Production of high-quality coarse recycled aggregates through a two-stage jigging process

Abstract

The use of recycled aggregates (RA) to replace natural aggregates (NA) in new concrete production has been pointed out as one of the main strategies to close the loop of construction materials. However, producing RA with properties similar to those of NA has been challenging, since current recycling methods struggle to remove contaminants like ceramics and mortar, whose presence impairs RA properties. In this study, a processing route consisting of a two-stage separation in hydraulic jig was tested, aiming to produce RA from a representative sample of Brazilian construction and demolition waste. All material streams generated in the tests were characterized in terms of composition, size distribution, density, shape index, and water absorption. The results indicated the possibility to produce a high-quality RA, containing more than 99.5% mass of concrete, with adequate properties to replace NA in new concrete production. Also, a conventional RA with suitable properties for downcycling uses (for example, base and sub-base material) could be obtained as a co-product. Finally, the results showed it was possible to recover more than 75% of the original concrete in Construction and Demolition Waste CDW, avoiding its disposal as waste.