Evaluation of the Use of Electric Arc Furnace Slag and Ladle Furnace Slag in Stone Mastic Asphalt Mixes with Discarded Cellulose Fibers from the Papermaking Industry

Abstract

The construction sector is one of the most demanding of raw materials that exist at present. In turn, the greenhouse gas emissions that it produces are important. Therefore, at present there are several lines of research in which industrial by-products are incorporated for the manufacture of bituminous mixtures and the reduction of CO2 emissions, framed inside the circular economy. On the base of the aforementioned, in this research, bituminous mixtures of the Stone Mastic Asphalt type were developed with electric arc furnace slag, ladle furnace slag and discarded cellulose fibers from the papermaking industry. To this end, the waste is first characterized physically and chemically, and its properties evaluated for use in bituminous mixtures. Later, different groups of samples are conformed with conventional materials and with the waste in order to be able to compare the physical and mechanical properties of the obtained bituminous mixtures. The physical tests carried out were bulk density, maximum density and void index, as well as the Marshall test for the evaluation of the strength and plastic deformations of all the bituminous mixtures manufactured. The study and evaluation of the results showed that the incorporation of slag makes it possible to absorb a greater percentage of bitumen and obtain better mechanical properties, while maintaining a similar deformation and void content. Therefore, it is feasible to use the mentioned slags to create sustainable, resistant and suitable pavements for important traffic.

Evaluation of Physical, Chemical, and Environmental Properties of Biomass Bottom Ash for Use as a Filler in Bituminous Mixtures

“…According to the hypotheses developed, and taking as a basis a new circular economy in which waste is the raw material for new materials [3], various research projects have been carried out in which industrial by-products were used in bituminous mixtures [4,5]. The wastes used in bituminous mixes have been ladle furnace slag [6,7], electric arc furnace slag [8], reclaimed asphalt pavement [9,10], scrap tyres [11], recycled glass [12], ceramic dust [13], etc. In most cases, the results were acceptable and demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating waste into bituminous mixtures for roads, reducing the environmental impact through their use [14].…”

Evaluation of the Physical, Chemical and Environmental Properties of Ladle Furnace Slag for Their Utilization as Filler in Bituminous Mixtures

“…This has demonstrated the cementitious properties of ladle furnace slag [28]. Accordingly, this waste has interesting particularities for its use as a filler in bituminous mixtures [29][30][31]. However, it is necessary to carry out a chemical characterization to determine which compounds are pollutants or harmful to the final product; and a physical characterization must be carried out to corroborate that it does indeed have the appropriate properties for use as a filler.…”

Determination of the Chemical, Physical and Mechanical Characteristics of Electric Arc Furnace Slags and Environmental Evaluation of the Process for Their Utilization as an Aggregate in Bituminous Mixtures

“…Electric arc furnace slags have been used as building materials in different investigations, and even in real cases [18,19]. The electric arc furnace slags have been used as an aggregate for hot mix asphalt [20,21], warm mix asphalt [22] and even for mixes with bituminous emulsion [23]; this shows its excellent mechanical characteristics and its use in developing high quality bituminous mixtures [24]. However, in most cases the characteristics of this by-product have not been maximized and its use has been relegated to low-level materials [25].…”