Utilization of Waste Glass Cullet as Partial Substitutions of Coarse Aggregate to Produce Eco-Friendly Concrete: Role of Metakaolin as Cement Replacement

Abstract

The utilization of waste products is becoming a vital aspect of the construction industry to safeguard environmental assets and mitigate pollution, all of which lead to long-term sustainable development. From this perspective, this experimental investigation was carried out to determine the cumulative influence of waste glass cullet and metakaolin (MK) as partial replacements for coarse aggregates and cement in an isolated and combined manner. This research demonstrated the influence of integrating glass aggregate and metakaolin wherein coarse aggregate was substituted by 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% glass cullet (by weight), and cement was supplemented with 10% metakaolin. The substitution of waste glass with coarse aggregate significantly declines the compressive strength correspondingly; however, the integration of 10% metakaolin powder enhanced the strength slightly for all specimens up to 25%. On the other hand, for flexural strength, the inclusion of glass waste in concrete reduced the performance, whereas the incorporation of metakaolin boosted the strength but did not achieve greater strength compared to the control mixture. The sustainability analysis revealed that the production cost and eCO2 emission could be reduced by 15% and 7% by incorporating glass cullet and metakaolin in the concrete mix, which satisfied sustainability. Based on the experimental results, the ideal proportion substitution would be 25% glass aggregate with 10% metakaolin, which could satisfactorily be used to generate sustainable concrete.