Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Materials in Various Civil Engineering Works

Research Paper

Sandeep Sharma1

1*Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, ACET Amritsar, Punjab, India

*Corresponding Author’s Email: sndpshrm63@gmail.com

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7284398

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ABSTRACT

The effects of the addition of processed municipal solid wastes (MSW) materials on the engineering properties of M25 concrete and soft soils were investigated. For this, abandoned pile heads were collected and crushed into 20 mm sized aggregates. PVC waste, leather waste, nylon fiber cuttings, and iron waste were collected from nearby industries and pulverized to the required particle size. The processed waste materials were used as a replacement to conventional concrete aggregates. Many improvements have been observed in terms of slump, weight, and compressive strength of resultant concrete. However, leather waste was proved to be unsuccessful in improving any engineering property of concrete. Materials like cement kiln dust (CKD), Flyash, and Rice husk ash (RHA) were utilized for stabilizing subgrade and foundation soils. Significant improvements in strength were observed for stabilized soil samples. However, only CKD was proved successful in improving the compaction characteristics of the soil. Based on the study, waste like recycled aggregates, nylon cuttings, and iron waste are recommended to be used as a replacement to conventional aggregates for concrete. Also, municipal solid wastes like CKD, Flyash, and RHA are recommended to be used as soil stabilizers but their possible effects on human health should be taken care of in advance.

Keywords: Municipal solid waste, recycled aggregates, slump, compressive strength, soil stabilizers, unconfined compressive strength