Glass and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Wastes in Pervious Concrete: Material Characterization and Lifecycle Assessment

Journal article (2022)

Authors

Avishreshth Singh Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati
Akhil Charak Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati
Krishna Prapoorna Biligiri Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati
Venkataraman Pandurangan Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati
Affiliation
External organisation
Material characterization Lifecycle assessment Glass fiber reinforced polymer Pervious concrete Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) Composite wastes
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

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Abstract

The sustainable disposal and recycling of composite wastes (CW) after their end-of-life (EOL) has become a serious concern for the composite industry mainly due to the unavailability of efficient recovery routes. Therefore, the objective of this cradle-to-gate study was to examine the suitability of using glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) waste in pervious concrete (PC) and quantify their environmental impacts through a lifecycle assessment (LCA) framework. CW were mechanically shredded and
added to PC as reinforcement at dosages of 0.33, 0.65, and 1% by volume of the mix. The various properties of CW modified PC (CW-PC) mixtures were evaluated followed by an LCA investigation to determine the environmental impacts. Test results indicated that incorporation of 0.33% GFRP and 1% CFRP increased flexural strength by about 2 and 5%, respectively, compared to the control PC mix. Further, there was a marginal increase in the short- and long-term
environmental impacts of CW-PC pavement scenarios compared to the control PC mix. However, the environmental impacts caused during the processing and transportation phases of CW were much lower than the burdens generated during raw material production such as cement. Essentially, this preliminary research elucidated significant promise, as it showed that CW can be recycled in PC pavement systems without affecting the performance characteristics. Overall, this study demonstrated that about 1.5 tons of GFRPCW and 3.9 tons of CFRP-CW can be recycled in a single lane km PC pavement, which is consequential of
reducing the amount of CW being disposed in the landfills while positively contributing to the formulation of sustainable waste management practices.