Sustainable construction: Performance analysis of concrete incorporating E-waste plastic aggregates and silica fume

Sustainable concrete is developed using sand-treated Plastic Coarse Aggregates (PCA) from E-waste as Natural Coarse Aggregate (NCA) replacement and Silica Fume (SF) as a partial replacement for cement. The replacement levels of PCA were 10 %, 15 %, and 20 %, and for SF, they were 5 %, 10 %, and 15 %. Compressive Strength (CS), Split Tensile Strength (STS), abrasion resistance, porosity, Thermal Conductivity (TC), and sulfuric acid resistance tests, as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for microstructure analysis, were performed. PCA significantly improved workability, and SF contributed to mechanical performance. SF replacement led to greater CS, while PCA substitution caused a 25.8 % reduction. At maximum replacement of cement and NCA with SF and PCA, STS decreased by 27.27 %. The STS for S10P15 mix increased by 9.09 % over the control mix, while S15P10 had the lowest abrasion loss of 3.5 %. PCA lowered TC and raised Thermal Resistivity (TR), with S5P20 demonstrating a 2.02 % decrease in thermal conduction. SF and PCA replacement decreased sulfuric acid attack weight loss by 79 %, and S15P10 had the lowest CS loss of 22.2 %. SEM analysis revealed improved PCA cement paste bonding with increased SF content. This work proposes a sustainable methodology for urban construction, using waste materials to reduce environmental impact.