N T U, Hyderabad
Mechanising Demolition for better waste Management, By Ramesh Kommajosyula & Dr. N V Ramana Rao
Page 1
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
CASE 1 :
Demolition of Superstructure of a Bridge using Diamond Sawing :
Penna Bridge across Penna River in the State of Andhra Pradesh was constructed in the year 1958. The
bridge is more than 55 years old. The Bridge was constructed by M/s Prestressed Concrete India Ltd.
The Salient Features of the Bridge are :

No of spans
22
Span Length
15 Nos 32 m span & 7 Nos 26 m span.
Type of foundation
Well Foundation
Type of Superstructure
PSC
No of PSC beams/span
No of cross girders
6 Nos with cross prestressing
Type of deck slab
200 mm thick PSC deck slab
Width of carriage way
8.0 m
As part of the 4-laning of the Cuddapa-Kurnool Highway, it is proposed to not only construct a new
parallel bridge but also rehabilitate the existing bridge.
On November 25th 2011, a portion of Upstream girder measuring about 4.50 m has fallen off and was
hanging on the PSC cables (wire type). It was a clear indication that Post Tension cables have failed and
considering the seriousness of distress, it was immediately decided to stop all traffic on the bridge and
divert the same by an alternative route.
Page 2
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
Detailed non-destructive testing was carried out on the Superstructure & Sub Structure of the Bridge. A
Bridge Inspection Vehicle has been deployed for the purpose.
AFTER DETAILED NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING AND INVESTIGATIONS, FOLLOWING

CONCLSIONS WERE MADE :
The sub-structure is good and the strength of concrete is well above the required strength.
No specific distress features are noticed in the sub-structure.
The sub-structure can be used by replacing the super structure.
To accommodate the higher depth of superstructure, the top 450 to 500 mm thickness of the
pier cap to be cut off using diamond cutting wire saw and new pier cap to be cast on the piers
after providing necessary dowel bars into the pier.
Alternatively, new pier cap may be cast on the existing pier cap and the levels adjusted in the
approaches.
The superstructure to be carefully removed considering the following constraints:
Since the super structure is prestressed, all necessary precautions need to be taken for dismantling
the super structure.
To meet the pollution control norms, no debris to be allowed to fall in the river.
The following methodology is adopted for dismantling the super structure :
STEP 1 :
DISCONNECTION OF SPANS :
The spans shall be first disconnected from each other including :
Chipping /cutting of expansion joint.

Cutting off all connections such as parapet wall/railing.
Cutting off service pipe lines like telephone/power/drainage lines.
Cutting off bolts of rocker/roller bearings (this can also be done before lifting of segments).
Page 3
Workshop On
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28 February, 2015
STEP 2:
CARRYING OUT SLINGING HOLES :
It is proposed to disconnect the beams by cutting the slab in the centre of beams and the diaphragm
beams and slinging and lowering each beam by properly slinging. To enable slinging of beams for the
crane lowering suitable holes have to be drilled through the slab. The location of holes are shown in the
sketch below :
beams
6000 mm (approx.)
diaphragm beams
The slinging holes shall be at the 2nd diaphragm from either side of the span as shown in sketch above.
Preferably the slinging holes shall be close to the diaphragm beams.
This activity may independently carried out. However, as a word of caution it is better to finalise the
location of the holes once the first span/beam is lifted, though theoretically lifting at the diaphragm is the
safest location.
STEP 3:
SUPPORTING OF SPANS AND LOCKING OF BEARINGS :
Before commencement of any cutting operation it is very important to support the structure by providing
proper wooden packing between the end diaphragm and pier cap. Wooden sleepers may be provided
between the end diaphragm and pier cap and tightly packed.
End Diaphragm
Wooden sleepers
Pier
The roller bearings shall be locked against any longitudinal movement of the super structure by providing
proper steel wedges on either side of the rollers.
Page 4
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
STEP 4:
CHECKING FOR P T CABLES IN SLAB :
After removal of the hand rails, along the edge of the cantilever slab, chipping shall be carried out to
locate the cross P T cables in Deck slab. If P T cables are noticed, the same shall be marked on the deck
slab.
Extreme precaution shall be taken while cutting of P T cables in the Deck Slab during longitudinal cutting
of Deck slab. No person shall be allowed in line of the P T cables during the cable cutting operation.
STEP 5:
CUTTING LONGITUDINAL CUTS OF SLAB :
Once the spans are isolated and slinging holes are made, longitudinal cuts can be made for the slab (NOT
CUTTING THE DIAPHRAGM BEAMS). As long as there is a connection of diaphragm beams is
there, the slab would be stable (but not suitable for traffic movement). The cutting in between the beams
can be beams as per plan shown below can be independently carried out without cutting the diaphragm
beams below slab.
Cutting lines (saw) upto slab depth.
Beams
As a word of caution the end beams shall become unstable once the diaphragm beams are cut connecting
1st to 2nd beam and similarly 4th to 5th beam. To take care of this eventuality before cutting the
diaphragm beams, it is suggested to provide either struts below the cantilever portion of the end segments
on the pier (if space available) or connect the 1st and 2nd segments (& 4th and 5th segments) on the deck
slab using I sections or channels anchored to both the segments. Typical arrangement is show below in
section:
Page 5
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
Anchors
slab
Saw cut
No 1
No 2
Channel/I section
(at each diaphragm location)
beam
STEP 6:
CUTTING DIAPHRAGM BEAMS
Once the longitudinal cuts of slabs and slinging holes are carried out now the diaphragm beams can be
cut either using Wire Saw or using Stitch Core drilling through the depth of the beam. For each beam
segment first the central diaphragm beams shall be cut and then the end diaphragm beams shall be cut.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE AT THIS STAGE IF THERE IS ANY ABNORMAL
DEFLECTION IN BEAM WHEN THE DIAPHRAGM BEAMS ARE CUT.
It is suggested to hold the beam in position using a crane when the last two diaphragm beams are cut.
The bracket connection (by I/channel sections) on the slab shall be then removed before lifting and
lowering the beam.
The cutting of the diaphragm beams shall start from first cutting the central diaphragm then proceeding
progressively outward to the next diaphragm. ONLY THE DIAPHRAGM BEAMS REQUIRED FOR
DISCONNECTING THE PROPOSED GIRDER TO BE DISMANTLED SHALL BE CUT.
DIAPHRAM BEAMS OF OTHER GIRDERS SHALL BE CUT ONLY WHEN THE ADJACENT
BEAM IS TO BE REMOVED.
STEP 7:
LIFTING AND LOWERING THE CUT BEAMS :
It is very important to inspect and ensure that the beam segment being lifted is completely disconnected
by cutting and there is no restraint at the bearing location. It should be ensured that the crane is capable
for lifting the weight at the height required.
The cut beam segment with the portion of the slab shall be carefully and slowly lifted and disposed off.
IN CASE OF ANY DEBRIS FALLEN IN THE RIVER, THE SAME SHALL BE REMOVED AND
CLEARED ONCE THE SPAN DISMANTLING IS OVER AND BEFORE PROCEEDING TO
NEXT SPAN.
Page 6
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
Longitudinal cuts on slab

(Floor Saw)
Holding beam using two cranes
Lowering of Beam in Progress
Cutting of Diaphragm beam

(Wire Saw)
(weight of beam 72 MT)
BRIDGE AFTER FEW SPANS ARE REMOVED
WASTE MANAGEMENT :
The girders/super structure dismantled is first stacked away from the river stream. During
dismantling it is ensured that no debris is let to fall in the river, thus protecting the river from
getting polluted. This is one of the most important advantage of diamond sawing.
Then the beams which are distress condition and good condition are segregate out. The distress
beams are then dismantled using hydraulic breaker and steel extracted out. The concrete debris
is used as sub base for road construction or filling below the sub-base. Thus, not wasting the
concrete debris. The good beams are kept and yard and proposed to be used for walk way
bridges or such light weight structures.
Page 7
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
CAST 2 :
DISMATNLING OF A FAILED BRIDGE SPAN
At one of the bridge construction project, supports of a span failed during concreting. This lead to the
shuttering failure and it was inevitable that the span to be dismantled. By the time any action could be
initiated, the concrete has set and made dismantling a difficult proposition. The worst part is that the
span is at the road junction.
The bridge
Failed supports during construction
The superstructure is a voided slab with a overall depth of about 1.50 m. The top and bottom slab
thickness is about 300 mm with voided cavities of 900 mm dia. The agency has attempted to break the
concrete using conventional techniques of Pneumatic breakers. Deploying about 20 to 25 breakers and
10 to 15 compressors for a period of 2 months the only progress made was dismantling the top slab.
The process has not only lead to precious loss of construction time, thus delaying the project schedule
but also generate lot of dust and construction debris with un-controlled disposal of the debris. The noise
and dust pollution was a irritant to public in general.
Span after top slab removed by pneumatic breakers

The total concrete dismantled by then was only 50 to 60 cum out of the total of 300 cum. At this stage it
was decided to deploy DIAMOND SAWING EQUIPMENT to dismantle the balance structure.
Diamond Wire Saws were used to cut the concrete into manageable pieces. The cut concrete pieces were
then were lowered using High capacity Cranes and disposed off.
Page 8
Workshop On
th
28 February, 2015
Sawing in progress
Cut pieces being lowered for disposal
WASTE MANAGEMENT :
The cut concrete pieces are perfectly suited for use as Crash Barriers. The same were used as
Crash Barriers especially for road diversions and as Road Block elements during traffic
diversions or such activities.
With the cut pieces already drilled with slinging holes it was easy to carry/lift and transport to
required locations.
CAST 3 :
DEMOLITION OF UNDER CONSTRUCTION BUILDING
At one of the residential tower projects, 3 blocks were constructed upto 1st floor. The structure was
supposed to be a multi storied structure, hence was constructed with shear walls/long columns with
heavy reinforcement. At this stage for some commercial reasons it was decided to dismantle the
constructed structure above raft level and use the same raft with revised column location by drilling
anchors into the raft at the new column location.
Partially constructed structured proposed to be demolished.

Use of any conventional techniques would not only be very time consuming, but also would lead to noise
and dust pollution. The concrete to be dismantled involved about 2500 cum.
Page 9
Workshop On
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28 February, 2015
The dismantling was carried out using High Reach boom Jaw crusher, which provided the following
advantages :
Highly efficient and fast.

No noise or dust pollution
Reinforcement is not damaged and easily recovered without secondary dismantling.
The concrete debris is easily stacked for disposal.
Minimum manpower involved and extremely safe with only one Cabin protected operator
involved in the job
Dismantling using Excavator mounted Jaw crusher in Progress
Final crushing and retrieval of reinforcement in progress

The complete project was completed in just 15 days. The final debris was in a well stacked position for
easy disposal
WASTE MANAGEMENT :
The construction waste and debris was well utilised for back filling of foundation and filling of
low level areas within the premises of the complex. Use of Jaw crushing made it possible for
such use at the same time recovering the useful steel which could be easily sold in scrap market
for a cost.
Page 10
Workshop On
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28 February, 2015
CONCLUSIONS :
Mechanising the Dismantling of structures makes it possible to dismantle concrete in the size
and shape we need for proper utilisation. In many such projects, where RCC slabs are
dismantled using Diamond sawing, the same slabs are used as pavement slabs after providing
sand bed. This imagination is the limitation for utilisation of demolished structures. It is best
that the utilisation plan for the debris is made along with demolition plan.
Page 11
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE INCORPORATING

MICROWAVE-TREATED RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATES
Ong Khim Chye Gary, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Ali Akbarnezhad*, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Zhang Min Hong, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Tam Chat Tim, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Hao Junbao, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Timothy Wan Juang Foo, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore
35th Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 25 - 27 August 2010, Singapore
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35th Conference on OUR WORLD IN CONCRETE & STRUCTURES: 25 27 August 2010, Singapore
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE INCORPORATING

MICROWAVE-TREATED RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATES
Ong Khim Chye Gary, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Ali Akbarnezhad*, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Zhang Min Hong, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Tam Chat Tim, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Hao Junbao, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Timothy Wan Juang Foo, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore
Abstract
The presence of adhering cementitious mortar has been reported to be one of the
main factors lowering the performance of concrete mixtures made with recycled
concrete aggregates (RCA) when compared to natural aggregates (NA). A novel
microwave-assisted technique has been recently developed at the National University
of Singapore that may increase the yield and quality of the RCA processed within a
much shorter time when compared to other previously proposed methods. This
method takes advantage of the differences between the electromagnetic and thermal
properties of the coarse aggregate and adhering cementitious mortar to cause
delamination at the ITZ, separating the aggregate from the adhering cementitious
mortar. In this paper, the results of an experimental study conducted to investigate
the effects of incorporating coarse microwave-treated recycled concrete aggregates
(MRCA) on the mechanical properties of concrete are presented. A 10 kW pilot
industrial microwave-assisted beneficiation system designed and installed during the
current study was used to process the required amount of RCA. Results showed that
microwave processing may significantly enhance the mechanical properties of RAC
to a level comparable to concrete incorporating natural aggregates.
Keywords: Recycled Aggregate Concrete, Microwave Beneficiation, Mechanical Properties
1. Introduction
Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) currently produced are usually of a lower quality compared
to natural aggregates (NA) and not suitable for use in ready mix concrete [1]. They are mainly used as
base and sub-base material in carriageway construction or are mixed in small fractions, up to 20%,
with natural aggregate to be used in ready mix concrete. The presence of the adhering mortar (AM) on
the surface of the crushed concrete particles has been identified as the most important factor lowering
the quality of the recycled aggregates (Figure 1) [2]. The cementitious adhering mortar has a lower
density and higher water absorption when compared to natural aggregates such as granite.
A number of RCA beneficiation methods have been recently proposed to enhance the quality of
RCA through removal of the adhering mortar. These methods include acid pre-soaking [3],
conventional heating [1], mechanical rubbing and grinding [4], and combined conventional heating and
rubbing [4] in which one or a combination of mechanical and thermal treatments is used to remove the
adhering mortar. However, these methods are either too time and energy consuming or do not
satisfactorily increase the quality of RCA [2].
Ong et al. (2010) proposed a new microwaveassisted method to remove the adhering mortar of
RCA through developing high thermal stresses concentrated in the adhering mortar and especially its
interface with the natural aggregate in the RCA (NRA). By comparing the water absorption, bulk
specific gravity and the remaining adhering mortar content of RCA processed using the previously
proposed RCA beneficiation methods with that of the RCA treated using the microwave-assisted
beneficiation technique, Ong et al. (2010) showed that the microwave-assisted beneficiation method
can significantly increase the quality of RCA. Authors reported that saturating the RCA before
microwave processing may increase the efficiency of the microwave processing. Moreover, it was
shown that unlike conventional heating beneficiation, in the microwave assisted beneficiation, the RCA
particles are heated to a much less temperature, preventing the degradation of the original aggregate
properties.
In this paper, the results of an experimental study to investigate the effects of incorporating
different proportions of the Microwave-treated RCA (MRCA) as a replacement for the coarse natural
aggregate on the mechanical properties of the concrete is investigate.
2. Mechanism of Microwave-Assisted RCA Beneficiation
Unlike conventional heating, microwave heating may be used to heat the materials selectively based
on their dielectric properties. The microwave power dissipation in a dielectric material such as RCA
may be estimated using the Lamberts law. The simple form of Lamberts law may be stated as
PL x
I x
2 I 0 e 2 x
x
(1)
Here, PL(X) is the microwave energy dissipated at a distance x from the microwave exposed surface
of the material, I0 is the microwave power transmitted into the material and is the attenuation factor.
Attenuation factor is the EM property which can best illustrate the microwave power decay in the
materials. It is a measure of the magnitude and decay rate of microwave power inside the material. As
can be seen in Equation 1, a higher attenuation factor results in a higher microwave power dissipation
and thus a faster decay of the microwave energy in the medium exposed to microwaves.
Considering a material comprising two layers with the different attenuation factors of 1 and 2
and different thicknesses of L1 and L2, respectively, exposed to a uniform microwave power from its
top surface, the microwave power dissipation in the upper layer (Layer 1) may be calculated as:
PL1 x 21I 0e 2 1x
(2)
While the dissipated microwave power at distance x from the top surface of the next layer (Layer 2) is
calculated using:
PL 2 x 2 2 (I 0 PL1 (x ))e 2 2x
L1
(3)
If layer 1 has a considerably higher attenuation factor compared to the layer 2, according to the above
equations, more energy tends to be dissipated in layer 1 and thus layer 1 would be heated up much
faster than layer 2.
1 2
L1
I 0 I 0 PL1 (x )
L1
21I 0 2 2 (I 0 PL1 (x )) PL1 (x ) PL 2 (x )

0
(4)
Therefore, in this case, microwave heating leads to a differential heating, especially at the
interface of the two layers. Now, consider RCA as a composite material comprising of two layers; the
adhering mortar (AM) and the recycled natural aggregate (RNA). Comparing the attenuation factors of
air-dried mortar to coarse aggregate, Figure 1, shows that for a similar moisture condition, the
attenuation factor and thus the microwave energy absorption rate of mortar is higher than natural
aggregates. Hence, if RCA is exposed to microwaves, the mortar layer would be heated up much
faster than RNA and thus significant differential thermal stresses may develop at the AM-RNA
interface. In microwave-assisted RCA beneficiation method, this differential thermal stresses are
harnessed to remove the adhering cementitious mortar from RCA and thereby increase the quality and
yield of the RCA products.
In addition, as can be seen in Figure 2, the attenuation factor of mortar may increase significantly with
an increase in its water content. On the other hand, it is well known that mortar paste has considerably
higher water absorption, enabling it to absorb water much faster than natural aggregates. Therefore, it
may be practically feasible to increase the water absorption of the adhering mortar to a significantly
higher amount than natural aggregate by immersing the RCA particle in water for a specific duration (a
few minutes) and thereby further increase the difference in their attenuation factors and thus the
microwave heating rate and the differential stresses developed in the AM-RNA interface.
Attenuation Factor ( neper / m )
100
Wet Mortar
80
Saturated
Mortar
Air-Dried
Mortar
60
40
Coarse
Aggregate
20
10
15
20
Microwave Frequency ( GHz )

Figure 1. A typical RCA particle
Figure 2. The attenuation factors of coarse

aggregate and cementitious mortar
3. Experimental Program
3.1 Material
This experimental study was carried out on aggregates obtained from one of the Singapores largest
recycling plants; Samgreen. The production procedure used in this plant includes initial crushing using
a jaw crusher, manual removal of the contaminants, removal of the reinforcing bars using magnets,
secondary crushing using an impact crusher, and a series of sieving and further crushing stages to
obtain the RCA particles of the desired size fraction. Inspection showed that the original aggregate of
the RCA samples taken is predominantly granite. This plant is fed from different demolition projects,
having concretes with different mix proportions. The RCAs produced have very little (<1%) impurities.
3.2 Microwave-Assisted RCA Beneficiation System
Heating duration and power level of the commercially available microwave ovens are usually limited to
the amount required for cooking purposes. The numerical study conducted by Ong et al. (2006)[5]
showed that the differential thermal stresses developed in dielectric materials are linearly proportional
to the microwave power. Hence, the use of higher microwave powers may increase the speed of the
adhering mortar removal and thereby reduce the microwave heating duration. The shorter heating
duration can in turn reduce the possibility of degradation of the original properties of the natural
aggregates due to the excessive heating. Moreover, the contaminant effect of the pore water pressure
caused by rapid evaporation of the internal water present in the adhering mortar and ITZ, as a result of
heating at high powers, may significantly increase the efficiency of the mortar removal.
Hence, in order to increase the yield and efficiency of the microwave-assisted RCA beneficiation, a
pilot industrial microwave-assisted beneficiation system designed and fabricated during the current
study was used to produce the microwave-treated RCA needed. The system designed can operate
continuously at a maximum power of 10 kW. The external view of this system is shown in Figure 3.
Besides the active microwave components used to generate the microwave power, particular
additional passive components were used to increase the efficiency of heating through minimizing the
power reflection as well as to monitor the operation of various components to ensure the safety of the
operators.
Fig.3. The microwave-assisted RCA beneficition system
3.3 Microwave-Assisted Beneficiation of RCA

One kg oven dried batches of 20 to 40 mm RCA were immersed in water for 10 minutes to increase
the differential microwave heating of the adhering mortar through increasing its water content. The
RCA batches were microwave heated at 10 kW power for 2 minutes and cooled down in a water tank
filled with tap water. RCA samples were then sieved through a 4 mm sieve. The water absorption, bulk
specific gravity, and the adhering mortar of the RCA retained on the sieve were measured.
3.4 Crushing
The results of the study conducted by Ong et al. (2010) indicated that even though after microwave
heating a significant amount of the adhering mortar was removed, not all the removed mortar pieces
were crushed into powder. Moreover, authors reported that the remaining mortar adhering to the RCA
particles was considerably weakened after microwave heating so that it could have been easily
removed through exerting small mechanical forces.
In the current study, in order to develop an economical solution to separate the removed mortar
pieces from RCA as well as to further improve the quality of the RCA by shedding off the remaining
adhering mortar, the 20-40 mm microwave-heated RCA particles were crushed into the maximum size
of 12 mm. The crushed RCAs were sieved through a 4 mm sieve. The RCAs retained on the sieve
were collected and the properties were measured.
3.5 Aggregate Testing
The water absorption and bulk specific gravity tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM C12707. The adhering mortar content of the RCA samples were measured using the acid soaking method
proposed by Ong et al. (2010). In this method, the weight loss of the RCA samples after being soaked
in 2 molar sulfuric acid solutions for 5 days are used to measure the amount of the adhering mortar.
The water absorption, bulk specific gravity and adhering mortar content of the original 20 to 40 mm
RCA samples were on average 4.2%, 2370 kg/m3, and 47%, respectively.
3.6 Concrete Mix Compositions and testing

Eleven batches containing various percentages of coarse aggregate replacement with untreated and
microwave-treated RCA (0, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%) were cast. The mix proportions of the
concrete specimens cast are listed in Table 1. The concrete incorporating RCA and MRCA are
referred to as RACn and MRACn, respectively, where n denotes the replacement percentage of
the natural coarse aggregates with the recycled aggregates. The coarse and fine aggregates were
oven dried before casting. All the aggregates were mixed with the appropriate amount of water
(referred to as pre-mixing water) calculated based on their 24 hour water absorption for 10 minutes
before addition of the cement and mixing water. Concrete specimens were moisture cured for 7 days
and then kept in laboratory conditions until the day of testing. The compressive strength, modulus of
elasticity and flexural strength of concrete specimens were measured after 28 days in accordance to
BS EN 12390-3:2009, BS 1881-121: 1983, and BS EN 12390-5:2009, respectively.
Table 1: The mix proportions of concrete cast with various amounts of un-treated and microwave
treated coarse RCA
Natural
Coarse
Agg.
(kg)
Natural
Sand
(kg)
RCA
(kg)
Pre-Mixing
Water*
(kg)
Plasticizer
(L)
167
1072
736
8.98
375
167
857.6
736
214.4
16.48
0.45
375
167
643.2
736
428.8
23.98
60
0.45
375
167
428.8
736
643.2
31.49
RAC80
80
0.45
375
167
214.4
736
857.6
38.99
RAC100
100
0.45
375
167
736
1072
46.50
MRAC20
20
0.45
375
167
857.6
736
214.4
10.91
MRAC40
40
0.45
375
167
643.2
736
428.8
12.84
MRAC60
60
0.45
375
167
428.8
736
643.2
14.76
MRAC80
80
0.45
375
167
214.4
736
857.6
16.69
MRAC100
100
0.45
375
167
0
736
* calculated based on the 24 hr. water absorption of aggregates
1072
18.62
Mixing
Specimen
ID
RCA
Replacement
(%)
W/C
Cement
(kg)
CC
0.45
375
RAC20
20
0.45
RAC40
40
RAC60
Water
(kg)
Super
4. Results and Discussions

4.1 Properties of the microwave treated RCA
The surface of an individual RCA particle before and after microwave heating is shown in Figure 4.
Table 2 compares the properties of the RCA before microwave heating to that of the RCA after
microwave heating and of the RCA after microwave heating and re-crushing. As can be seen, a
considerable portion of the adhering mortar was removed from the RCA particles after microwave
heating. However, it was observed that not all the removed adhering mortar was crushed into powder
and there were a number of large pieces of mortar present in debris. Further removal was observed
when the RCA particles were re-crushed into the maximum size of 12 mm using the jaw crusher.
Moreover, visual inspection showed that as a result of re-crushing, large pieces of mortar available in
the debris were mostly crushed into the powder, facilitating the separation through sieving. Results
showed that microwave heating alone led to 49 % decrease in the adhering mortar content which in
turn resulted in 33 % decrease in the water absorption and 3.7 % increase in the bulk specific gravity
of RCA. Moreover, results revealed that further crushing of RCA after microwave heating can
significantly improve its properties by leading to 68 % reduction in the adhering mortar. The combined
microwave heating and re-crushing resulted in 62 % decrease in the water absorption and 5.5 %
increase in the bulk specific gravity.
Figure 4. Surface of a 30 mm RCA particle before and after microwave heating
4.2. Properties of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

4.2.1 Compressive Strength
The 28 day compressive strength of the concrete incorporating various amounts of microwave treated
RCA and that of the RAC incorporating various percentages of original commercially produced RCA
are compared in Figure 5. As can be seen, compared to when un-treated RCA was used,
incorporating the microwave treated RCA led to significantly less reduction in the compressive strength
of concrete. Incorporating 100% coarse microwave-treated RCA resulted in only 10 % reduction in the
compressive strength as compared to almost 30% reduction when similar amount of un-treated RCA
was used. Moreover, as can be seen, incorporating up to 40 % microwave treated RCA seemed to
have led to no or negligible reduction in the compressive strength. Similar to when untreated RCA
were used, the compressive strength seemed to decrease almost linearly with the increase in the
amount of the microwave treated RCA. Besides the decrease in the adhering mortar content of the
RCA used, crushing of the fissured RCA particles as a result of the stresses developed during the
microwave heating and/or re-crushing may be considered as the cause of the significant
improvements achieved in the compressive strength of the RCA cast using the microwave-treated
RCA.
4.2.2 Modulus of Elasticity
The modulus of elasticity of concrete varies significantly with the stiffness of the coarse aggregates. The
adhering mortar is usually of a weaker nature compared to NA, lowering the stiffness of RCA. The results
obtained for the modulus of elasticity of the concretes incorporating various amounts of RCA and MRCA are
presented in Figure 6. As shown, the reduction in the modulus of elasticity of concrete incorporating MRCA
almost resemble the reduction in its compressive strength, limited to only 10 % when the coarse NA was
completely replaced with MRCA. This may be compared with the up to 25% reduction in the modulus of
elasticity when NA was replaced with untreated RCA.
Table 2: Properties of RCA before and after treatment
Untreated
Bulk Specific Gravity
Compressive Strength (MPa)
2370
1.1
65
Y=60.1-0.06055 X
60
4.2
1.2
RAC incorporating un-treated RCA

RAC incorporating microwave treated RCA
70
47
1.0
55
0.9
50
0.8
Y=60.1-0.2057 X
45
0.7
40
0.6
35
0.5
30
0
20
40
60
80
100
Replacement percentage of coarse NA with RCA (%)
38
Modulus of Elasticity (GPa)
24 hr. Water Absorption
(% by mass)
(%)
(%)
(%)
(kg/m3)
(%)
Compressive Strength Relative to the Control Concrete
Adhering Mortar Content
Type of RCA
Microwave
Microwave
Heated
Heated and Re-crushed
24
15
- 49
- 68
2.8
1.6
- 33
- 62
2457
2500
3.7
5.5
RAC incorporating Microwave treated RCA

1.1
36
34
y=34.35-0.035 x
1.0
32
0.9
30
y=34.35-0.071 x
28
0.8
26
0
20
40
60
80
100
Modulus of Elasticity Relative to the control Concrete
RCA Properties
Replacement Percentage of Coarse NA with RCA (%)
Figure 5. Effect of RCA amount on 28 day

compressive strength of concrete
Figure 6. Effect of RCA amount on the modulus of

elasticity of concrete
Modulus of Rupture (MPa)
7.0
1.1

RAC incorporating microwave treated RCA
6.5
1.0
y=6.3-0.0061x
6.0
0.9
5.5
y=6.3-0.0095x
5.0
0.8
4.5
0.7
4.0
0
20
40
60
80
Modulus of Rupture Relative to the Control Concrete
4.2.2 Flexural Strength

The results of the flexural strength tests conducted are shown in Figure 7. As can be seen, a rather
similar reduction trend as that for the compressive strength was observed when the MRCA was used.
However, the flexural strength seemed to be less affected compared to compressive strength and
modulus of elasticity when untreated RCA was used. The 100% replacement of coarse NA with RCA
led to only 15 % reduction in modulus of rupture as compared to almost 30% reduction in compressive
strength. This may be due to the fact that the flexural strength is highly dependent on the bond
strength between the aggregate and matrix. The water absorption capacity of the adhering mortar
may enhance the bond between the new mortar and RCA that in turn can partially cancel the inverse
effects of the weakness of old ITZ (between the adhering mortar and ENA) on the overall flexural
strength.
100
Replacement percentage of coarse NA with RCA (%)
Figure 7. Effect of RCA amount on 28

day flexural strength of concrete
Conclusions
The results of the study presented in this paper showed that microwave-assisted treatment of RCA
can significantly enhance the mechanical properties of concrete including the compressive stress,
modulus of elasticity and flexural strength. Incorporating of up to 40% of microwave-treated RCA
seemed to have no or negligible effects on the mechanical properties of concrete, suggesting the RCA
products as a reliable replacement for the natural coarse aggregate. Further experimental studies are
required to investigate the effects of incorporating microwave-treated RCA on the durability of
concrete.
References
1.
2.
3.
De Juan, M.S. and P.A. Gutierrez, Study on the influence of attached mortar content on the
properties of recycled concrete aggregate. Construction and Building Materials, 2009. 23(2): p.
872-877.
Ong Khim Chye Gary, Ali Akbarnezhad, Zhang Min Hong, Tam Chat Tim and Timothy Wan
Juang Foo, Microwave-Assisted Beneficiation of Recycled Concrete Aggregates. in CSCE
Annual Conference. 2010. Winnipeg, Canada.
Tam V. W. Y. , Tam C. M., and K.N. Le, Removal of cement mortar remains from recycled
aggregate using pre-soaking approaches. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2007.
50(1): p. 82-101.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Yonezawa, T., Yanagibashi, K., Kojima, M., Arakawa, K. And Yamada, M., A study on a
technology for producing high quality recycled coarse aggregate. Zairyo/Journal of the Society
of Materials Science, Japan, 2001. 50(8): p. 835-842.
K.C.G. Ong and A. Akbarnezhad. Thermal stresses in microwave heating of concrete. in
Proceedings of Our World in Concrete and Structure 2006.,Singapore.
ASTM C127-07, Standard Test Method for Density, Relative Density (Specific Gravity), and
Absorption of Coarse Aggregate.
BS EN 12390-3:2009, Testing hardened concrete: Compressive strength of test specimens.
BS 1881-121: 1983, Testing concrete: Method for determination of static modulus of elasticity
in compression.
BS EN 12390-5:2009, Testing hardened concrete: Flexural strength of test specimens.

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About the Workshop

Status of Demolition & C& D Waste Recycling in India

Mohan Ramanathan, B.Tech., M.S. (USA)

Lower cost in quarrying of natural resources due to modern machines.

Low import cost of aggregates from neighbouring developing regions.

Base use and throw way habit.

Tight development programme for quick financial return.

Improper or lack of waste management.

Setting target on achievement on recycling by stages.

Imposing heavy tax on waste disposal.

Imposing aggregates tax to encourage use of recycled aggregates

Minimizing the generation of waste in the first instance.

Reusing the C&D materials in its original from as far as possible.

Recycling with minimal input of energy.

Disposing of the waste environmentally, with waste to landfills.

WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN

Minimal export of waste and minimal import of raw materials

Minimal addition of traffic loading on existing busy road networks.

Energy saving due to reduction on fuel consumption by lorries.

Establishing centralized recycling facilities.

1.Sorted non-recyclable C&D materials delivered to public

3. Sorted broken concrete delivered to recycling

4.Sorted broken concrete delivered to recycling

5.Sorted non-recyclable C&D materials delivered to

6.Mixed demolished material results in recycling

7.Sorted non-inert waste stockpiled separately.

8.Sorted broken concrete stockpiled separately

9.Sorted broken concrete stockpiled separately.

Fact Sheet on India

By 2030, India will be the most populous country in the world.

India will become the Garbage Capital of the world by 2050.

9. New Demolition Rules to Assist Recycling (Proposed):

Selective Demolition to be specified.

On-site sorting to be specified.

On-site crushing to be done for downsizing.

Debris Management Plan to be insisted by all authorities.

City / Municipality rules to be aligned for waste reduction and recycling.

10. Need for Engineered Demolition using Modern & Machinery

Dilapidated old structures have to be demolished for newer ones.

Mr. Winston F.K, Fong

Prof. K. N Satyanarayana, IIT, Madras

MANAGEMENT OF C&D WASTES IN INDIA CURRENT STATUS

For presentation at Workshop on C&D Wastes Recycling at JNTU, Hyderabad.

Wood, asphalt, and

Figure 1. Estimates of C&D wastes in some Asian countries (Ref. 7)

Manual sorting lines,

Figure 2. General Recycling Process

Collection of C&D Waste

Figure 3. Flow chart of C&D waste recycling in Delhi.

Losses in compressive strength up to 15 percent for the same water-cement ratio.

Portland Cement Association, USA states (11);

R&D on Use in High Strength Concrete

Figure 5(a). Demolition waste before processing

Figure 5(b). Recycled concrete aggregate obtained after processing.

Figure.6.. Effect of processing of aggregate on compressive strength of concrete.

Figure 7. Effect of processing and mixing techniques on workability.

Figure 6. Variation in compressive strength with replacement of sand M30 grade

M40R10 M40R20 M40R30

Figure 7. Variation in compressive strength with replacement of sand M40 grade

Specify chemical properties of recycled aggregate e.g. chloride content, influence on

The specific provisions in different countries are discussed below;

Natural aggregates from mineral resources,