Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Fly ash-amended pervious concrete pavement followed by bamboo

bioretention basin with Dracaena sanderiana for urban stormwater
runoff control
Vincent Hwang a, Amber Masters b, Marleisa Arocho b, Sangchul Hwang b,⇑
a
Southwestern Educational Society, Mayagüez, 00681, Puerto Rico
b
Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, 00681, Puerto Rico

h i g h l i g h t s

 Optimized pervious concrete pavements were integrated with bamboo bioretention.

 Stormwater runoff volume reduction and water quality performance were determined.
 Leaf chlorophyll and mass of bamboos (Dracaena sanderiana) were monitored.
 A PCP-BBB was an effective green infrastructure for stormwater management.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study assessed the feasibility of pervious concrete pavement (PCP) followed by a bamboo bioreten-
Received 19 September 2016 tion basin (BBB) with Dracaena sanderiana for urban stormwater volume control and water quality
Received in revised form 26 November 2016 enhancement. Two PCPs (nPCP and tPCP) having a permeability of 4.5 mm/s were prepared with opti-
Accepted 29 November 2016
mized mix designs. A control impervious concrete pavement (CP) was also prepared. Results showed that
Available online 7 December 2016
both PCP-BBB’s outperformed CP-BBB not only in runoff volume reduction, but also in pollutant removal;
both PCPs removed a considerably high amount of pollutants, especially in fecal coliform and phosphate
Keywords:
removal. tPCP-BBB improved water quality better than nPCP-BBB in terms of chemical oxygen demand
Dracaena sanderiana
Fly ash
and pH. Additionally, D. sanderiana grew healthier in tPCP-BBB than in nPCP-BBB. Production costs for
Pervious concrete tPCP and CP were similar, whereas nPCP production was twice as expensive.
Stormwater runoff Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Water quality

1. Introduction impairment. For example, salmonellosis is one of the most com-

The increased amount of impervious surfaces in urban areas do
not allow precipitation to infiltrate into the soil and groundwater,
resulting in an increased volume of stormwater runoff. Conse-
quently, this often causes flash flooding of the downstream areas.
Urban stormwater runoff may contain high concentrations of
non-point source (NPS) pollutants, such as soil particles from con-
struction sites, oil & grease, metals and coolants from vehicles,
pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms) from pet wastes
and failing septic systems, and nutrients from gardens and homes
[1–5].
Among the aforementioned NPS pollutants, the presence of
pathogens such as Salmonella and Giardia in urban stormwater run-
off is a serious threat to humans and may result in water body
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sangchul.hwang@upr.edu (S. Hwang).
mon causes of diarrhea in humans. Globally, there are nearly 1.7
billion cases of diarrheal disease every year and diarrhea kills
around 760,000 children under five years old each year [6]. The
presence of harmful pathogens in water bodies is tested with indi-
cator microorganisms like fecal coliform (FC).
Nutrient over-enrichment primarily by nitrogen and phospho-
rous is another NPS pollution of concern in urban stormwater run-
off. They promote excessive growth and further decomposition of
aquatic plants, resulting in oxygen depletion in water and the
growth of toxic cyanobacteria [7].
In addition, automotive fluids are deposited onto road and park-
ing surfaces as NPS pollutants and are prone to transport in urban
stormwater runoff to receiving waters. For example, engine cool-
ants and antifreeze containing ethylene glycol and propylene gly-
col can be toxic and contribute a high concentration of chemical
oxygen demand (COD) in urban stormwater runoff [8].

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.11.134
0950-0618/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
162 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169

Evidently, there is a need to control the volume and water qual- of 180–600 m2/g. The coarse aggregates used were limestone grav-
ity of NPS pollutant-containing urban stormwater runoff. The use els purchased from a local hardware store. Prior to use, they were
of pervious pavement is among the best management practices sieved to collect the sizes in the range of 4.75–12.5 mm. The mass
(BMPs) for the control of stormwater runoff. Pervious pavement ratio of coarse aggregates to binder was fixed at 4:1 for the produc-
reduces the need for water detention ponds, permits groundwater tion of PCPs and CP. The binder is defined in this study as the total
recharge, decreases or eliminates pollutants from runoff, and amount of Portland cement and FA. Fine aggregates (sands) were
improves water quality [9]. used only for production of CP in the current study.
A bioretention basin is a landscaped depression where Miniature bamboo species (D. sanderiana) were used in BBB to
stormwater runoff is collected and the pollutants are captured accommodate the lab-scale experiment. They were purchased at
and biodegraded by biological media such as grass and plants a local store. The same coarse aggregates aforementioned were
[10]. It is also one of the BMPs for stormwater management. Bam- used as a supporting medium for D. sanderiana.
boos can be utilized as biological agents in the bioretention basins Tap water was used for rainfall simulation. Treated wastewater
due to their unique water retention properties. They are capable of effluent (TWE), fertilizer solution, and coolant solution were used
absorbing the most water among the agricultural plants whilst as the sources of NPS pollutants of fecal coliform (FC), phosphate
requiring little to no irrigation [11]. Therefore, they are a good, (PO4 -P), and automobile-related COD pollutant, respectively. Trea-
arguably the best, candidate biological agents for stormwater vol- ted wastewater effluent was sampled at a local wastewater treat-
ume and water quality control in locations where intense storm is ment prior to the chlorination process to ensure FC presence in
seasonal, such as in Puerto Rico. it. A phosphorus-rich commercial fertilizer was dissolved in deion-
In this study, a combination of two BMPs, a pervious concrete ized water to make desired PO4 -P concentrations. A commercial
pavement (PCP) and a bamboo bioretention basin (BBB), was antifreeze/coolant solution was diluted with deionized water to
assessed for their potential for volume control and water quality make a desired COD concentration. Table 2 shows physiochemical
enhancement of NPS pollutant-containing urban stormwater run- characteristics of rainwater and three NPS waters.
off. Two statistically optimized PCPs (namely, nPCP and tPCP)
and BBB with Dracaena sanderiana were evaluated for the reduc- 2.2. Production of optimized pervious concrete pavement
tion of runoff volume and NPS pollution. A control impervious con-
crete pavement (CP) in combination with BBB (i.e., CP-BBB) was tPCP was optimized for 7-day compressive strength and perme-
also tested in parallel to PCP-BBB’s. A preliminary production cost ability by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in a two-factor,
analysis was done for PCPs and CP and potential influence of PCP’s two-level (22) CCD (Table 3). A mechanical mixer was used to pre-
on the growth and health of D. sanderiana was evaluated as well. pare the concrete specimens in accordance to the ASTM C192 [16].
For tPCP optimization, mixtures in triplicate were cast in a cylindri-
cal plastic mold (10 cm in diameter  20 cm in height). The stan-
2. Materials and method dard rodding consolidation method was used for compaction of
each specimen in accordance to the ASTM C192 [16]. The speci-
2.1. Materials mens in the mold were immediately put in an individual airtight
plastic bag to minimize moisture loss. After a 24-h curing under
The main materials used for the PCPs production were fly ash ambient environment (20–30 °C, unless otherwise specified), spec-
(FA), Portland cements, nano-sized silica (nanoSiO2), and coarse imens were demolded and further cured for 7 days in lime-
aggregates. FA was obtained from a local coal-fueled power plant saturated water under ambient environment. The compressive
in Puerto Rico. Type IP Portland cement was used for nPCP produc- strength of 7-day cured tPCP specimens was tested in triplicate
tion, whereas Type GU Portland cement was used for the produc- in accordance to ASTM C39 [17]. The permeability of 7-day cured
tion of tPCP and the control CP. Both cements comply with ASTM tPCP specimens was tested by a constant head method modified
C595 [12]. The physiochemical characteristics of Portland cements from ASTM D2434 [18].
and FA are shown in Table 1. For construction of PCPs and CP used in this study in combina-
A commercial nanoSiO2 was purchased and used as received. It tion with BBB, the optimized tPCP mix was cast in a rectangular
has an average particle size of 20–30 nm and a specific surface area wooden mold (9 cm  20 cm  5 cm). The same specimen prepara-
tion and curing procedures that used for tPCP optimization afore-
Table 1 mentioned was used. After a 24-h curing under ambient
Physiochemical properties of Portland cements and fly ash used in the study. environment, the specimens were demolded. nPCP and CP were
also cast in rectangular wooden molds. nPCP was made with (by
Properties Cement type IP Cement type GU Fly ash
wt%) liquid-to-binder at 50%, FA-to-binder at 60% and nanoSiO2-
Mineralogical composition (% wt)
to-binder at 0.04%, with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution at
SiO2 27.14 19.80 30.84
Al2O3 6.68 5.10 9.93 1.71 M as the liquid [19]. The control impervious concrete pave-
Fe2O3 3.71 3.10 5.01 ment (CP) was produced with (by vol%) Portland cement (Type
CaO 55.47 67.3 39.61 GU) at 11%, water at 16%, coarse aggregates at 41% and fine aggre-
MgO 1.62 0.8 0.35 gates (sand) at 26%. After a 24-h curing in an airtight plastic bag,
K2O 0.48 – 1.01
nPCP specimen was demolded and cured for 7 days in the same
Na2O 0.59 – 0.90
SO3 3.48 2.7 11.43 bag [19], whereas CP specimen was demolded and cured for 7 days
TiO2 0.32 – 0.45 in lime-saturated water. Like tPCP, both nPCP and CP were cured
P2 O5 0.11 – 0.11 under ambient environment.
Loss-on-Ignition (% wt)a 5.52 6.8 7.62
Blaine (m2/kg)b 554 488 441
Fineness (% wt)c 92.6 92.5 73.7
2.3. Construction of PCP-BBB and CP-BBB systems
a
The weight loss of the sample due to heating at 900–1000 °C (1650–1830°F) PCP-BBB systems were reconstructed in plastic containers
until a constant weight is obtained (ASTM C114) [13].
b
A measurement of the surface area of the sample, that is referred to as a fine-
(28 cm  17 cm  14 cm) (Fig. A1 in Appendix A of supplementary
ness measure (ASTM C204) [14]. data). Each BBB had 10 stalks of D. sanderiana. Light was provided
c
Wet sieve percentage passing the No. 325 (45 lm) sieve (ASTM C430) [15]. for 8 h per day to the bamboos with a 20 W aquarium light that
 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169 163

Table 2
Characteristics of rainwater, fecal coliform (FC) water, phosphate (PO4 -P) water, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) water.

Rainwater NPS pollutant water

FC water PO4 -P water COD water
Applied volume (mL) 1050 150 150 150
FC (CFU/100 mL)a 0 1,500–100,000 0 0
PO4 -P (mg/L) 5.33–5.56 5.35–10.21 53.77–55.85 5.29–5.30
COD (mg/L) 0 12–109 0–5 4200–4767
pH 7.87–8.13 7.38–7.97 6.8–7.0 6.94–7.07
Turbidity (NTU) 0.21–1.25 0.89–1.51 0.10–0.32 5.97–6.69
Conductivity (lS) 252–255 1134–8440 300–307 6270–6510
a
CFU: colony forming unit.

Table 3
Factors and levels in 22 central composite design for optimization of typical pervious concrete (tPCP).

Factorsa Levelsb
( )axial Low Center High (+)axial
W/B 36 36.6 38 39.4 40
FA/B 10 15.9 30 44.1 50
a
W: water, B: binder, FA: fly ash.
b
Levels: the percentage to the total mass of the binders (FA + cement). Cement: Type GU.

was mounted at approximately 90 cm above the top of the bam-
boos. Table A1 (Appendix A of supplementary data) shows the
design specification of the completed systems used for the
experiment.
The CP compartment had storm catchment drains on the sur-
face of the pavement that drained runoff water to BBB. In compar-
ison, the PCP compartment was equipped with underdrain pipes at
the bottom of PCP, through which the captured and stored water
was drained to BBB (Fig. A2 in Appendix A of supplementary data).
For 6 min, 1050 mL of precipitation (tap water) was applied to the
PCP and CP compartments by a rain simulation bucket positioned
60 cm above the surface of the pavement (Fig. A1 in Appendix A
of supplementary data). The rain simulation bucket had 15 capil-
lary tubes installed on the bottom of the bin, forming droplets of
‘‘rain” and creating reproducible precipitation events. A total of
450 mL of NPS pollutants (150 mL each) was manually added to
the rain simulation bucket to start precipitation. Therefore, the
total volume of stormwater applied to each system was 1500 mL
in which the concentration of each NPS pollutant was diluted 10
times.
Considering the surface area of the pavement (180.7 cm2), an
application of 1500 mL was equivalent to a precipitation depth of
83 mm. This precipitation depth corresponds to the 25-year and
10-year storms for a duration of 1 h in Mayagüez and El Yunque,
Puerto Rico, respectively [20].
2.5. Water quality analysis
FC analysis was done by a membrane filtration technique with a
0.45-lm cellulose ester membrane. The filtered membrane was
placed in Petri dishes containing the HACH m-FC broth and incu-
bated for 24 h at 44.5 °C. Blue colonies were considered FC colonies
that were expressed as colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 mL of
water sample. A Shimadzu Prominence IC system (Kyoto, Japan)
was used for PO4 -P analysis. COD concentration was measured
by a reactor digestion method (HACH Method 8000). pH was mea-
sured by submerging the Orion 9157BNMD pH probe into the liq-
uid samples. Leaf chlorophyll intensity of D. sanderiana was
monitored with a chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502, Konica Minolta
Sensing, Inc., Osaka, Japan).
2.6. Cost analysis
Production cost of two PCPs and CP was calculated as a means
of a preliminary cost comparison. It should be noted that only
the materials used were considered in the preliminary cost analy-
sis (Table A2 in Appendix A of supplementary data).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Optimum tPCP mix

2.4. Operation of PCP- and CP-BBB systems
The experiment consisted of four cycles. In Cycle I, the systems
received only rainwater without NPS pollutants. In other words, a
total of 1500 mL of rainwater was applied in Cycle I. Following
Cycle I, Cycle II started by applying 1050 mL of rainwater with
450 mL of three NPS pollutant waters (150 mL each). Cycle II was
repeated two more times (i.e., Cycles III and IV). In each cycle, run-
off volume was measured after the application of rainwater and
NPS pollutant water. Sampling (40 mL) for water quality analysis
was done after 1, 2, 6, and 7 days in each cycle. After 7 days in each
cycle, leaf chlorophyll of D. sanderiana was monitored and then the
systems were decanted for the next cycle. At the end of Cycle IV,
changes in the weight and root growth of D. sanderiana among
the systems were compared.
Table 4 contains the independent variables (i.e., the levels of
each factor) and the corresponding response variables of the 7-
day compressive strength and permeability of the tPCP mixes.
The D-optimal function in Minitab 17 was used to optimize the
tPCP mix design for the maximum achievable compressive
strength and a targeted permeability of 4.5 mm/s simultaneously.
The reason for targeting the permeability of tPCP to 4.5 mm/s
was because nPCP had the same permeability at 4.5 mm/s [19].
This was done so that both nPCP and tPCP would have at least
one common characteristics despite the different materials used.
Results showed that the optimized tPCP for the maximum achiev-
able compressive strength of 15.1 MPa and the targeted permeabil-
ity of 4.5 mm/s could be found with a mix design of FA/B at 21.4%
and W/B at 36.8% (Fig. 1). The predicted maximum compressive
strength of tPCP of 15.1 MPa, therefore, fell into a typical compres-
164 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169

Table 4
Matrix of 22 central composite design and the measured response variables.

Run order Independent variables (wt%) Response variables (average ± standard deviation, n = 3)
FA/B W/B Compressive strength (MPa) Permeability (mm/s)
1 30.0 38.0 11.74 ± 4.33 5.10 ± 1.49
2 30.0 38.0 13.38 ± 2.18 5.11 ± 2.08
3 15.9 36.6 17.72 ± 2.72 3.59 ± 0.44
4 30.0 38.0 12.78 ± 1.17 4.64 ± 0.13
5 15.9 39.4 21.68 ± 1.16 2.36 ± 0.40
6 44.1 36.6 6.52 ± 0.98 6.36 ± 0.91
7 44.1 39.4 12.30 ± 0.66 3.52 ± 1.37
8 30.0 38.0 14.13 ± 1.47 4.73 ± 0.81
9 30.0 36.0 11.45 ± 3.51 6.54 ± 1.05
10 50.0 38.0 7.49 ± 0.44 8.28 ± 1.24
11 30.0 38.0 15.38 ± 1.32 4.38 ± 0.50
12 30.0 38.0 14.15 ± 0.88 4.33 ± 0.85
13 10.0 38.0 17.86 ± 2.22 3.58 ± 0.93
14 30.0 40.0 14.39 ± 3.83 4.19 ± 0.34

Fig. 1. RSM optimization plot of tPCP mix design, showing the effect of each factor (columns) on the responses and composite desirability (rows). The vertical red lines
represent the optimum factor level settings, corresponding to the numbers in red. The horizontal blue lines and numbers represent the predicted responses for the optimum
factor levels in red. Individual desirability (d) assesses how well the factor level settings optimize a single response, whereas composite desirability (D), which is a geometric
mean of the ‘‘d”, identifies how well the factor level settings optimize a set of responses overall. Desirability (d and D) has a range of zero to one. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

sive strength of Portland cement pervious concrete of 2.8–28 MPa
[21]. The permeability of tPCP of 4.5 mm/s was also in good agree-
ment with a reported value of 1.4–12.3 mm/s [21].
3.2. Runoff and retention volumes
Bioretention basins are typically incapable of treating the peak
flow rates of high-intensity storm event due to their relatively
small areal ratio to storm catchment of 5–8% [22]. Approximately
one thirds of the stormwater was found retained in the BBB com-
partment alone (Table 5). However, with an aid of PCPs, stormwa-
ter runoff was captured, infiltrated and stored in the storage gravel
layer, resulting in 2.7-times and 3.6-times more runoff volume
reduction by tPCP-BBB and nPCP-BBB, respectively, than CP-BBB.
This demonstrated that a single green infrastructure (GI) may not
be capable of effectively managing urban stormwater runoffs.
Instead, integrated approach of GIs is needed to control them, as
reported by Liu et al. [23] and Mentens et al. [24]. In addition, a
smaller footprint of a bioretention basin would be required as long
as stormwater runoff is partially managed by PCPs [21]. A minor
 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169 165

Table 5
Volume (mL) of stormwater runoff from the systems and retention (vol%) of stormwater in the systems.

System Cycle Average Standard deviation

I II III IV
Runoff (mL) CP-BBB 1012 975 950 960 974.2 27.1
tPCP-BBB 401 310 385 340 359.0 41.7
nPCP-BBB 327 220 260 280 271.6 44.3
Retention (%) CP-BBB 32.5 35.0 36.7 36.0 35.1 1.8
tPCP-BBB 73.3 79.3 74.3 76.1 76.1 2.8
nPCP-BBB 78.2 85.3 82.7 81.9 81.9 3.0

difference in runoff volumes and retention capacities between the
two PCP-BBB’s was most likely due to slightly dissimilar locations
of underdrain and outflow pipes and also to dissimilar porosities of
the storage gravel layers (Table A1 in Appendix A of supplementary
data).
3.3. Water quality performance
Fig. 2 shows the trend of FC reduction by the system compart-
ments. It should be noted that the FC concentrations in TWE col-
lected each week varied significantly (Table 2). As such, the
initial FC concentrations applied to the systems at Cycles II – IV
varied between 150 and 10,000 CFU/100 mL. Nevertheless, nPCP
was slightly better than tPCP in FC reduction, regardless of the ini-
tial FC concentration. One of the main mechanisms of a better FC
removal could be the elevated pH caused by nPCP (Fig. 3). The pre-
vious research [19] documented a greater FC removal achieved at a
higher pH caused by nPCP. An and Kampbell [25] also reported an
increased FC mortality with the increase of pH. However, this was
not always true for other system compartments (i.e., tPCP and
BBB’s) where pH was at neutral range (6.5–8.5). Although further
investigation is needed to elucidate this phenomenon, FC reduction
might also be attributed to adsorption onto PCPs and/or storage
gravels in the current study. FC reduction was also achieved in
BBBs, with BBBs after PCPs being better than BBB after CP. It is con-
strued that FC were retained within the supporting media (i.e.,
gravels) of D. sanderiana due to adsorption and straining, as
reported by Rusciano and Obropta [26].
Highly alkaline infiltrated water from a PCP can be detrimental
to soil and groundwater environment [27]. In this current study,
neither system compartments produced alkaline water, except
for nPCP in Cycles (I) and (II) where pH was 8.5 or greater
(Fig. 3). However, pHs decreased to neural range (i.e., 6.5–8.5) in
the BBB compartment after nPCP. A further decrease of pH was also
found in the BBB compartment after tPCP.
As shown in Fig. 4, both PCPs and D. sanderiana were very effec-
tive in PO4 -P reduction. This implies that if PCP is preceded BBB, a
significant enhancement of water quality with respect to PO4 -P
can be achieved in comparison to the case of BBB alone. In the pre-
vious studies, PO4 -P removal by PCPs were attributed to precipita-
tion of PO4 -P in alkaline infiltrated water [19,28]. But, this was not
the same in the current study where the infiltrated water had a pH
in the neutral range in most cases. Having said that, adsorption of
PO4 -P onto PCPs and/or storage gravels might be responsible for
PO4 -P reduction in PCP compartments.

Fig. 2. Reduction of fecal coliform (FC) among the system compartments. The initial FC concentrations in the influent of the Cycles I, II, III and IV were 0, 4700, 10,000 and
150 CFU/100 mL, respectively.
166 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169

Fig. 3. Trend of pH values among the system compartments.

Fig. 4. Reduction of phosphate among the system compartments.

A greater COD reduction was achieved in the BBB compart-
ments in PCP compartments (Fig. 5). In fact, D. sanderiana alone
(i.e., in CP-BBB) were able to reduce COD between 55% and 93%
despite a high initial COD loading (450 mg/L) to them. Between
the PCPs, tPCP was generally better than nPCP in COD reduction.
At the current moment, it is unclear how D. sanderiana was capable
of reducing COD concentration. However, phytodegradation of
COD pollutants within the tissues or in the root zone and/or phy-
toextraction accumulating COD pollutant into biomass would most
likely be two main mechanisms responsible for COD reduction by
 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169
Fig. 5. Reduction of chemical oxygen demand among the system compartment.
D. sanderiana [29]. Further study is therefore warranted to eluci-
date this phenomenon.
3.4. Growth and health of D. sanderiana
Leaf chlorophyll intensity was monitored on the same D. sande-
riana leaves at the end of each cycle and the mass of D. sanderiana
was measured before and after the experiment, as shown in Fig. 6.
Physical appearance of the leaves and roots of D. sanderiana at the
end of Cycle IV is shown in Fig. A3 (Appendix A of supplementary
data). In general, physical appearance was related to the leaf
chlorophyll content and mass of D. sanderiana.
It was apparent that tPCP played a neutral, if not positive, role in
the growth and health of D. sanderiana (Fig. 6). In contrast, nPCP
produced a detrimental impact on the growth and health of D.
sanderiana. This could be attributed mainly to a high pH in infiltrat-
ing water through nPCP that discharged to BBB.
3.5. Production cost of PCPs
A preliminary cost analysis showed that the production cost of
nPCP ($661/m3) was twice as expensive than tPCP ($336/m3). The
production cost of tPCP was similar to that of CP ($298/m3), as
shown in Table A3 (Appendix A of supplementary data). Despite
the three-time more substitution of no-cost FA in nPCP (i.e.,
300 kg/m3) than in tPCP (i.e., 107 kg/m3), the production cost was
almost twice more expensive for nPCP than tPCP. Although expen-
sive, nano-sized materials such as nanoSiO2 have been incorpo-
rated in concrete matrix in order to overcome a major drawback
of slow strength development due to FA substitution [30,31]. How-
ever, the increase in the production of nPCP in the current study
was due to the costly alkaline activation for geopolymerization of
nPCP matrix, not due to the nanoSiO2 addition. As a matter of fact,
the cost of nanoSiO2 addition was offset by the high-volume FA
substitution (i.e., 60%) in nPCP production.
167
However, it should be noted that the preliminary production
cost only considered materials and associated cost. If construction
method had been considered as a project cost, the production of
PCP cost would have been different from what was shown in the
preliminary cost analysis. For example, curing of nPCP was less
costly than that of tPCP as nPCP was cured under atmospheric
environment but tPCP was cured in lime-saturated water.
In addition, nPCP contained 60% of FA, compared to 21.4% in
tPCP. A more FA utilization means a less amount of FA disposal
in landfills, leading to cost reduction in solid waste management.
As such, if environmental cost had been taken into consideration,
the production cost of nPCP could have been lowered significantly.
Likewise, the production cost of tPCP could have been lower than
that of CP if the environmental benefit that tPCP generates, such
as reduction of stormwater runoff volume and bioretention basin
area, had been accounted as a project cost.
3.6. Practical guides
Although tPCP could reach a 7-day compressive strength of
15.1 MPa (or 2190 psi) (Fig. 1), it is still not strong enough to be
used for high-traffic volume roads. Therefore, it is recommended
that tPCP be used for low-volume roads such as parking areas in
combination with a bioretention basin as an integrated GI for
stormwater runoff control. Knowing a slow strength development
of FA-added concrete [30,31], it is also recommended that tPCP be
provided with an extended period of moist-controlled curing
beyond the conventional curing period of 7 days.
It should be also noted that the optimum FA substitution of
21.4% for tPCP is not best suited for all applications. For example,
a new mixture proportioning should be done to find an optimum
amount of FA when chemical admixtures, such as hydration con-
trolling agents, water reducing agents and viscosity modifying
agents, are used to accommodate field conditions and to provide
additional cementing properties.
168 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169

Fig. 6. Leaf chlorophyll content of D. sanderiana in the systems after each Cycle (a) and the mass of D. sanderiana in the systems before and after the experiment (b).

4. Conclusions  tPCP-BBB generally outperformed nPCP-BBB. That is, a few neg-

Based on the results of this study, the following can be drawn as
conclusions:
 In summary, this study demonstrated an alternative environ-
 Due to pervious properties of PCPs, PCP-BBB’s outperformed CP-
BBB, producing approximately three times less runoff volume.
Therefore, a smaller bioretention area can be possible with
the implementation of PCP, allowing a more flexible land
utilization.
 PCP-BBB’s achieved a better NPS pollutant removal than CP-BBB
because PCPs reduced the pollutant concentrations, resulting in
a reduction of pollutant loading to BBB. tPCP reduced FC and
PO4 -P by 99% and 50% (by wt.), respectively, which would
otherwise not have achieved if it were CP.
ative traits of nPCP were found, such as a higher alkaline pH in
infiltrating water, impacts on growth and health of D. sanderi-
ana, and a higher production cost.
mental management with integrated approach of two com-
bined GIs, PCP followed by a bioretention basin (i.e., tPCP-BBB
in the current study). That is, an effective urban stormwater
management can be possible with PCP integrated with a biore-
tention basin for runoff volume reduction and water quality
enhancement. In addition, environmental burdens of solid
waste management can be reduced as FA is utilized as an
admixture in PCP production (i.e., 21.4% replacement in tPCP
in the current study).
 V. Hwang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 132 (2017) 161–169
Acknowledgments
This research was made possible with financial support, in part,
by AES Puerto Rico, LLC and the Puerto Rico Louis Stokes Alliance
for Minority Participation (PR-LSAMP) Undergraduate Research
Fellowship. Our appreciation extends to science teacher Mrs. Eve-
lyn Montalvo at Southwestern Educational Society for her technical
support during the experiment.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in
the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.
2016.11.134.
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