Abrasion-wear resistance of precarbonated and water-cured concrete made using ABS plastic derived from waste electrical and electronic equipment

Abstract

Due to the fast proliferation of electrical and electronic equipment (PCs, TVs, and cell phones, among others), the disposal of plastic waste, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene derived from discarded electrical and electronic equipment (e-Waste), is becoming a big issue. This paper addresses this subject by utilising granulated ABS as an aggregate replacement material in concrete. The compressive strength and abrasion resistance of granulated ABS derived from electronic waste in concrete were evaluated in different replacement intervals (0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 100 %). The current investigation included microstructural and morphological characterisation utilising scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction pattern analysis. It was found that increasing the replacements of granulated ABS for the natural aggregate reduced concrete's workability, strength, and abrasion resistance. To compensate for the loss in strength and abrasion wear resistance, mixes were subjected to a precarbonation curing regime to densify the microstructure of the cementitious paste.