Influence of Soap Factory Wastewater on the Physical and Mechanical Performance of Concrete

The management of water resources is one of the major priorities in all countries of the world and even more so in developing countries such as Cameroon. The purpose of this research project is to assess the influence of the use of soap wastewater on the physical and mechanical performance of concrete. The experimental test program was designed to assess the impact of varying the concentration of soap factory wastewater as a replacement for tap water. Cylindrical concrete test pieces were made by varying the proportion of wastewater from soap factories at a rate of 0%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%; depending on the water/cement ratio of 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7. These cylindrical concrete specimens were tested at the ages of 3, 7, 28, 60 and 90 days; the load was applied consistently and the breaking stress was measured automatically at failure. The results of the experimental tests carried out in this project indicate that the use of wastewater from the soap factory for the preparation of concrete as a replacement for tap water induces a decrease in the value of the subsidence at the abrams cone of the concrete, delays the start of the setting of the cement, leads to a reduction in the compressive strength of the concrete, causes the formation of pores in the concrete matrix at early ages. Correlations have been developed to quantify the loss in the strength of concrete as a function of the polluted water content and the variation of the water / cement ratio.