Integration of silt waste into cement mortar as sand replacement for sustainable infrastructure development

Abstract

The sustainable utilization of industrial silt waste in construction materials can provide a pathway for waste management while reducing dependence on natural resources. In this context, the present study focuses on the development and characterization of new waste materials derived from textile industry and on testing their mechanical and thermal performance when utilized in construction materials. For this purpose, small sized cement-sand blocks were prepared in which natural sand was partially replaced with textile industry silt at replacement ratios of 0 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %, and 30 % by weight. The samples were then analyzed for water absorption, porosity, bulk density, compressive strength, and microstructural characteristics. The findings indicate that silt can be effectively utilized in cementitious materials at an optimum proportion of 15–20 %. For numerical study of thermal/ heat transfer through these cement blocks, the COMSOL Multiphysics tool was used and the numerical model was successfully validated against experimental results. Thus these results eventually lead to development of building materials with excellent performance and realize the efficient transformation of resources.