Use of sludge from a water treatment plant processed as a supplementary material to Portland cement

ABSTRACT

The sludge from the Water Treatment Plant (WTP), Class II A waste, has an increasing generation, high treatment cost and, when improperly disposed of in the environment, causes environmental damages. Thus, the objective of the study was to analyze the use of sludge from WTP Santa Bárbara, in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, benefited by calcination at 600°C, as a supplementary material to Portland cement. Samples of in natura and calcined sludge were subjected to SEM and EDS tests, the moisture of the in natura sludge was determined, and the loss of mass and specific mass of the calcined sludge. Activity index tests were performed with white cement, Portland cement CPV-ARI and lime, to identify the pozzolanic activity of the material. Subsequently, the molding of two concrete strips was carried out, one of which is a reference and the other with 10% by mass of substitution of the binder by the processed sludge, and the properties in the fresh and hardened state of the concrete were analyzed. Although the incorporation of the sludge has shown favorable results and increased resistance to axial compression, the residue cannot be classified as pozzolan to the detriment of materials and test conditions employed in the research. However, with the results obtained in this work it is possible to verify that the use of the processed sludge in concrete matrices is effective and constitutes a sustainable alternative for the disposal of WTP sludge.

Keywords: sanitation; waste; concrete matrices; pozzolanic materials