Experimental Study of the Usability of Recycling Marble Waste as Aggregate for Road Construction

Abstract

The road construction industry consume a considerable amount of natural aggregates in the world. As a consequence, the increase in the natural aggregates demand increases the construction cost. On the other hand, marble spoil waste, generated from marble cutting and polishing process, is an environmental nuisance in the world. Indeed, an economical solution to this problem is the reuse of these wastes as an aggregates for road construction. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the usability of aggregate, obtained by crushing marble waste, as a conventional aggregate for road construction using an experimental investigation. To achieve this objective, these experimental tests were carried out on fine and coarse marble aggregate samples: sieve analysis, Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, calcium carbonate content, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-Ray-diffraction (XRD), densities, water absorption, equivalent of sand, Los Angeles, Micro Deval, flakiness index, and shape index. Finally, experimental test results show that the chemical composition and the physical and mechanical properties of marble aggregate recommend it to be used as a conventional aggregate for road construction.