UTILIZATION OF
ABSTRACT
The establishment of
new industrial areas will always result in an increase in the production of
byproducts which are considered waste if such products are not utilized. These wastes have to be disposed off properly
such that their environmental impacts are minimum. The
proper disposal and storage of large quantities of waste material is expensive
and will definitely have some environmental impacts. On the other hand, some of
the wastes or byproduct material can be utilized in recycling processes,
manufacturing of new products or as a construction material.
This project aims at
utilizing the steel slag aggregate (SSA), which is a byproduct of the steel
manufacturing process, in road construction. A comprehensive study was
conducted to characterize the SSA, and determine its potential for use in road
bases. The laboratory results indicated that the SSA is an environmentally safe
product and the leachate characteristics are within
the allowable limits. In addition, the physical and chemical properties of the
SSA make it an excellent candidate for utilization in road bases. Results have
shown the superior performance of the SSA over the locally available calcareous
sediments which are used for such purposes. This was confirmed by laboratory
results and field trials. The testing procedure and
material properties will be presented in detail.