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SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL - COPPER SLAG: A REVIEW

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890 (online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.8, Issue Special 4, pp : 10-15 18-19 Feb. 2019

Sustainable Construction Material - Copper Slag: A Review

Poriya Dhanesh1, Raval Amit2, Dr. Jayeshkumar R. Pitroda3
1 st
1 year Student, M. Tech Construction Engineering and Management, BVM Engineering College,
Vidyanagar (Gujarat), India
2
Lecturer, Civil Engineering Department, BBIT, Vidyanagar (Gujarat), India
3
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, BVM Engineering College Vidyanagar (Gujarat), India

Abstract: With increase in the population day by day, copper slag as a replacement of fine aggregate and coarse
consumption of the resources also increases. With this, the aggregate is its engineering factor, economic factor and
waste material production also increases. Manufacturing environmental factor. Engineering factor is that copper slag
process of copper production produces enormous amount of contains required chemical properties for using it as a
the copper slag which contains required chemical properties, replacement material. Economic factor is that its cost is
so it can be used as construction material. This paper comparatively less than that of other waste material.
contains information regarding survey of copper slag Environmental factor is that production of copper slag does
manufacturing process and different uses of copper slag. not produce any hazardous gases.
This paper reviews the use of industrial waste material
From copper smelting process, copper slag is produced as a
‘copper slag’ in the construction work as a replacement of
by-product. Per unit production of copper, approximately 2.3-
cement, sand and aggregate to reduce the cost of
3.0 ton of copper slag is generated as a by-product. In India,
construction and simultaneously to reduce environmental
entire copper slag is generated by three states of the India
effect due to the landfilling of copper slag. As well as
namely Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand as shown in
construction is the only industry where the waste materials
figure 1 by their percentage of production.
can be utilized successfully.
Keywords:Coarse Aggregate, Copper slag(CS), Fine
Aggregate, Industrial waste, Manufacturing process,
Sustainable material.

1. Introduction

As per the survey of India, population of India in 2011 is

about 121 crores[1]. According to the statistics, in 2021 it
might be 140.58 crores [2] so increase in population per
annum is about 1.5%-1.8% [3]. To fulfil the demand of
increasing population, industrial production rate also increases
and with that production of waste material also increases.
Various types of waste materials are generated from the
manufacturing process, industries, sewage treatment plant,
household and mining etc. These industrial wastes are bio-
degradable and non-bio degradable. Non-bio degradable waste Fig. 1: Production of Copper slag in India
material proves harmful to the environment.Some of the waste
material generated in the India are construction and Source: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/india-2/state-wise-
demolition waste, red mud, silica fumes, copper slag, ceramic production-and-distribution-of-copper-in-india/19751
waste, paper mill sludge, waste water treatment sludge etc.
In the production of copper, copper slag is the by- product.
Concrete is the widely used in construction work and concrete Manufacturing process contain the following procedure i.e.
contains cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water. Crushing and concentration, Roasting, Smelting. First of all,
Coarse aggregates and fine aggregates are natural resources. copper ore are crushed in the powder form then concentrate
Increasing the use of concrete with time will also increase the by forth floatation process. In forth floatation process, crushed
consumption of natural resources and that will reduce the ore is mixed with water and pine oil. Compressed air is blown
availability of resources for upcoming generation. So, it in the mixture and makes form that contain ore particle and
becomes essential to replace these natural resources with that comes on the surface of mixture and forms are collected
waste material. Copper slag contain required chemical into another bowl. Then concentrated ore are sent for the
properties that it can be used instead of fine aggregate and roasting process in which it is heated at a high temperature in
coarse aggregate in concrete. Main reason behind using the the furnace in excess air and moisture and volatile impurities

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890 (online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.8, Issue Special 4, pp : 10-15 18-19 Feb. 2019

are removed. Then roasted ore is sent in to smelting process. aggregate by copper slag shows a higher compressive strength
Roasted ore is mixed with powdered coke and sand and feed and also there are limited difference between concrete with
into blast furnace. It is made up of steel plate inside the blast copper slag and normal concrete mix.[7]
furnace with fire clay brick at outside. Hot air of 800 oC are Wei Wu et al. (2010) studied onMechanical properties of
introduced at the base of furnace and that makes two molten copper slag reinforced concrete under dynamic condition.
separated layers at base. Upper layer contains copper slag that Copper slag reinforced concrete were produced and dynamic
is our point of interest. There are mainly two types of copper mechanical properties are evaluated using 50mm diameter
slag based on the concentration of copper it contains. (1) If split Hopkinson pressure bar system. And result shows that
copper slag contains more than 1% of copper, then it is treated dynamic compressive strength of copper slag reinforced
for copper production process again and (2) If copper slag concrete is increased up to 20% replacement of sand by
contains less than 1% copper, then it is cooled and disposed as copper slag and also dynamic compressive strength of copper
a waste material. Physical properties of copper slag are as slag reinforced concrete at 40% replacement is same as
shown in table 1 and chemical composition are as shown in control mix concrete and beyond that it reduces.[8]
table 2. Najimi M. et al. (2011) carried out an experimental
investigation on durability of copper slag contained concrete
2. Applications of Copper Slag
exposed to sulphate attack. Partial replacement of cement by
2.1 Fill material
copper slag in 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% proportion is made in
As a finer material and due to high density, it mixed with
concrete and various tests conducted. Replacement of cement
soil as a filling material resulting in saving valuable soil
up to 15% by copper slag shows that more than 50% decrease
2.2 As a replacement of fine aggregate and coarse
in sulphate expansion. Also, by this way more economical
aggregate
concrete can produced because it is a replacement of cement
In concrete making, copper slag is replaced with sand and
in concrete.[9]
coarse aggregate and it exceeds the strength than normal
Tamil Selvi et al. (2014) investigated on experimental study
concrete. It results in saving of natural resources as well as
on concrete using copper slag as a replacement material of
cost of construction
fine aggregate. Fine aggregate is replaced by copper slag in
2.3 As an abrasive media
M40 grade of concrete and ultrasonic pulse velocity test and
copper slag is used to remove old coating and rust as an
rebound hammer test are conducted on concrete cubs. At 40%
abrasive media, due to its hardness and high density
replacement, these test shows the excellent quality of concrete
2.4 In manufacturing of abrasive tools
than control mix concrete.[10]
Sometimes copper slag is used in the manufacturing
M.C. Nataraja et al. (2014) studied on concrete mix design
process of abrasive tools
using copper slag as fine aggregate. And concluded that
workability of concrete increased and slight increase in
3. Critical Literature Review
compressive strength. And also concluded that it is better to
go by volume replacement by taking the specific gravity in to
Literature review is the core of the review paper. Following
account rather than by weight replacement.[11]
are some literature review from various national and
Shah Purna et al. (2014) performed a study on use of copper
international journal on use of copper slag in concrete in
slag as sustainable aggregate. In mortar, copper slag is used in
different ways.
place of fine aggregate and different tests are conducted.
Results shows that, there are increase in workability and
Khalifa S. Al-Jabri et al. (2009) carried out an experimental
density with increase in percentage of copper slag and also
investigation on copper slag as sand replacement for high
compressive strength, flexural and tensile strength increase up
performance concrete. Author replaced the sand with copper
to 50% replacement of fine aggregate with copper slag.[12]
slag from 0% to 100% and made concrete cube. And
Madheswaran C.K. et al. (2014) studied on use of copper
concluded that up to 50% replacement yields comparably
slag as a replacement material for river sand in building
more strength with that of control mix and further increase in
construction. Copper slag is used in mortar as a replacement
copper slag reduced the strength of concrete. Author gives
of sand in different proportion from 0% to 100% and mortar is
recommended percentage for replacement of sand with copper
applied on 1m x 1m of masonry wall panel. Results shows
slag is 40%.[6]
that for plastering of horizontal surfaces like flooring, 50%
Wei Wu. et al. (2009) performed a study on optimum content
replacement of sand by copper slag and it becomes 25% for
of copper slag as a fine aggregate in high strength concrete.
the vertical surface like brick/block walls.[13]
Fine aggregate is replaced by copper slag in different
M. Sathya et al. (2014) studied on effect of using copper slag
proportion of 0%, 20%,40%, 60%, 80%,100% and quasi-static
as a backfill in retaining wall. And concluded that copper slag
and dynamic compression test, flexural and tensile test are
has higher angle internal friction than the sand as a backfill
conducted on cubs and scanning electron microscopy also.
Results shows that less than 40% replacement of fine

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 International Journal of Engineering Research
Volume No.8, Issue Special 4, pp : 10-15
and have a less displacement than sand. So, conclusion is that
copper slag is a good backfill material for retaining wall.[14]
Patel M.V. (2015) studied on properties and effect of copper
slag in concrete. In M30 grade concrete, there are replacement
of sand with copper slag in different proportion. And
concluded that as the percentage of copper slag increases
workability and density also increases. Strength of concrete
increases up to some percentage of replacement and then it
decreases. Cost of making concrete also reduce.[15]
Kanti Prashant (2016) studied on experimental study on
concrete containing granite powder, copper slag and foundry
sand. in M40 grade of concrete, cement is replaced by granite
powder, fine aggregate is replaced by waste foundry sand and
copper slag in different percentage from 0%-100% and
analysis of results of compressive strength, flexural strength
and split tensile strength are done on software.10%
replacement of cement with granite powder and 40%
replacement of waste foundry sand and 40% replacement of
copper slag with fine aggregate gives better strength than
normal mix concrete.[16]
S. Geetha et al. (2017) investigated on high performance
concrete with copper slag for marine environment. Properties
of cement containing copper slag, fly ash and silica fumes
found more better than normal mic concrete. Copper slag has
a wide application in marine construction work as it improves
the compressive strength, flexural strength and reduction in
sorptivity.[17]
Sharma Rahul et al. (2017) performed a study on durability
assessment of self-compacting concrete incorporating copper
slag as fine aggregates. Copper slag is used as a fine aggregate
in concrete with different proportion ranges in 0%, 20%, 40%,
60%, 80%, 100% with constant w/b ratio. Various tests are
performed on cubes including fresh properties, compressive
strength, electrical resistivity, sulphate attack, ultrasonic pulse
velocity, accelerated carbonation, initial surface absorption
and sorptivity. Optimum content for the replacement of sand
with copper slag is 40% that will either enhanced or
comparable durability behaviour of self-compacting
concrete.[18]
Honnakkalavar Abhisheka H. et al. (2018) carried out an
experimental study on concrete using copper slag as
replacement material of fine aggregate. Replacement of fine
aggregate is made by copper slag in M20 grade of concrete.
And concluded that with increase in percentage of copper slag
density of concrete also increase. 40% replacement of sand
with copper slag gives more compressive strength, split tensile
strength and flexural strength then convectional concrete.[19]
Prabhat Ranjan Prem et al. (2018) studied on sustainable
cleaner production of concrete with high volume copper slag
and made assessment on the effect of substituting 100%
natural sand with copper slag in terms of load capacity,
ductility and failure behaviour. Conclusion is that high
volume copper slag with 100% replacement of sand in
concrete structure is technically viable.[20]
EPIC@2019
ISSN:2319-6890 (online),2347-5013(print)
18-19 Feb. 2019
A. Rajasekar et al. (2018) investigated on assessment of
strength and durability characteristics of copper slag
incorporated ultrahigh strength concrete. Ultra-high strength
concrete (UHSC) is made using two types of copper slag, one
is untreated copper slag that is normal copper slag and second
one is treated copper slag that is grinding is finer size than the
standard available size. To produce UHSC, replacement of
quartz sand by copper slag is 60%.[21]
Qianmin Ma. et al. (2018) carried out an experiment on
performance of copper slag contained mortars after exposure
to elevated temperatures. Copper slag-based mortar in
Portland cement with different proportion of 0%, 5%, 10%,
15% and also NaOH activated copper slag mortar with
different concentration of NAOH of 6 Molarity(M), 8M, 10M
and 12M. Compressive strength and flexural strength test are
performed at room temperature and after exposure to 200 oC,
400oC, 600oC, 800oC, 1000oC and 1200oC respectively.
Results shows that strength of mortar increased with in 200oC
while strength of NAOH activated copper slag mortar
increased drastically within 200oC and after 800oC also. [22]
The following table 3 shows the literature review papers and
its comparison.
4. CONCLUSION:
From the above literature reviews following conclusion can be
made
1) Replacement of copper slag improves the workability
of concrete and also increase the density of concrete with
increase in their percentage because of its finer particle size.
2) Replacement of fine aggregate with copper slag up to
40%-50% improves compressive strength of normal concrete
due to require amount the calcium oxide content in copper
slag.
3) Copper slag can be used as a filling material in
construction work due to its higher density.
4) Also, copper slag can be used in construction of road
as a replacement material of aggregate with combination of
reclaimed asphalt pavement with copper slag.
5) In future, copper slag is the best use in concrete as a
replacement of natural resources but judicious decision taken
by engineer.
References:
i. http://census2011.co.in/p/glance.php[accessed 10
January, 2019].
ii. https://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-
population-of-india/[accessed 10 January, 2019].
iii. http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/india-
population/[accessed 10 January, 2019].
iv. MoatafaKhanzadi, Ali Benhood 2009. Mechanical
properties of high-strength concrete incorporating copper slag as
coarse aggregate. Construction and Building Material, ELSEVIER,
volume 23, 2183-2188.
Page 12
 International Journal of Engineering Research
Volume No.8, Issue Special 4, pp : 10-15
v. Song, Tae-Hyeob& Lee, Mun-Hwan & Lee, Sea-Hyun.
(2003). A Fundamental Study of Ferro Copper Slag for Concrete
Aggregate. Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute. 15. 35-42.
10.4334/JKCI.2003.15.1.035.
vi. Khalifa S. Al-Jabri, Makoto Hisada, Salem K. Al-Oraimi,
Abdullah H. Al-Saidy, 2009. Copper Slag as Sand Replacement for
High Performance Concrete. Cement and Concrete Composite,
ELSEVIER, 483-488.
vii. Wei Wu, Weide Zhang, Guowei Ma, 2009. Optimum
content of copper slag as a fine aggregate in high strength concrete.
Material and design, ELSEVIER, volume 31, 2878-2883.
viii. Wei Wu, Weide Zhang, Guowei Ma, 2010. Mechanical
properties of copper slag reinforced concrete under dynamic
compression. Construction and Building Material, ELSEVIER,
volume 24, 910-917.
ix. Najimi M., J. Sobhani, A.R. Pourkhorshidi 2011.
Durability of copper slag contained concrete exposed to sulfate
attack. Construction and Building Material, ELSEVIER, volume 25,
1895-1905.
x. Selvi P. Tamil, Lakshmi Narayani P., Ramya G., 2014.
Experimental study on concrete using copper slag as a replacement
material of fine aggregate. Journal of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, 4(5), ISSN: 2165-784.
xi. M.C. Nataraja, Chandan G N, Rajeeth T J 2014. Concrete
Mix Design Using Copper Slag as Fine Aggregate. International
Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), 5(9), e-ISSN:
0976-6308, p-ISSN: 0976-9616.
xii. Shah Purnachandra, Alinda Dey, Deepjyoti Dev 2014.
Use of Copper Slag as Sustainable Aggregate. ICSCI 2014@ ASCE
India Section, Hitex, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
xiii. Madheswaran C.K., P.S. Ambily, J.K. Dattatreya, N.P.
Rajamane 2014. Use of copper slag as a replacement material for
river sand in building construction. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A
(Springer), July-September, 169-177.
xiv. M. Sathya, B. Shanmugavalli 2014. Effect of using copper
slag as a backfill in retaining wall”, International Journal of
Research in Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 3(9), e ISSN:
2319-1163, p ISSN: 2321-7308, 364-369.
EPIC@2019
ISSN:2319-6890 (online),2347-5013(print)
18-19 Feb. 2019
xv. Patel M. V., 2015. A Study on Properties and Effects of
Copper Slag in Concrete. 18th IRF International Conference, Pune,
India, ISBN: 978-93-84209-82-7.
xvi. Kanti Prashant 2016. Experimental study on concrete
containing granite powder, copper slag and foundry sand”, Book of
Abstract.
xvii. S. Geetha, SelvakumarMadhavan 2017. High Performance
Concrete with Copper Slag for Marine Environment. 5 th International
Conference on Material Processing and characterization
(ELSEVIER), 3525-3533.
xviii. Sharma Rahul, Rizwan A. Khan, 2014. Durability
assessment of self-compacting concrete incorporating copper slag as
fine aggregates. Construction and Building Material, ELSEVIER,
volume 155, 617-629.
xix. Honnakkalavar Abhisheka H, Mohammed Asif, Shivleela
F Kallaganad, Vinay R, Ganesh S R, B Shivakumar 2018.
Experimental study on concrete using copper slag as replacement
material of fine aggregate. International Research Journal of
Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 5(5), e-ISSN: 2395-0056, p-
ISSN: 2395-0072.
xx. Prabhat Ranjan Prem, Mohit Verma, P.S. Ambily 2018.
Sustainable cleaner production of concrete with high volume copper
slag. Journal of Cleaner Production.
xxi. Rajasekar A., Arunachalam K., Kottaisamy M., 2003.
Assessment of strength and durability characteristics of copper slag
incorporated ultrahigh strength concrete. Journal of Cleaner
Production.
xxii. Qianmin Ma, Haiyun Du, Xintao Zhou, Kecheng He,
Zhiwei Lin, Feng Yan, Liping Huang, Rongxin Guo 2018.
Performance of copper slag contained mortars after exposure to
elevated temperatures. Construction and Building Material,
ELSEVIER, volume 172, 378-386.
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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890 (online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.8, Issue Special 4, pp : 10-15 18-19 Feb. 2019

Table 1: Physical Properties of Copper Slag

Parameters Values
Appearance Black, glassy, more vesicular when granulated
Particle shape Irregular
Density (g/cm3) 3.16–3.87
Water absorption (%) 0.15–0.55
Hardness (mohs) 6–7
Water soluble chloride (ppm) <50
Soundness (%) 0.8–0.9
Aggregate crushing value (%) 10–21
Aggregate impact value (%) 8.2–16
Abrasion loss (%) 24.1
Conductivity (s/cm) 500
Sources: Khanzadi and Behnood, 2007[4]; Shoya et al., 2003[5]

Table 2: Chemical Composition of Copper Slag from Different Sources

Sr. Chemical Sterlite industries, Mythri Taj abrasive Oman Mining Yunnan copper
No. compound Tuticorin, Metallizing India industry, sikar, Company, (group) Co.,
Tamilnadu, India. Company, Rajasthan, India. Muscat, Oman. Ltd., China.
Bangalore,
Karnataka, India.
1 Fe2O3 (%) 59.11 - 68.29 47.45 57.82 53.45 56.16
2 SiO2 (%) 25.84 – 31.92 37.26 30.53 33.05 17.88
3 Al2O3 (%) 0.22 – 2.52 3.95 2.80 2.79 6.64
4 CaO (%) 0.15 – 1.25 2.38 1.60 6.05 5.86
5 MgO (%) 1.65 - 1.48 1.56 4.66
6 Na2O (%) 0.58 – 1.40 0.65 0.34 0.28 0.70
7 K2O (%) 0.23 – 0.81 2.62 0.71 0.61 0.9
8 Mn2O3 (%) 0.22 0.086 - 0.06 -
9 TiO2 (%) 0.41 0.33 0.26 - -

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890 (online),2347-5013(print)
Volume No.8, Issue Special 4, pp : 10-15 18-19 Feb. 2019

Table 3:Literature Review Papers and its Comparison

Sr. Author Name Design mix / Replacement Optimum Compressive Flexural
No. (year) Grade of Concrete percentage of replacement of Strength strength
Cement/FA/CA Cement/FA
/CA
1 Khalifa S. Al- 1:1.77:2.975 (W/C 10%, 20%, 40%, 40% 1.28% increase 38.64 %
Jabri et al. ratio –0.35) 50%, 60%, 80%, increase
(2009) 100% replacement
of FA
2 Wei Wu. et al. 1:1.44:1.44 0%, 20%,40%, 40% 1.06% increase 24.42 %
(2009) (W/C ratio – 0.3) 60%, 80%,100% increase
replacement of FA
3 Selvi p. Tamil et M40 0%, 20%, 40%, 40% 7.37% increase 74.49 %
al. 60%, 80% and increase
(2014) 100% replacement
of FA
4 Najimi M. et al. 1:2.42:242 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% Comparable value
(2011) (W/C ratio – 0.5) 15% replacement to control mix after
of cement 120 days
immersion
5 Madheswaran 1:3 and 1:5 0%, 25%, 50%, 50% 22.73 % increase
C.K. et al. 75% replacement (1:3)
(2014) of FA in cement And 27.78%
mortar increase (1:5)
6 Patel M. V. M30 10%, 20%, 30%, 20% 34% increase 14.8%
(2015) 40%, 50%, 60%, increase
80%, 100%
replacement of FA
7 Sharma Rahul et 1:3.1:2.12:0.67 0%, 20%,40%, 20% 12.59% increase
al. (Cement:FA:CA:F 60%, 80%,100%
(2017) ly ash) replacement of FA

8 Honnakkalavar M25 0%, 20%,40%, 40% 21.62% increase 100.1%

Abhisheka H. et 60%, 80%, increase
al replacement of FA
(2018)

EPIC@2019 Page 15

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