Utilization of Aluminium Refinery Residue (ARR), GGBS and Alkali Solution Mixes in Road Construction

Abstract

Manufacturing and the construction industries are on the boom with the growing economy of the world. Aluminium and steel are produced in very large quantities compared to other metals. These industries also produce by-products that are either partially utilized or unutilized. Aluminium refinery residue (ARR) with its colour known as Redmud, produced from bauxite by Bayer process, because of its high pH demands huge storage land. In road construction, a large quantity of material is required at the lower layers. In the present work wastes from both industries are tried for reuse. Ground-granulated blast furnace slog (GGBS) from the iron and steel industry makes complex compounds with sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide to increase the strength properties of aluminium refinery residue (ARR) and is verified with basic laboratory experiments for strength and durability tests on stabilized aluminium refinery residue (ARR). Ground-granulated blast furnace slog (GGBS) of 20–30% is used to stabilize ARR, and cured for up to 28 days, and the result of the various mix has shown an increase in strength with curing periods. The highest UCS test result of 4.01 MPa was observed for 28 days cured sample. For durability tests, the treated specimens are passed through wet/dry cycle and freeze/thaw conditions for various curing periods. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.