Development of Building Material from Geopolymerization of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW)

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) which is produced during new construction, renovation and demolition
of buildings and other construction structures is considered priority waste and is generated several million tons globally. India generates 15-23 million tons per year. The recycling and utilization of CDW would be a significant contribution to the environment and sustainable development towards the adoption of “zero waste” principle. One of the promising technologies to convert industrial waste into value added product is geopolymerization and it involves a chemical reaction between solid alumino-silicate oxides and alkaline activator solution at ambient or slightly elevated temperatures. The product thus obtained has high mechanical strength. Two types of CDW, i.e. concrete powder and brick powder, were considered in the present study. Calorimetric analysis showed that brick dust is more reactive than concrete waste. The maximum compressive strength of geopolymer product from brick dust was found 11.43 MPa. It was found that the physico-mechanical properties of geopolymers obtained from CDW were comparable with the properties of equivalent building materials. The structural changes in resulting
geopolymer were studied using XRD, FTIR and SEM-EDX.