Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 10
Waste Materials in Construction: Sludge
and Recycling
Hiroshi Takahashi
Abstract Various sludges and muds from construction or waste water treatment
have high water contents and are very difficult to treat or use. This chapter describes
research and development on how to transform such sludges into usable materi-
als—both as a general fill material and as a soil which can be used in replanting
projects such as for covering slopes alongside roads. The method developed uses
paper residues as a source of fiber to aggregate soil particles and produce a fiber-sta-
bilized soil which has suitable characteristics for reuse. This chapter also describes
a number of case studies where the treated sludges and muds have been successfully
applied in a range of projects.
Keywords Construction sludge · Fiber-solidification · Planting soils · Recycling
muds
10.1
Introduction
Construction sludge, dredging muds, water purification and sewage sludge and
similar wastes all contain a high water content, which makes direct use extremely
difficult. As a result, the recycling rate is very low and, with the exception of very
few cases of re-use, most are treated in industrial waste sludge treatment facilities,
or given intermediate dehydration treatment followed by direct landfill. However,
a lack of waste disposal facilities, and their remoteness with the associated high
transportation costs is posing serious problems, so that the burden of illegal dump-
ing of construction sludge seems never to end. The effects of this pollutant load
on the Earth's environment is thus becoming a major problem, so that an effective
means of using muds with high moisture content is required. The standard methods
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