An investigation on sulfur based composite materials containing C&D waste

In order to exploit concrete waste and lower the environmental impact of natural aggregates excavation, the purpose of this paper is to study and prepare new composite materials recycling construction and demolition concrete waste (C&D waste) as aggregates. New mortar with recycled aggregates will be prepared studying the possibility of using sulfur as binder, instead of cement, which requires water to bind the aggregates. Sulfur mortar and concrete are high performance composite materials whose main properties are quick settings, high strength, low water absorption and high resistance to acid, basic and salt environments. In addition such materials allow to use the big amounts of sulfur coming from worldwide oil refineries and metallurgic industry. The effects of mix design on the final physical-mechanical properties and on the microstructure of the studied new composite materials are here investigated and discussed. The results are then compared with those of reference samples prepared without any waste addition, with normalised silica sand as aggregates and ordinary Portland cement as binder, according to UNI EN 196-1.