By using recycled waste in construction, natural materials are being replaced, thus establishing a circular economy at the local level. An important aspect is also the conservation of natural resources. This is especially important in case of earthworks (embankments, backfills), which are large consumers of materials. Compared to natural aggregates and earth, geotechnical composites based on recycled materials can contain a higher total content of potentially toxic elements (heavy metals, chloride, sulphate, fluoride, organic pollutants etc.). The prerequisite for beneficial use of such composites is that the potentially toxic elements are immobilized in the composites, meaning that they are chemically inert. Potential environmental impacts, especially those associated with transfer of potentially toxic elements from new geotechnical composites into soil (aquifer respectively), are usually evaluated on laboratory scale, while their behaviour in real environment is usually poorly investigated. For this reason, there is a demand for the development of sensitive, reliable, and cost and time efficient monitoring tools for determining mass flows of potentially toxic elements from building materials, for example geotechnical composites, which are under the influence of various environmental factors. This paper presents the construction of field laboratory, based on a system of pan lysimeters. The lysimeters are used to collect leachate from geotechnical composites based on recycled materials. They are constructed in a way to be relatively low cost and at the same time large enough to representatively reflect the processes in geotechnical fills. Obtained data on the amount and quality of leachate can be used as a basis for the study of immobilization processes and for water balance. Moreover, this data will be used as input in the geochemical numerical model for the simulation of transport of potentially toxic elements released from geotechnical fills in different types of aquifers (alluvial aquifer with intergranular porosity, aquifer in consolidated rocks with fissure porosity).
The 2 nd International Conference on Technologies & Business Models for Circular Economy (TBMCE) was devoted to presentations of circular economy concepts, technologies and methodologies that contribute to the shift of business entities and society as a whole to a more responsible, circular management of resources. In the framework of TBMCE 2019, we presented the Strategic Research and Innovative Partnership -Network for the Transition to Circular Economy (SRIP-CE) as a platform for establishing a successful long-term public-private partnership. The conference program included panel discussions, plenary and keynote sessions, oral and poster presentations on the following topics: Sustainable energy, Biomass and alternative raw materials, Circular business models, Secondary raw materials and functional materials, ICT in Circular Economy, Processes and technologies. TBMCE 2019 was organized by Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Maribor and held in Portorož, Slovenia at the Grand Hotel Bernardin from October 24th to October 25th, 2019. The event was under the patronage of Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.
The environmental properties of three geotechnical composites made by recycling wastes were investigated on a laboratory scale and in the field with the use of lysimeters designated for the revitalization of degraded mining sites. Composites were prepared by combining the mine waste with paper-mill sludge and foundry sand (Composite 1), with digestate from municipal waste and paper ash (Composite 2), and with coal ash, foundry slag and waste incineration bottom ash (Composite 3). The results of laboratory leaching tests proved that Composites 1 and 3 are environmentally acceptable, according to the legislative limits, as the potentially hazardous substances were immobilized, while in Composite 2, the legislative limits were exceeded. In the field lysimeters, the lowest rate of leaching was determined for optimally compacted Composites 1 and 3, while for Composite 2 the leaching of Cu was high. This study proved that optimally installed Composites 1 and 3 are environmentally acceptable for use in construction as an alternative to virgin materials, for the revitalization of degraded mining sites or, along with Composite 2, for closure operations with landfills. In this way, locally available waste streams are valorised and channelized into a beneficial and sustainable recycling practice.
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