Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83

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Construction and Building Materials

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

Evaluation of mechanical properties and carbonation of mortars

produced with construction and demolition waste
Jairo José de Oliveira Andrade a,⇑, Edna Possan b, Jéssica Zamboni Squiavon a, Tiago Luis Possebon Ortolan c
a
Graduation Program in Materials Engineering and Technology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PGETEMA/PUCRS), Brazil
b
Engineering Department, Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA), Brazil
c
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil

h i g h l i g h t s

Carbonation and mechanical properties of mortars produced with recycled aggregates were evaluated.

Five replacement levels and two types of fine recycled aggregates obtained from CDW were analyzed.

Statistical analysis (ANOVA) and mathematical modeling were used to analyze the results.

The increase in replacement levels of natural aggregate by recycling reduces the compressive strength of mortars.

Mortars produced with recycled aggregates showed better CO2 uptake performance due to carbonation.

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

Article history: The large amounts of waste generated by the construction sector pollute the environment owing to a lack
Received 25 February 2017 of suitable disposal sites for construction and demolition waste (CDW) and improper methods of dis-
Received in revised form 18 July 2017 posal. However, these problems provide an incentive to develop recycling alternatives. In pursuit of such
Accepted 17 November 2017
alternatives, this study compares the mechanical properties and carbonation depths of mortars produced
Available online 28 November 2017
with two different types of recycled aggregates (RAs): ceramic recycled aggregate (CRA) and mixed recy-
cled aggregate (MRA). The mechanical properties (compressive, flexural, and adhesive strengths), phys-
Keywords:
ical properties (porosity, water absorption, and bulk density), carbonation depth over time, and CO2
Construction and demolition waste
Mortar
uptake were evaluated for mortars made with both the types of aggregates. The mortars evaluated were
Mechanical properties mixed with different levels of RAs used to replace the natural aggregate (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The
Carbonation results showed that as the natural aggregate was replaced with greater portions of RA materials, the com-
CO2 uptake pressive strengths of the mortars were reduced, and increases in the carbonation depths of the mortars
were observed for all the sample ages analyzed. The results indicated that the bond strength of a mortar
with CRA was higher than that of the natural aggregate reference mortar. The mortars produced with
CDW exhibited higher CO2 uptake potential, being able to sequester up to 170 g.CO2/m2 of coating.
Overall, this study illustrated that the use of CDW as a source of fine mortar aggregates can be considered
a valid and sustainable alternative for use in construction.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Over the past few years, the construction sector has sought
solutions for reducing the raw-material consumption, emissions,
and waste generation of its activities. Singh and Singh [1] estimate
that the amount of solid waste generated by the construction
⇑ Corresponding author at: PUCRS – Av. Ipiranga, 6681, Building 30, Office A228,
Porto Alegre, RS 90619-900, Brazil.
E-mail addresses: jairo.andrade@pucrs.br (J.J. de Oliveira Andrade), epossan
@gmail.com (E. Possan), jessica.squiavon@acad.pucrs.br (J.Z. Squiavon), tiago.
ortolan@acad.pucrs.br (T.L.P. Ortolan).
industries will increase from 12.7 billion metric tons to 27 billion
metric tons by 2050. Currently, the number of projects utilizing
construction and demolition waste (CDW) salvaged from across
the life cycles of infrastructure projects is increasing [2,3]. CDW
covers a broad range of materials from a variety of origins, includ-
ing total or partial demolition of infrastructure, civil works, or
foundations, as well as by-products from the construction of new
buildings [4]. In Brazil, CDW is comprised of primarily concrete
waste obtained from demolished structural elements and ceramic
waste obtained from removed external and partition walls. Hence,
two main types of recycled aggregates (RAs) can be obtained from

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.11.089
0950-0618/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
CDW: ceramic recycled aggregate (CRA) and mixed recycled aggre-
gate (MRA).
These aggregates can be employed in manufacturing new con-
crete [5–9] and mortars [10,11]. The use of different types of aggre-
gates in concrete has been extensively researched with respect to
mechanical properties [5,9,12,13] and durability indicators such
as chloride penetration [14,15], carbonation depth [5,6,9], and
freezing/thawing [16]. The results have indicated that the mechan-
ical properties of concretes with CDW aggregates are poorer than
those of reference concrete made with natural aggregates (NAs).
Additionally, concrete made with RAs is less durable because the
material is more porous. Therefore, the use of CDW as an aggregate
in concrete is not recommended for applications in aggressive
environments.
The fine fraction of materials (less than 4.8 mm in size) pro-
duced by construction-waste recycling plants is generally not used.
However, this material accounts for approximately 40–50% of the
total mass of CDW collected [2,17]. The use of the fine fraction of
CDW in producing mortars offers a method for reusing this waste.
To date, only a few studies have been conducted on the use of CDW
fines in mortars. Comparisons between the use of RA and NA sands
in concrete [9,17–22] state that the fine fraction of CDW was often
disregarded because it was believed to be of low-quality and pos-
sess poor material properties. However, some few studies have
investigated the use of RAs in place of natural sand. Recently,
Tiwari et al. [23] evaluated the use of several industrial by-
products (such as bottom ash, waste foundry sand, copper slag,
plastic waste, recycled rubber waste, and crushed glass aggregate)
for potentially replacing natural fine aggregates in the concrete-
manufacturing process by determining their strength and durabil-
ity characteristics. They concluded that concrete waste can be used
to slightly improve many concrete properties, depending on the
quality, type, and quantity of the waste material used.
Fernández-Ledesma et al. [18] investigated the use of different
levels of recycled concrete sand for the replacement of natural
sand in mortar production. In this investigation, the analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the significance of the
results obtained. The authors concluded that the maximum recom-
mended replacement level of natural sand for indoor mortars with-
out compromising the properties of the mortar is 50% by volume.
Corinaldesi and Moriconi [10] evaluated the mechanical properties
of mortars manufactured using three different types of RAs: plant
recycling rubble, rejected prefabricated concrete, and recycled-
brick wastes. The results showed that the bond strength of the
recycled mortars was higher than that of the reference mortars,
despite poorer mechanical properties. Ledesma et al. [21] evalu-
ated the short and long-term properties of masonry mortars man-
ufactured with five replacement ratios of natural siliceous sand
using fine RCAs (0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 40% by volume). They con-
cluded that replacing up to 40% of the natural sand in a masonry
mortar with a fine RCA is a viable approach for the manufacture
of masonry mortars. Neno et al. [24] investigated the use of two
aggregated types in mortars manufacture: the river sand and one
obtained from crushing concrete blocks until obtaining fine mate-
rial. Were made four mortars types, maintained constant the par-
ticle size distribution, in order to evaluate the influence of
aggregate in fresh and hardened states. Was used a 1:4 volumetric
proportion with 3 replacement levels (20%, 50% and 100%) of sand
by recycled aggregate (RA). The authors investigated the main
properties of mortars and verified that a replacement level until
20% in volume is adequate for use in wall rendering.
In addition to the problem of high waste generation, the carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the production of cement-
based materials should be considered from a sustainability view-
point. Some studies [25–28] have shown that cement-based mate-
rials can capture CO2 from the atmosphere through the
71
carbonation process, thereby partially compensating for the emis-
sions from cement production, but in reinforced concrete struc-
tures, carbonation is undesirable from a durability viewpoint.
However, in non-reinforced concrete elements and mortars, car-
bonation can be relied upon to balance gaseous emissions related
to the production of building materials [25]. Furcas et al. [25]
employed accelerated test data to investigate the CO2 capture pro-
cess of the carbonation of cement and lime mortars, recording a
capture of 26.4 and 16.1 g.CO2/kg at 28 days, respectively, confirm-
ing that common mortars can potentially be relied upon for carbon
sequestration during their curing process. Although the values
seem low, they are significant considering the widespread use of
mortars, the long period of their service life, and post demolition
[25].
According to Neno et al. [24], the properties of mortars with RAs
with small replacement levels can improve their performance, as
showed in previous researches [45]. However, substitution levels
above 50% generally leads a decrease of physical and mechanical
properties, whose difference in performance depends of RA type
used. So, the are few investigations concerning the effect of highest
replacement levels of NA by different RA types and the possibility
of CO2 uptake for such materials. In this study, investigations were
conducted on mortars made with two different types of RAs (CRA
and MRA), and their behaviors were compared to traditional mor-
tars made with quartz sand, considering elevated substitution
ratios. The areas of focus in this study were on physical properties
(dry bulk density and water absorption), mechanical properties
(compressive, flexural, and bond strengths), natural carbonation
over time, and CO2 uptake. The results obtained were evaluated
using ANOVA to investigate the statistical influence of the variables
on the investigated properties.
2. Experimental procedures
2.1. Materials
In this study, Brazilian Pozzolanic Portland cement (similar
ASTM C 595 Portland Pozzolanic) was used in the mortar speci-
mens. The density, specific surface, and compressive strength of
the cement were 2.74 g/cm3, 1230 g/cm2, and 38.7 MPa at 28 days,
respectively.
River siliceous sand was used as the NA, the characteristics of
which are given in Figs. 1 and 2, and Table 1. The two types of
RAs (CRA and MRA) were collected near Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil).
After removing the reinforcing steel and other impurities, the
raw material was crushed and subsequently sieved. Each type of
RA was passed through a 4.76 mm sieve, in which the larger mate-
rials retained were returned for crushing. This procedure was
100
NA
90
CRA
Cumulative percentage (%)
80
MRA
70
Inferior limit
60
Superior limit
50
40
30
20
10
0
4.76 2.38 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15 <0.15
Sieve size (mm)
Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of the natural and recycled aggregates.
72 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83

fired clay minerals). Table 2 gives the chemical analysis of the resi-
dues. The chemical composition of the MRA was predominantly
SiO2 and CaO (65.4%) with a high loss-on-ignition value of 14.94.
The chemical composition of the CRA was predominantly SiO2
(64.9%), Al2O3 (9.9%), and CaO (9.4%) with a loss-on-ignition value
of 6.35%. Martínez et al. [30] point out that differences in the
chemical composition of the residues may influence the mechani-
cal and durability properties of the mortars produced.

2.2. Production of the mortars

The consistencies of the fresh mortars were verified in all mixes

Fig. 2. XRD of the aggregates.
repeated until the RA was crushed to meet the requirements of
recycled fine aggregate.
The RAs possessed a large fineness modulus, given in Table 1,
mainly because of the lack of fine material. Additionally, the max-
imum aggregate size in the RA material was higher while the bulk
density and apparent specific gravity were lower when compared
to the NA. Fig.1 shows the particle size distribution of the RA and
NA aggregates used in this study based on the requirements estab-
lished by the Brazilian standard [29] (Corresponding to ASTM C33/
C33M, 2016). This size distribution is one of the most important
properties of aggregates. The particle size distributions of the RAs
in this study are evenly distributed and quite similar (CRA and
MRA). However, they are notably distinct from NAs, which have
a higher degree of fineness than the RAs.
Fig. 2 is a diffractogram showing the presence of quartz (SiO2),
calcite (CaCO3), and muscovite (KAl2 (AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2) observed in
the two RAs (MRA and CRA). In natural sand, only the quartz is pre-
dominant. Because of the nature of CDW materials, the X-ray pow-
der diffraction (XRD) results are complex. Contreras et al. [2]
associate this complexity with the high number of crystalline
and amorphous phases in the sample constituents: concrete
(cement, mineral admixtures, sand, and coarse gravel or crushed
rocks), mortar (cement, sand, and lime), and ceramics (sand and
to satisfy the value of 260 ± 10 mm given in the Brazilian standard
NBR 13276 [31] (similar to ASTM C1329/C1329M, 2016), in which
the water/cement ratio was varied to achieve the desired consis-
tency; no admixtures were used. As the particle size and water
absorption properties of the NA and RAs were different, the substi-
tution of recycled aggregates for natural aggregates affected the
water content in the mix design. The composition of a reference
mortar was established using an initial proportion of 1:5 (cement:
aggregate) by mass, with the aggregate in the dry condition. The
mortars made from the RAs were composed in consideration of
the replacement percentage and volume compensation calculated
using Eq. ((1)).
cRA
MRA ¼ MNA  ð1Þ
cNA
where MRA is the mass of the RA (kg); MNA is the mass of the NA
(kg); cRA is the specific mass of the RA (kg/dm3); cNA is the specific
mass of natural aggregate (kg/dm3).
In this way, mortar samples were made by replacing varying
percentages of natural aggregate with the recycled aggregate (see
Table 3). The samples are referred to herein as MRA0, MRA25,
MRA50, MRA75, and MRA100, corresponding to the percentages
of RAs used as substitute aggregates in their mixes of 0%, 25%,
50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively. Similarly, CRA0, CRA25, CRA50,
CRA75, and CRA100 denote mortars with CRA substitution percent-
ages of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively. In mixes contain-
ing RAs, a higher amount of water was necessary to obtain the
same consistency due to the higher water absorption of RAs com-
pared to natural sand; similar behaviors were observed in other
studies [19,32]. As the particle size distribution was fixed regard-
less of the aggregate used, the porosity of the RA in the mix (which

Table 1
Characteristics of the aggregates employed.

Nomenclature CRA MRA NA

Ceramic Recycled Aggregate Mixed Recycled Aggregate Natural
Aggregate
Principal composition Mainly ceramic and mortar Mainly ceramic and concrete Quartz
Origin of the type of building Constructions of walls with ceramic Housing with reinforced concrete structure and walls of ceramic River sand
material brick brick
Apparent specific gravity (kg/dm3) 2.39 2.40 2.65
Bulk density (kg/dm3) 1.25 1.17 1.50
Fineness modulus 2.73 3.74 1.99
Maximum size (mm) 4.76 4.76 2.38
Water absorption (%) 7.45 5.23 0.85
Aspect of aggregate –
 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83 73

Table 2
X-ray fluorescence for RA.

Waste type SiO2 CaO Fe2O3 Al2O3 MgO K2O TiO2 SO3 Na2O MnO Others Li
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
MRA 39.3 26.1 6.4 6.2 3.2 1.3 0.8 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.4 14.94
CRA 64.9 9.4 3.1 9.9 3.2 1.7 0.7 0.3 0.3 <0.1 0.03 6.37

Li = loss-on-ignition.

Table 3
Mortar mixture proportions.

Mortar type NA/RA (%) Proportions (g) Consistency (mm) w/c

Cement NA RA Water
Reference 100/0 624 3120 0 618 270 0.99
MRA25 75/25 624 2340 703.47 607.5 257 0.97
MRA50 50/50 624 1560 1406.94 617.5 260 0.99
MRA75 25/75 624 780 2110.42 615 265 0.99
MRA100 0/100 624 0 2813 673 258 1.08
CRA25 75/25 624 2340 706.42 650 267 0.99
CRA50 50/50 624 1560 1412.83 670 268.7 1.07
CRA75 25/75 624 780 2119.25 675 263.5 1.08
CRA100 0/100 624 0 2825.66 750 263 1.20

MRA - Mixed Recycled Aggregate; CRA - Ceramic Recycled Aggregate; NA – Natural Aggregate; RA – Recycled Aggregate.

is directly associated with its apparent specific gravity) ends up
controlling the water required in the mortar to achieve the same
consistency across the varied samples. According to Lima et al.
[33], the higher water absorption of the RA material minimizes
the availability of free water, and the finer particles increase the
total surface area of RA’s. Additionally, the shape and irregular tex-
ture of RA material also results in this need to increase the water/
cement ratio when using RA material in lieu of natural sand.
The test specimens were cured under laboratory conditions for
the first 24 h. After the demolding process, they were immersed in
water until the testing stage, as given in Table 4.
2.3. Test methods
2.3.1. Physical and mechanical properties
The physical properties of the mortar, such as the dry bulk den-
sity, porosity, and water absorption, were determined via immer-
sion in accordance with the Brazilian Standards, given in Table 4.
The mechanical properties of the mortars, such as the compressive,
flexural, and adhesive strengths, were also investigated. Table 4
details the number of test specimens used for each standardized
test, as well as the age of each specimen in the tests.
2.3.2. Natural carbonation
The prismatic samples used to determine the degree of natural
carbonation were exposed to the environment after curing for 28
days. For each proportion of RAs in the mix, five samples were
exposed to the outside environment, three of which were unpro-
tected from rain and the other two of which were protected from
rain, and one additional sample was sheltered in the laboratory
environment, following the procedure described by Pauletti et al.
[37]. The depth of carbonation was measured using a 1% phenolph-
thalein solution dissolved in 70% ethylic alcohol and 30% distilled
water applied to a sample with a cracked surface, the carbonated
area of which was measured using a caliper. The depth of carbon-
ation on each sample was measured three times, and the average
value was calculated. This procedure was performed for all RA
replacement levels and the reference mortar.

Table 4
Mortar characterization test.

Properties Brazilian Standard Specimens and dimensions Age Exposure conditions

Dry bulk density NBR 97791 [33] 3 Prismatic 28 days –
Porosity (40  40  160 mm)
Water absorption by
immersion
Compressive strength NBR 132792 [34] 6 Prismatic 7, 28, 63, 91 days –
(40  40  160 mm)
Flexural strength 3 Prismatic 7, 28, 63, 91 days –
(40  40  160 mm)
3
Bond strength NBR 13528 [35] 5 Circular (50 mm diameter, 10 mm 28 days –
thick)
Carbonation Specific procedure, not 1 Prismatic Each 30 days, until 240 Laboratory
standardized. (50  50  500 mm) days
3 Prismatic External unprotected from
(50  50  500 mm) rain
2 Prismatic External protected from rain
(50  50  500 mm)
1
Equivalent to ASTM C1403 (2015).
2
Equivalent to ASTM C1314 (2016) and ASTM C349 (2014).
3
Equivalent to ASTM C952 (2012).
74 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
2.3.3. CO2 uptake due mortar carbonation
Some research [26,27,38] shows that cementitious materials
can absorb CO2 during their service life through the natural car-
bonation process. To estimate this potential, Eq. ((2)) was used,
which is adapted on BRE EM 15804 [39]. The equation was revised
because the original methodology considers that 100% of the mor-
tar will be carbonated in time, neglecting the depth of carbonation
in the formulation (ec).
CO2 ¼ ec  ðCaOcem  Q cem  %C cem  %CaOcem þ CaOag  Q ag
 %CaOag Þ  M
where:
ec = carbonation depth (m)
Qcem = cement content in 1 m3 (kg)
Qag = aggregated content in 1 m3 (kg)
CaOcem = Amount of calcium oxide contained in cement (kg/m3)
CaOag = Amount of calcium oxide contained in aggregates
(kg/m3)
%CaOcem = ratio of CaO that is totally carbonated to the total CaO
content in cement, i.e., is transformed into CaCO3
%CaOag = ratio of CaO that is totally carbonated to the total CaO
content in aggregate
%Ccem = Clinker contained in cement (%)
M = chemical molar fraction CO2/CaO.
The value for carbonation depth (ec) used was obtained through
Eq. ((8)), and the value for cement content (Qcem) and the aggre-
gated content (Qag) used was based on the percentage of materials
content used in the manufacturing of the mortars (Table 3). In this
study, the amount of calcium oxide contained in the cement
(CaOcem) and the ratio of CaO that is totally carbonated (%CaOcem)
were estimated to be 65% and 75%, respectively, as suggested by
Pommer and Pade [28]. The ratio of CaO contained in RA that is
totally carbonated (%CaOag) was estimated in 35%, according to
You et al. [41]. The amount of calcium oxide contained in aggre-
gates (CaOag) was obtained by chemical analysis of residues
(Table 2). The amount of clinker contained in the cement (%Ccem)
was obtained from the Brazilian Standard [42] (equivalent to ASTM
C 595/C595M, 2017) for the type of cement used in this study,
assuming that the cement had the maximum limit of pozzolanic
addition (50%). The chemical molar fraction (M) of the CO2/CaO
was taken as 0.786.
2.4. Statistical analysis and modeling
To determine whether the type of RA material or the replace-
ment ratio had a statistically significant effect on the properties
of the mortars, an ANOVA was conducted. The F-test in the ANOVA
determined whether any significant differences between the mean
values of the properties existed. If the p-value of the F-test is less
than 0.05, the change in the factor under consideration is consid-
ered to have a significant effect on the analyzed property at a con-
fidence level of 95%; conversely, if the p-value is greater than 0.05,
the change in the factor under consideration can be considered to
have no significant effect.
For the compressive strength, bond strength, and carbonation
depth, a mathematical model representing the behavior of the
mortars containing the RA material was obtained from the exper-
imental data. A nonlinear estimation analysis was used to con-
struct the models, which were judged satisfactory for an r2 value
of greater than 80%, considering that the data dispersion was
obtained experimentally. The Statistica software was used for the
analysis. Initially, generic models were proposed using Eqs. (3, 4,
and 5) for each investigated variable.
f c ¼ a1  ½1 þ ða2  aggregate þ a3  CDW þ a4  ageÞ ð3Þ
f fl ¼ lnðb1  aggregate þ b2  CDW þ b3  ageÞ ð4Þ
ec ¼ c1 þ c2  aggregate þ c3  CDW þ c4  exp osure þ c5
 agec6 ð5Þ
The coefficients a1 to a4, b1 to b3, and c1 to c6 were obtained
from a nonlinear estimation analysis. Although more complex
models were tested, the statistical gain was considered to be quite
ð2Þ small. Therefore the simpler models were selected for use in this
study. After developing the models, ANOVA and residual analyses
were performed to verify the goodness-of-fit. Using these models,
the behaviors of the mortars with various replacement levels of
MRA and CRA were analyzed.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Physical properties: Absorption by immersion, porosity, and bulk
density
Fig. 3(a–c) show the effects of varying percentages of MRA and
CRA in the mortars on the values of absorption by immersion,
porosity, and bulk density of the specimens, respectively. Table 5
shows the physical property values and their standard deviations
for mortars evaluated at 28 days.
The results show that the samples containing RA materials pos-
sess higher values for porosity than the reference mortars, as has
been discussed in literature [43]. The MRA mortars exhibited
higher porosity and water absorption values than the CRA mortars,
largely because of the MRA material’s elevated absorption capacity
and the high w/c ratio used in the manufacturing process. Similar
results were found by Martínez et al. [30], in which mortars made
from ceramic aggregates exhibited absorption and porosity values
from 20.7% to 23.3% at 28 days, compared to values from 32.3% to
33.9%, for MRA mortars, both with w/c ratios ranging from 1.6 to
1.78. Although the porosity of the MRA is demonstrably higher,
consideration must also be given to the pore size distribution in
the material. Corinaldesi [43] states that mortars with CDW exhibit
a greater open porosity because of the inherent porosity of the
aggregate, but they may also possess slightly fewer small pores
(with diameter > 1 lm).
The bulk density of the hardened mortar was observed to
decrease with an increase in the replacement level for both the
recycled aggregate types, as previously observed in other studies.
This is largely because the bulk density of CDW is lower than that
of the reference aggregate, and these results are consistent with
previous investigations [33,45,46]. The densities of the mortars
made with the CRA material were lower than those made with
the MRA material for all the replacement levels because the bulk
density of the CRA itself is lower.
3.2. Mechanical properties
3.2.1. Bond strength
Table 6 presents the average values and standard deviations for
the mechanical properties for mortars evaluated at 28 days. It can
be observed that the CRA-containing mortars exhibited higher
bond strength, but also elevated dispersions, as observed in previ-
ous studies [40,44]. The minimum bonding strength required by
the Brazilian regulations [36] is equal to 0.2 MPa at 28 days, con-
sidering indoor conditions. The mortars produced with the MRA
exhibited bond strengths lower than the specification at all the
replacement levels. However, the bond strengths of both the
MRA25 and MRA50 specimens exhibited an average value of
 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83 75

constituents of the CDW material, particle size distribution, nature

of the substrate, and placement procedures, as observed by Neno
et al. [24]. The mortars produced with the CRA material exhibited
the best bond strength: in the cases of the CRA50 and CRA75 mor-
tars, the measured bond strengths were higher than that of the ref-
erence mortar, which met the minimum performance
requirements for external coating mortars with results in the range
0.4–0.43 MPa—higher than required by the Brazilian regulations.
Similar results were obtained by Martínez et al. [30], who observed
that the mortars produced with ceramic material achieved the
highest bond strength when compared to other mortars. Jimenez
et al. [22] and Silva et al. [46] obtained bond strength values
between 0.34 and 0.45 MPa for mortars with 40% replacement by
volume of CRA material. This is likely due to paste penetration into
the existing voids in the ceramic aggregates that results in a
microstructural anchor, as well as the moderate size distribution
of the aggregate. Corinaldesi and Moriconi [10] posited that the
bond strength of mortar made with recycled brick was excellent
because of the high quality of the interfacial zone obtained with
this material. Corinaldesi and Moriconi [10] state that the presence
of recycled materials influence the rheological behavior of the mor-
tars by lowering the yield stress and keeping it low for longer dura-
tions. As a result, such a mortar is capable of better permeating the
surface of the brick, thereby assuring a higher physical interlock.
Due to the high variability in results, the replacement level was
not considered statistically significant in influencing bond
strength, as shown in the ANOVA results (Table 7), where only
aggregate type is shown to be significant.

3.2.2. Compressive strength (fc) and flexural strength (ffl)

Fig. 3. Effect of the replacement percentages of the recycled aggregates on the
physical properties of mortars at 28 days.
0.18 MPa, which is close to the minimum value required by the
Brazilian standard.
A significant decrease in bond strength for mortars with 75%
and 100% replacement with CDW material can be observed. Both
the MRA100 and CRA100 mortars presented some difficulty associ-
ated with placement, due to the rough texture of the material. The
observed decrease in bond strength can be ascribed to variability
related to the test method, which is influenced by the mineral
The measured compressive strength of the mortars containing
the RA material is comparable with previous results obtained by
Neno et al. [24], Samiei et al. [32] and Zhao et al. [47], where this
property was observed to decrease with the increase in the
replacement percentage of NAs by residue (Fig. 4). The mortars
produced with the CRA aggregate exhibited higher compressive
strength values than the mortars produced with the MRA aggre-
gate, primarily for replacement levels above 50%, which is similar
to results obtained in a previous study [32]. Moreover, the age of
a sample was observed to have a statistically significant effect on
the compressive strength, resulting in an F value in ANOVA
(Table 7) of 714, with values higher than 8 MPa at 91 days.
The recycled mortars were observed to have poorer properties
such as compressive strength when compared to the mortars made
with natural sand. This was expected as this property becomes
progressively dependent on the performance of the aggregates
rather than the strength of the cement matrix [48]. Note, however,
that Silva [48] believe that despite the importance of compressive
strength in classifying mortar materials, the selection criteria for
mortars should be primarily based on workability and bond
strength.

Table 5
Physical properties of the hardened mortars at 28 days.

Mortar Absorption (%) Porosity (%) Bulk density (kg/m3)

Average value Standard deviation Average value Standard deviation Average value Standard deviation
Reference 13.39 0.16 25.22 0.29 1.88 0.005
MRA25 14.13 0.13 26.03 0.18 1.84 0.081
MRA50 16.37 0.10 29.03 0.20 1.77 0.005
MRA75 17.55 0.17 30.12 0.25 1.72 0.005
MRA100 19.84 0.18 32.93 0.11 1.66 0.008
CRA25 13.39 0.16 24.65 0.63 1.88 0.005
CRA50 13.60 0.39 26.30 0.64 1.81 0.009
CRA75 15.08 0.36 28.47 0.60 1.74 0.005
CRA100 16.67 0.39 31.50 0.19 1.71 0.005
76 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83

Table 6
Mechanical properties of the hardened mortars at 28 days.

Mortar Compressive strength (MPa) Flexural strength (MPa) Bond strength (MPa)
Average value Standard deviation Average value Standard deviation Average value Standard deviation
Reference 7.04 0.60 2.29 0.27 0.25 0.11
MRA25 5.79 0.83 2.39 0.10 0.18 0.04
MRA50 5.00 0.72 2.43 0.17 0.18 0.08
MRA75 5.25 1.23 2.84 0.45 0.16 0.07
MRA100 5.20 0.65 2.38 0.14 0.10 0.02
CRA25 5.97 0.70 2.29 0.27 0.28 0.04
CRA50 5.36 0.79 2.25 0.15 0.40 0.21
CRA75 6.74 0.66 2.41 0.14 0.43 0.07
CRA100 6.31 0.67 2.67 0.25 0.23 0.10

Table 7
ANOVA for parameters analyzed.

Properties Source of variation DF SS MS F-test p value

Water absorption Aggregate type 1 3.859 3.859 44.83 0.0000*
Replacement level 4 145.32 36.331 422.03 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 1.403 0.351 4.07 0.0141*
Error 20 1.722 0.086
Porosity Aggregate type 1 15.51 15.51 68.15 0.0000*
Replacement level 4 205.83 551.46 227.2 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 5.68 1.42 6.3 0.0019*
Error 20 4.53 0.23
Bulk density Aggregate type 1 0.00147 0.00147 31 0.0000*
Replacement level 4 0.19123 0.04781 1024 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 0.00138 0.00034 7 0.0008*
Error 20 0.00093 0.00005
Bond strength (Ra) Aggregate type 1 0.2583 0.2583 21.65 0.0000*
Replacement level 4 0.1026 0.0256 2.15 0.0922
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 0.1092 0.0273 2.28 0.0765
Error 20 0.4771 0.0119
Compressive strength (fc) Aggregate type 1 21.86 21.86 44.79 0.0000*
Replacement level 4 98.18 24.54 50.29 0.0000*
Age 3 1045.53 348.51 714.00 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 18.85 4.71 9.66 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Age 3 3.45 1.15 2.36 0.0730
Replacement level  Age 12 10.42 0.87 1.78 0.0537
Aggregate type  Replacement level  Age 12 10.49 0.87 1.79 0.0515
Error 200 97.62 0.49
Flexural strength (ffl) Aggregate type 1 0.3936 0.3936 5.48 0.0217*
Replacement level 4 0.4045 0.1011 1.41 0.2391
Age 3 53.257 17.75 247.04 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 0.6382 0.1595 2.22 0.0741
Aggregate type  Age 3 0.9373 0.3124 4.35 0.0069*
Replacement level  Age 12 2.6228 0.2186 3.04 0.0014*
Aggregate type  Replacement level  Age 12 1.1465 0.0955 1.33 0.2187
Error 80 5.7487 0.0719
Carbonation depth (ec) Aggregate type 1 101.49 101.49 29.44 0.0000*
Replacement level 4 697.10 174.28 50.56 0.0000*
Exposure 2 626.63 313.31 90.90 0.0000*
Age 7 4417.26 631.04 183.08 0.0000*
Aggregate type  Replacement level 4 53.74 13.43 3.90 0.00436*
Aggregate type  Exposure 4 53.74 13.43 3.90 0.00436*
Aggregate type  Age 2 13.47 6.74 1.95 0.143852
Replacement level  Exposure 8 56.99 7.12 2.07 0.039758*
Replacement level  Age 7 21.02 3.00 0.87 0.529911
Exposure  Replacement level 28 43.61 1.56 0.45 0.992947
Exposure  Age 14 130.54 9.32 2.71 0.00103*
Error 240 827.22 3.45 827.22

Properties = Response variable or dependent variable, SS = Sum of squares, DF = degrees of freedom, MS = Mean square.
*
Factor with statistical significance.

The flexural strength (Fig. 5) presents different behavior than
the compressive strength, exhibiting a slight increase with the
increase in the percent of RA material used. However, this increase
was not considered statistically significant, as shown in the ANOVA
results (Table 7), in which only the aggregate type and age are
shown to be significant factors in determining flexural strength.
In a similar study, Martínez et al. [30] did not observe any signifi-
cant differences in flexural strength between the replacement
levels of 75% to 100%. Moreover, the flexural strength has been
observed to be more affected by incorporating the RA at early ages
 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
Fig. 4. Compressive Strength.
Fig. 5. Flexural Strength.
(7 and 28 days), as discussed previously by Fernandez-Ledesma
et al. [18]. Must be pointed that the size grading of the recycled
and natural aggregates is quite different and the most important
feature is the NA have a shorter range of sizes than the CRA and
MRA. This is an advantage for the mortars with recycled aggregates
because the packing effect – a proper arrangement of small parti-
cles which fill the voids and contribute to the increment of com-
pressive strength without any chemical reaction [49] – should
improve as the incorporation of RA increases.
The results indicate that mortars incorporating CRA materials
demonstrated the most statistically significant effects on compres-
sive and flexural strengths (Table 5), in which the replacement of
natural sand with between 20% to 50% of based residues best
improved the mechanical properties of the hardened mortar, sug-
gesting these brick particles can provide a slight pozzolanic effect
[20,40].
3.3. Statistical analysis and modeling
To confirm the significance of the influences of the variables
considered on the properties of the mortars, an ANOVA was con-
ducted and the results are listed in Table 7. The results show that
the variables (and their interactions) have a statistically significant
influence on the mortar properties, particularly on water absorp-
tion, porosity, bulk density, and compressive strength.
For water absorption, porosity, and bulk density, the p-values of
the F-tests were less than 0.05, implying that these parameters and
their interactions have statistically significant influences on the
physical properties of the hardened mortars. However, when com-
paring the p-values with the numerical results of the F-tests, the
77
influence of the replacement percentage is found to be greater than
that of the aggregate type in all the cases, as also determined by
Jiménez et al. [22]. Moreover, the type of RA was found to have a
statistically significant influence on all mechanical properties,
whereas the amount of residue was found to influence only the
compressive strength. The age of the samples at testing exhibited
the highest influence on the mechanical properties, though only
the aggregate type was found to have a significant influence on
the bond strength, as the percent of RA content was not significant.
Similar results were obtained by Jiménez et al. [22], in which the
CRA mortars mixed with a replacement ratio of 10% exhibited
the highest values of bond strength, though there was no statisti-
cally significant difference between the mean values for all inves-
tigated replacement levels. With respect to the depth of
carbonation, the main variables and some interactions presented
statistically significant results.
Mathematical models representing the behaviors of the mortars
were developed based on the experimental data for compressive
strength, flexural strength, and carbonation depth, using Eqs. (6,
7, and 8), respectively. A variance analysis was conducted on one
model for each response variable under study (see Table 8). Table 9
lists the parameters used in each model. Fig.6 shows the residual
values for these properties. The average results for each sample
were used to evaluate each property.
f c ¼ 4:26  ½1 þ ð0:605  aggregate þ 0:012  CDW  0:063  ageÞ
R2 ¼ 0:874
f fl ¼ ln ð1:611  aggregate þ 0:007  CDW þ 0:305  ageÞ
R2 ¼ 0:870
ec ¼ 13:63 þ 0:95  aggregate þ 0:32  CDW þ 9:97
exposure þ 0:94  age0:5 ð8Þ
2
R ¼ 0:890
Where:
fc = compressive strength (MPa)
ffl = flexural strength (MPa)
ec = carbonation depth (mm)
Aggregate = RA type (Codes: MRA = 1; CRA = 2)
CDW = Replacement level (Codes: 0 = 0%; 25 = 25%; 50 = 50%;
75 = 75%; 100 = 100%)
Age = age of mortar (days).
Exposure = exposure environment (codes: Laboratory = 1.15;
External, protected from rain = 1.0, External, unprotected from
rain = 0.9).
The R2 values for the models were all higher than 0.87, indicat-
ing that they can be used to explain 87% of the variability for the
compressive strength (fc), flexural strength (ffl), and carbonation
depth (ec). The ANOVA (Table 7) indicated the main factors (RA
type, replacement level, age, and environmental exposure) influ-
encing compressive strength. For flexural strength, the b2 parame-
ter (replacement level) was found to have no statistical
significance; however, this parameter was retained in the model
for comparison of its effects on compressive strength.
3.4. Microstructural analysis
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive
X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis was used to correlate the
mechanical properties with the mortar microstructures. Fig.7
shows the microstructural view for the reference and the
MRA100 samples.
Fig. 7(a) shows the reference mortar matrix with the presence
of NAs enveloped by the paste. Fig. 7(b) shows the typical hetero-
78 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83

Table 8
ANOVA for fc, ffl and ec models.

Response Source SS DF MS F test p-value

fc Model 1906.884 4.00000 476.7209 679.4576 0.000000
Residual 25.258 36.00000 0.7016
Total 1932.142 40.00000
R2 = 0.874
ffl Model 293.1817 3.00000 97.72722 1409.331 0.000000
Residual 2.5657 37.00000 0.06934
Total 295.7474 40.00000
R2 = 0.870
ec Model 27399.19 5.0000 5479.838 3699.787 0.000000
Residual 348.06 235.0000 1.481
Total 27747.26 240.0000
R2 = 0.890

SS = Sum of squares, DF = degrees of freedom, MS = Mean square.

Table 9
Parameter estimates for fc, ffl and ec models.

Response Parameter Estimate Standard error p-value

fc a1 4.262687 0.498203 0.000000
a2 0.605465 0.264881 0.028257
a3 0.011609 0.003746 0.003756
a4 0.063217 0.004110 0.000000
ffl b1 1.611211 0.405751 0.000318
**
b2 0.006897 0.009166 0.456506
b3 0.305341 0.021142 0.000000
ec c1 13.6206 0.868125 0.000000
c2 0.9513 0.157116 0.000000
c3 0.0319 0.002222 0.000000
c4 9.9711 0.764627 0.000000
c5 0.9471 0.024502 0.000000
**
Factor without statistical significance.

Fig. 6. Observed x residual values (a) Carbonation Depth - ec (b) Compressive Strength - fc and Flexural Strength - ffl.

geneity of a composite mortar material, characterized largely by
the presence of microcracks in the CDW. The areas A and B indi-
cated in Fig. 7(b) show the presence of CDW aggregates with differ-
ent degrees of cracking. According the literature [48,51,52], the
presence of cracks within the RA material occurs as a result of
the processing activities. Fig. 8 indicates the details of the RA (point
‘‘A”), showing a high degree of cracking of the RA material, which
can be represented as shown in Fig. 9. Tam et al. [53] presented
such differences between the microstructures, proposing that recy-
cled aggregates exhibit two transition zones: one between the
original aggregate and the original adhered mortar (the old transi-
tion zone) and another between the composite forming the RA and
the new mortar (the new transition zone). These interfaces have
very different characteristics and significantly influence the
mechanical behavior of the composites, as the interface of the
new transition zone tends to have numerous pores and cracks,
which causes a significant increase in water consumption and
compromises the mechanical properties of the materials.
3.5. Natural carbonation
The results of ANOVA (Table 5) show that the addition of CDW
has a significant influence on the carbonation depth of the mortars
over time (Fig. 10). The carbonation depth increases proportionally
with the replacement ratio of the RA (Fig. 11(a) and (b)). At 240
days, it was verified that mixtures with 100% MRA exhibit carbon-
ation depths approximately 13% higher than mixtures with 100%
CRA, indicating the influence of the RA composition on the durabil-
ity properties of the mortars.
 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
Fig. 7. Micrographs with 60x magnifications and 20 kv (a) reference mortar; (b) Mortar with 100% of MRA.
Pore
Fissure
Fig. 8. Micrograph of point ‘‘A” of Fig. 7(b) with 500x magnifications and 20 kv.
Regarding the exposure environment, for all the analyzed mix-
tures, the carbonation was highest in the laboratory environment,
followed by the environment protected from rain, and then by the
environment exposed to rain. Leemann et al. [54] studied the car-
bonation of mortars and reported the carbonation in the case of
samples exposed to rain was 1.5 times lower than those protected
from the outside environment.
This correlation between exposure and carbonation is due to
the diffusibility of CO2, which occurs at a higher velocity when
the internal moisture of the cementitious material is between
50% and 70% [55]. Humidity therefore affects carbonation, and
under low-humidity conditions (below 50%), carbonation will be
reduced because there will be no water to dissolve the CO2. The
same effect occurs in pore-water saturation conditions, where
the diffusion of CO2 is significantly reduced [37]. In outdoor envi-
ronments exposed to rain, the precipitation conditions interfere
with the moisture equilibrium, inhibiting the diffusion of CO2 in
low or high humidity conditions. In rain-protected conditions
(both outdoors and indoors), the internal moisture equilibrium is
related to variations in the relative humidity of the environment.
79
In these environments, the cementitious material shows lower
variations in the internal moisture, thus CO2 diffuses more easily,
thereby carbonating the mortar faster.
Fig. 12(a) and (b) show that with the increase in the replace-
ment content of the NA by an RA, an increase in the carbonation
coefficient of the mortars is observed. Only a few studies on the
carbonation rates and depths of mortars are reported [56]; no stud-
ies evaluated the effect of substitution of the fine fraction with
recycled concrete aggregate, making it difficult to compare results.
Lovato at al. [5] reported similar results for carbonation in con-
crete produced with different levels of NA substitution with coarse
and fine recycled aggregates. The authors found that concrete pro-
duced with RAs tended to present slightly higher rates of carbona-
tion depth (approximately 5 mm) compared to concrete without
RAs. Similar results were reported by Singh and Singh [1]. The
measured carbonation depth has not been found to suggest a clear
relationship to the replacement ratio of the fine recycled concrete
aggregate [58]. Cement mortars have been shown to undergo car-
bonation at a faster rate than concrete [37,57] because they have
higher water/cement ratios, lower cement content, and aggregates
of finer grain size [57].
3.6. CO2 uptake because of mortar carbonation
Cement-based materials can be used for CO2 storage with the
maximum amount of CO2 that can be stored depending on the
chemical composition of the cement [57]. Fig.13 presents the CO2
uptake results after 28 and 240 days of exposure in the laboratory
(indoor) and outdoor environments exposed to the rain, calculated
using Eq. ((2)).
The results show that the CO2 exposure duration influences the
CO2 uptake (the longer the exposure duration, the greater the car-
bonation depth and CO2 uptake), which is also influenced by the
environment (greater CO2 uptake indoors than in outdoor environ-
ments protected from rain). After 240 days, the carbonation depth
of a wall coated with mortar without residue was found to be
between 9 mm and 15 mm depending on the environment, corre-
sponding to an average CO2 uptake of 70 g.CO2/m2 and 50 g.CO2/
m2, for coatings in indoor and outdoor environments protected
from the rain, respectively. For mixtures with RA the CO2 uptake
increases, as the RA content is high. The greater CO2 uptake by
the mortars produced from the substitution of natural aggregate
by recycled can be attributed to the physicochemical characteris-
tics the RA type and the mortars composition. The RA represents
80 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
Fig. 9. Schematic of the physical characteristics of the RA (Adapted from Behera et al. [50]).
Fig. 10. Carbonation depth vs. time in laboratory exposure for CRA100 and
MRA100.
a potentially large source of alkalinity (e.g. portlandite) (see Fig. 2
and Table 2) which is not observed in the natural aggregate (see
diffractogram of Fig. 2). Kaliyavaradhan and Ling [59] report that
the construction and demolition waste is rich in calcium hydroxide
and calcium silica hydrate, being considered a potential calcium
Fig. 11. Carbonation depth vs. environmental exposure at 240 days (a) MRA (b) CRA.
Cement paste
Original Aggregate
Recycle Aggregate
Transion zone in
original Aggregate
Fissures in recycled aggregate
due to processing
New transion zone
source for CO2 sequestration, forming thermodynamically stable
carbonate minerals. Also the RA, with small particle sizes, exhibits
a higher carbonation rate than larger particle sizes [59]. According
the literature, the carbonation rate and CO2 uptake is influenced by
the particle size of recycled concrete aggregate being the function
of the surface area exposed to CO2 action [27,59,60]. Investigated
recycled concrete aggregate with a particle size of 5–10 mm and
smaller than 5 mm, Xuan et al. [60] found that the particle sizes
of 5–10 mm captured 0.81% CO2 while the particle sizes smaller
than 5 mm presented CO2 uptake close to 2.15%.
In relation to the physical properties of mortars, it can be seen
in Fig. 3a and 3b that the water absorption and porosity of mortars
increase with the replacement rate. It is well known that the
cement matrix more porous increase the CO2 penetration [1,5],
interfering in the carbonation rate and, consequently, in CO2
uptake.
According to the Brazilian standard [61], indoor coatings are to
have a thickness of 5–20 mm and outdoor coatings are to have a
thickness of 20–30 mm. Therefore, considering the BRE EM
15804 [40] and assuming that the mortar will be totally carbon-
ated at the end of its service life, the CO2 uptake of a reference mor-
tar can reach 170 g.CO2/m2 (almost 60 kg.CO2/m3) and more than
250 g.CO2/m2 for mortars with construction and demolition waste
 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
Fig. 12. Carbonation coefficient versus replacement levels: (a) 30 days of exposure d (b) 240 days of exposure to CO2.
Fig. 13. CO2 uptake of mortars after 28 and 240 days of carbonation (a) laboratory environment (b) External unprotected from rain.
and 100% natural aggregate replacement. Furcas et al. [25]
reported that cement-based mortars can capture up to 26.4 g.
CO2/kg. Xi et al. [56] report in a recent study that in cement-
based mortars, an average of 97.9% of the annual initial emissions
are absorbed during the service life of the material, and the
remaining 2.1% are absorbed in the demolition stage. In this study,
considering the emission data for Brazilian cements [29], similar
values were obtained.
It should be noted that these values are influenced by the con-
struction process. It is necessary to consider the duration of time
that the mortar coating remains unprotected, or the presence of
other waterproofing, to allow the ingress of CO2 into the mortar,
i.e., the ‘‘open time.” The ‘‘open time” can be considered as the per-
iod between the application of the mortar coating and its water-
proofing, which depends on the construction process adopted
and the construction execution schedule. At this point, the
methodology of BRE EM 15804 [40] assumes that the mortar mate-
rials have small thicknesses, and hence, carbonate completely
throughout their service life (50 years), and does not consider the
effects of coating surface protection.
The mineral carbonation of CDW is technically feasible, eco-
nomical and environmentally friendly approach of a future carbon
sequestration strategy [59]. Of all the factors that affect concrete
carbonation (compressive strength, cement type, etc.), the surface
area exposed to carbon dioxide action most directly influences the
CO2 uptake; the larger the area in contact with CO2, the largest the
potential uptake [27]. The same observation is valid for mortar
materials.
4. Conclusions
The objective of this study was to determine the optimum
replacement level of natural sand with recycled aggregates for
81
use in mortars for indoor environments. Two types of RAs were
used, each in four replacement levels (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%
by mass). Some important aspects of this study can be highlighted:
a) the use of ceramic and mixed RAs; b) the RAs are not pre-
saturated; c) the original particle size distribution of the RAs are
maintained; d) the applicability of this study to industry, whose
procedures used for processing and application of mortars are very
similar those used in construction practice. The main conclusions
of this study are as follows:

The two RA types used in this study presented a linear decrease
in the bulk density with the increase in the replacement ratio.
Additionally, the water absorption and porosity of the mortars
increased with the increase in the replacement ratio, and the
mortars produced with the MRA material exhibited higher val-
ues for all properties when compared with the mortars pro-
duced with the CRA material, which is in good agreement
with previously published literature.

The compressive strengths of the mortars produced with the
CRA material were higher than those of the MRA-containing
mortars. Considering the bond strength, the ANOVA results
showed that the replacement percentage has no statistical sig-
nificance on the compressive strength.

The microstructural analysis showed that microcracks in the RA
due to processing contribute to the poor mechanical properties
of the mortars using recycled aggregates. Industrial procedures
that minimize the internal damage to recycled aggregates must
be investigated before such RAs can be commercially used in
mortars.

The natural carbonation of the mortars increased with the
replacement ratio of RA, and mortars containing the MRA mate-
rial exhibited higher carbonation depths than mortars contain-
ing the CRA material. Unlike reinforced concrete structures,
82 J.J. de Oliveira Andrade et al. / Construction and Building Materials 161 (2018) 70–83
carbonation in mortars is advantageous because of the resulting
formation of CaCO3 in pore voids, which increases the perfor-
mance of the mortars in mechanical properties and durability
indicators.

The mortars produced with the MRA material and exposed to
only an the indoor environment exhibited the highest potential
for CO2 absorption from the atmosphere. Assuming that 30 mm
of cement mortar without waste would become fully carbon-
ated, each square meter can capture up to 170 g.CO2/m2 (equiv-
alent to 60 kg.CO2/m3). The CO2 uptake increases when the
replacement content of natural aggregate per recycle is high,
as the recycled aggregate has products with carbonation poten-
tial (e.g. portlandite).
From the results of this study, the use of CRA materials is rec-
ommended over MRA materials, as this type of recycled aggregate
can be substituted for traditional, natural aggregate without sub-
stantial changes in the properties of the mortar, particularly the
mechanical performance (compressive and bond strength). More-
over, a higher replacement ratio (>50%) increases the CO2 uptake,
which is beneficial from an environmental viewpoint.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support pro-
vides by the Brazilian National Council of Technological and Scien-
tific Development (CNPq) and the Research Foundation of the State
of Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS). The technical support provided by
Mr. José Eduardo Cruz and Mr. Douglas Tischner Rodeghiero was
also fundamental in the development of this research, and the
authors recognize its significance.
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