Improvement of the cement mortar properties using recycled waste materials

Abstract

Ceramic tiles as well as brick waste materials from building demolition and black tea waste have caused major environmental issues. As a result, one of the primary objectives of sustainable solid waste management is maximizing their reusing and recycling potential. Therefore, the major goal of this work is to assess the efficacy of using a mixture of waste materials brick powder, ceramic tiles powder, and black tea as a partial substitution for fine aggregate and cement in mortar that was mixed with a 1:3 ratio and a W/C ratio of 0.5. In this work, the cement was substituted by black tea in proportions of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%, while the fine aggregate has been replaced through waste brick powder and ceramic tiles powder in proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight of the mortar mixture. The flexural strength, compressive strength, density and absorption values of the mortar mixtures have been specified in this work. The major findings of this study revealed that in the mortar mixture, cement and fine aggregate might be replaced partially by brick powder, ceramic tiles powder, and black tea, with the best ratio of replacement being M3[(15% brick powder and ceramic tiles) +(7.5% black tea)]. The flexural and compressive strength values increased by adding the modifier brick powder, ceramic tiles powder and black tea, while the density and absorption were reduced. As a result, in order to equilibrium between the environmental sustainability and construction demand, building waste must be utilized.