Utilization of Pyrolytic Carbon Black Waste for the Development of Sustainable Materials

Abstract

The sustainable development of materials is one of the key targets in the modern era of engineering. These materials are developed by different waste products, following the concept of the circular economy. This study focuses on investigating the properties of concrete using carbon black as a partial replacement of natural fine aggregate at different percentages. Experiments were designed according to the British Standard (BS1881-Part-119) and American Standard (ASTM C-78) by including carbon black in concrete beams to perform as filler material to develop sustainable concrete. In this study, mechanical properties of concrete were targeted by developing beams using different percentages (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) as a replacement of fine aggregates. These beams were tested for flexural strength and, later on, the same beams were cut in the form of cubes, following the equivalent cube test mechanism for the compressive strength test. The waste carbon black lightweight concrete developed in this study was utilized for both structural and non-structural purposes. At 25% and 50% replacement, the strength of lightweight concrete varied from 20–18 MPa, and according to American Concrete Institute (ACI) standards, lightweight concrete at 28 days strength with ≥17 MPa can be used as structural concrete, and the remaining 75% and 100% replacement concrete can be used for non-structural purposes. This study will help in the development of economical eco-friendly sustainable concrete materials.