Utilization of Textile Mill Sludge Waste in Concrete - An Experimental Study

The sludge from the textile treatment plants is considered as perilous in nature as it contains heavy metals of chemicals and dyestuffs. After the treatment of textile water, the generated sludge is mostly disposed off in landfills. An attempt has been made to find an eco-friendly and cost effective solution for the sludge management as the processes related to transportation and disposals are very costly. All the tests were conducted as per Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) codes by partial replacement of textile mill sludge with fine aggregates up to 55% in M20 grade of concrete adding 1% plasticizer by weight of cement. An experimental program was conducted to find out the compressive strength and durability of concrete. The replacement of textile mill sludge in concrete mix influences the properties of concrete as it has low values of specific gravity and density. After conducting the experiments on 252 specimens, recommendations have been made regarding optimum addition of percentage of textile mill sludge without compromising compressive strength of concrete.