Recycling of Brick and Road Demolition Waste in the Production of Concrete

Abstract

Construction and public works sites generate a significant amount of waste that is often costly to dispose of. To reduce the environmental impact and promote sustainability, recycling and recovering this waste is increasingly being recognized as a viable solution. This paper presents the findings of an experimental program investigating the feasibility of using brick and road demolition waste as concrete components. By substituting a portion of sand and cement with recycled materials, this study compares the properties of the reference concrete with concrete containing varying amounts of brick waste and road demolition debris. The obtained results demonstrate that the produced concrete with up to 40 % recycled content achieved a compressive strength exceeding 20 MPa after 28 days. This study suggests that recycled brick and road demolition waste could be a sustainable and economical substitute for conventional aggregates. Incorporating these materials into concrete reduces the cement content while maintaining or even improving the fresh and hardened properties of the concrete. However, it is crucial to limit the use of road demolition sand to 10 %, crushed brick fines to 20%, and brick sand (CBS) to 30% to ensure optimal performance.