Feasibility Study of Reusing Glass

Aggregate
From Crushed Cathode-Ray Tubes
In Concrete Structures
Jacqueline P. James, Ph.D., P.E.
Rodrigo Mora, Ph.D., P. Eng.

College of Engineering
Department of Civil, Architectural, and Env. Engineering

Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Background

Proposal:
To study the feasibility to reuse CRTs as fine
aggregates &/or cement replacements in concrete.
Premisse: concrete encapsulates CRT metals &
reduces leachability to below regulatory limits @ POC
Benefits to the construction industry, to waste
disposers &, most importantly, the environment:

Less hazardous wastes

going to landfills
Reduced use of raw materials
for construction
Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Metals in CRTs

Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Research Hypothesis
CRT-Concrete,

monolithic & crushed,

can immobilize CRT contaminants to
reduce their short & long term
concentration at POC to acceptable
levels.

Under

worst-case conditions,
technically & economically viable
measures can be adopted to mitigate
the impact of contaminants at POC.
Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Previous Work: Concrete Metal Encapsulation

Cover two opposite scenarios:

TCLP & similar methods conclude:

Tank methods conclude:

Concrete alone cannot encapsulate CRT metals

Biopolymers improve bonding & reduce leaching to below
regulatory limits
Monolithic concrete encapsulates CRT metals
But we dont want to transfer the problem to future generations

Critical issues:
Represent realistic concrete life-cycle utilization scenarios
Dual relationship: CRT-leaching & concrete durability
Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Life-Cycle Exposure/Utilization Scenarios

Crush / reuse (10% concrete aggregate)

Production &
Manufacturing
Mix/ Cast in Place/ Prefab.
Water
Cement / CRT powder
Additives
Raw aggregates
CRT fine aggregates
Recycled
CRT-concrete aggregates

Service life

Structure demolition
(46%)
Road work
(32%)

Loads/ cracking/ erosion/ abrasion/ corrosion

High

Exposure

Low

Seawall
Pipe / container
Foundation
Pavement: previous/impervious
Faade
Building structure

Stockpiling, handling,
cylinder testing, curing,
concrete waste
Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

EoL Crush

Disposal
C&D landfill

Crush / reuse
( 80%)

Road base / sub-base: 70%

compacted
Fill: 10%
backfill, enbankment fill,
drainage, flowable fill, etc.

The Most Likely Scenario

By weight, concrete makes the largest portion of

the solid waste stream. However, the single most
recycled material in the world is asphalt

The physical properties of coarse aggregates

made from crushed demolition concrete make it
the preferred material for applications such as
road base and sub-base. This is because recycled
aggregates often have better compaction
properties and require less cement for sub-base
uses. Furthermore, it is generally cheaper to
obtain than virgin material.
Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Research Methodology
Determination of required
properties of concrete
Determination of relevant
variables to test

Determination of
materials management
& utilization scenarios

Selection of leaching
tests

Testing stage I
Benchmark Tests (SPLP)
CRT metals availability
testing (reference 1)

Sampling

Concrete mix design

Testing stage II

Testing
CRT-concrete metals
availability testing
(reference 2)

pH
Diffussion
Concrete structural
testing, adequate?

Percolatio
n

Analysis, feasible?
Within regulatory limits
Yes

Need further testing? Yes

Phase II

No

Viable mitigation
measures?
Yes
8

Performance-based Approach
Performance-based
Approach

Concentration-based
Approach

Environment

Material

Solid Waste

Loads

Crushed material
C&D waste
Waste properties

Properties
Deterioration

Contaminant:
Maximum Potential
release?

Release
Release flux &
Long-term
cumulative release?

Materials Management & Utilization

Dilution

Extrapolate

Attenuation

Soil groundwater surface water drinking water

Hinkley Center Presentation 5-15-2009

Contaminant:
concentration
9

Sampling & Testing

Sampling
Measure intrinsic leaching parameters for the material.
From previous work, select the most likely material parameters that
affect leaching within the specified structural limits.
Select extrinsic parameters for release that simluate environmental
conditions found in the field (e.g. landfill).
Determine a representative number of samples for analysis.

Leaching Characterization
Tests

pH dependence
Percolation tests
Diffusion short tests
Diffusion long tests

Supplementary Tests

Benchmark leaching compliance

CRT-glass composition / leaching
Concrete structural properties
ASR

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Short-term Research Objectives Phase I

1.

2.

3.

Characterize the dominant leaching

mechanisms of contaminants from CRTconcrete under critical life-cycle utilization
scenarios. To determine:
a) Release amounts
b) How contaminants reach a certain POC
c) Peak concentrations at POC
Verify if the concentrations at POC are within
regulatory limits.
Verify that CRT aggregates are not detrimental
to the performance of concrete
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Long-Term Research Objectives Phase II

4.

5.

6.

7.

Develop & Validate a model of the leaching

behavior: release & transport of contaminants
to the POC
Establish a relationship between the
laboratory testing results & the actual release
& concentration of the contaminant in the
environment.
Develop a correlation between
characterization leaching results &
compliance & field verification test results.
Establish risk-management protocols with
material/waste management scenarios, &
impact mitigation measures for CRT-concrete.
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Analysis

Lead leaching characterization analyses compared to the unimmobilized Pb leaching from CRT glass, as a function of:

Regulatory analysis

The analysis should determine the maximum CRT proportion in a mix

to comply with the maximum allowable release rates, and the
maximum allowable concentrations at specified points of compliance.

Characteristic CRT-concrete properties

Time (time-dependent): initial wash-off, short term, and long-term

leaching.
The intrinsic properties of the CRT-concrete mix.
The lifecycle exposure scenarios that simulate diffusion, percolation,
and environment pH variabilty.

Evaluate the properties of CRT-concrete in terms of structural

performance (strength, strain), workabilty, and durability (i.e.
expansion and cracking due to ARS), and compare these to the
concrete mix designs.

Environmental life-cycle cost analysis

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Deliverables

A feasibility study will be produced addressing

the objectives and scope of the proposal under
the conditions described in the methodology.
Mitigation measures will need to be proposed to
minimize risks
The study will also include guidelines for
further testing & research.

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Further Work

If the outcome is positive, as expected from the previous

work:

Mathematical modeling of the leaching behavior will be proposed

to relate lab. tests data to actual field conditions & better predict
the leaching process to POC.
Further testing to validate the leaching models will be conducted.

If the outcome is not positive for some exposure scenarios:

Further modeling & testing will be required with mitigation

strategies.
CRT-product identification & other materials management
strategies will be studied along with maintenance & monitoring
plans.
Correlations with compliance & on-site verification methods will
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need to be developed.

Acknowledgement
TECHNICAL AWARENESS GROUP

Name: James D. Englehardt, Ph.D., P.E. , University of Miami

Research/Specialty: Water Quality Engineering Laboratory, Investigation of options for
leachate and wastewater management
Name: David S. Kosson, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Research/Specialty: Contaminant Behavior in Soils, Sediments, Wastes and Aquatic
Systems, Applications for Contaminated Site Restoration, Beneficial use of by-product
Materials, and Environmental Policy.
Name: Fabian Montenegro, Department of Transportation
Research/Specialty: Roadway Construction
Name: Helena Solo-Gabriele, Ph.D., P.E., University of Miami
Research/Specialty: Environmental measurements: 1) microbes in water, 2) water flows
within the Everglades watershed, and 3) metals in pressure treated wood.
Name: Ronald Zollo, Ph.D., P.E., University of Miami /Engineering Analytics
Research/Specialty: Construction, Construction Materials Development, Materials
Testing, Structural Design and Analysis, Building Code and Standards Development.
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