Study on the use of bottom ash from waste incineration plant as an aggregate component for the concrete production

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of using bottom ash from a waste incinerator plant as fine aggregate to replace natural sand for the production of concrete in practical applications. In this study, bottom ash to sand ratios (BA/S) were 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by weight. The effects of different bottom ash contents on the technical properties of concrete mortar, such as compressive strength, flexural strength, water absorption, and drying shrinkage, were evaluated according to the instructions of the current Vietnamese standards. These results prove that heavy metal indicators in the source of bottom ash from the municipal solid waste incineration plant showed that the values were below the threshold levels specified in QCVN 07:2009/BTNMT. Therefore, the bottom ash can be considered safe for use as a fine aggregate to replace natural sand in concrete production. The results indicated that replacing 30% of natural sand with bottom ash by weight meets the requirement of current Vietnamese standards and M20 concrete standard, which can be practically used in the construction field. Further studies on the influence of bottom ash when replacing sand aggregate on the properties of concrete when the natural sand replacement content is greater than 30% are needed.