Physical, mechanical properties and durability of cement mortars containing fly ash from the sewage sludge incineration process

Pursuant to European Union regulations, waste generated during municipal sewage treatment should be managed in an environmentally friendly manner. In order to eliminate the risk to human health and to the environment, and also to minimise the volume of the resulting sludge, it is subjected to thermal treatment. The resulting ash contains heavy metals, and thus proper management is required. Since it is known that products of cement hydration reactions have a potential ability to immobilise heavy metals, a preliminary verification was conducted of the possibility of disposing of this type of waste by including it in cement composites. For this purpose, suitable tests were carried out on the mechanical properties and durability of cement binders containing ash from the incineration of sludge produced from municipal sewage (Sewage Sludge Ash - SSA). The tests were conducted for a standard mortar composition based on Portland cement CEM I and on ash obtained on a technical scale in a sewage treatment plant at a temperature of about 850 degrees C. This mineral addition was used to replace 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of the cement by weight. The physical and mechanical characteristics were measured, such as compressive and flexural tensile strength after 14, 28 and 90 days of curing as well as durability characteristics such as total porosity, the ability to transport chloride ions and resistance to sulphate ions. The results obtained confirm that replacing 10% of the cement with this admixture has a beneficial effect on the mechanical and durability characteristics, but greater amounts are reflected in a clear deterioration of these characteristics.