Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Review

Quality improvement of recycled concrete aggregate by removal

of residual mortar: A comprehensive review of approaches adopted
Vivian W.Y. Tam a,b,⇑, Mahfooz Soomro c, Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista d
a
Western Sydney University, School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
b
College of Civil Engineering, Shenzhen University, China
c
Western Sydney University, School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
d
Engineering Institute of Technology, 1031 Wellington Street, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia

h i g h l i g h t s

The present study focuses on the removal of adhered mortar from aggregate grains and utilisation of the separated mortar.

This paper comprehensively reviewed huge variety of treatment techniques available in the literature.

The combination of both, separation of mortar from aggregate grains and its complete utilisation make these treatments economically viable.

These treatments which are based on the published literature, have been individually analysed based on their applicability and efficacy.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With the goal of achieving sustainable development, numerous research studies have been conducted
Received 18 September 2020 aimed at reducing construction and demolition waste for improving sustainability and environment
Received in revised form 10 March 2021 and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Recycled concrete aggregate due to its residual adhered mortar
Accepted 12 March 2021
has low specific gravity and high water absorption. Both of these impediments contribute in the increase
Available online 3 April 2021
of permeability and shrinkage, decrease in compressive strength and hence concrete quality produced
from recycled concrete aggregate. Consequently, it is essential to improve the recycled concrete aggre-
Keywords:
gate quality such that their properties become comparable with those of virgin aggregate. In order to
Green product
Recycling
improve the recycled concrete aggregate quality, researchers have adopted two main pathways: (1)
Waste recycling removal of adhered mortar from aggregate grains and utilisation of the separated mortar, and (2) forti-
Recycled concrete aggregate fication of residual mortar to make it stronger, less permeable and hydrophobic. The present study
Residual mortar focuses on the first pathway and aims to comprehensively review huge variety of treatment techniques
Removal approaches available in the literature, which can be applied to enhance the recycled concrete aggregate quality, by
Quality improvement removing maximum amount of the attached mortar, thereby increasing its density, reducing its water
Powdered cement mortar absorption, and subsequently producing high quality aggregate. In addition, the processes which can
effectively utilise the removed mortar have been reviewed. The combination of both, separation of mortar
from aggregate grains and its complete utilisation make these treatments economically viable. These
treatments which are based on the published literature, have been individually analysed based on their
applicability and efficacy.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Determination of the residual mortar content of recycled concrete aggregate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Treatment methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. Physical treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1.1. Mechanical treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: vivianwytam@gmail.com (V.W.Y. Tam).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123066
0950-0618/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

3.1.2. Thermal treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.1.3. Electro-dynamic treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.4. Water treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. Chemical treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.1. Acid soaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2. Chemico-mechanical (hybrid) treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5. Utilisation of residual mortar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.1. As partial cement substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.2. As cementitious material after thermal/or chemical activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.3. As raw material for geopolymerisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.4. As soil nutrient fertiliser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.5. As admixture for improving concrete durability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6. Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.1. Mechanical treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.2. Thermal treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.3. Electrodynamic treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.4. Chemical treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.5. Utilisation of removed mortar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Declaration of Competing Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

1. Introduction
Construction industry is a major consumer of natural resources.
Global virgin aggregate production increased by 58% from 21 bil-
lion tons in 2007 to 50 billion tons in 2017 and is expected to rise
to 60 billion tons in 2030 [1,2]. Countries with the highest con-
sumption of virgin aggregate are China (40%), India (10%), other
Asian countries Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand (16%), Turkey
(0.96%), Africa (8%), Europe and European Free Trade Association
(EFTA) (6%), United States (4.8%), Central and South America (4%),
Middle East (5.6%), Russia (2%) and CIS (3%) [1,3] as illustrated in
Fig. 1. Hence, vast depletion of natural resources and growing
awareness of sustainable waste management in the developed
and emerging economies are giving ever-increasing heed to the
use of recycle aggregate in structural and non-structural concrete
projects.
Huge number of studies have been primarily focusing on the
reuse of concrete waste as aggregate. It is a viable alternative for

Fig. 1. Global production of virgin aggregate [1,3].

2
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
concrete production, which can reduce depletion of natural
resources, avoids waste disposal in landfills and preserves environ-
ment [4–7]. The concept of complete recycling of construction and
demolition waste by producing high quality recycled aggregate
with the removal of attached mortar fraction and its reuse in struc-
tural concrete. Using the concept illustrated in Fig. 2, high quality
recycled concrete aggregate can be used in ready-mix concrete or
precast concrete, while separated mortar in fine and powdered
form can be used either as cement substitution material, as moder-
ate strength cement after activation, as precursor raw material for
geopolymerisation, as soil stabiliser and soil nutrient (plant fer-
tiliser) or for the production of CaCO3 polymorph (Vaterite).
Recycled concrete aggregate derived from construction and
demolition waste is composed of aggregate partially covered with
residual porous cement mortar, inhomogeneous, less dense and
with weak interfacial transition zone between mortar and aggre-
gate. The volume of residual mortar around the recycled concrete
aggregate varies from 25% to 60% depending on aggregate sizes
[9]. Some studies have reported 20% cement mortar attached
around the aggregate with grain size of 20 mm to 30 mm
[10,11]. Crushing methods have influence on its shapes and tex-
tures, together with tiny cracks that develop during the crushing
process. The weaker interfacial transition zones of about 40–
50 mm thickness between mortar and virgin aggregate play impor-
tant roles in reducing bond strength between recycled concrete
aggregate and fresh concrete [12]. Interfacial transition zone is
composed with, much of calcium hydroxide (CH), limited
calcium-silicate hydrate (C-S-H) (with similar composition as in
the bulk phase), partially with Ettringite (Aft) and mono-
sulfoaluminate (Afm) phases (similar as in bulk phase) and has a
relatively high capillary porosity [13,14]. Since the adhered mortar
is porous, water absorption of recycled concrete aggregate is con-
siderably higher and can widely range from 3% to 10% as compared
to 1–5% for virgin aggregate [15,16]. It is widely accepted that in
recycled concrete aggregate, presence of porous mortar, weak
interfacial transition zone, angular shape and rough texture rela-
tive to virgin aggregate adversely affects its quality and is not
favoured for use in structural concrete [17,18]. Compared to virgin
aggregate, recycled concrete aggregate has tendency of higher
water absorption which results in lower workability in fresh con-
Fig. 2. Schematic flow of concrete recycling system [8].
3
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
crete and its higher shrinkage, higher creep, lower strength and
lower durability, these impediments limits its wider applications
in the structural concrete [19].
Because of the aforementioned impediments, it is necessary to
improve recycled concrete aggregate quality such that their prop-
erties comparing with virgin aggregate and comply with test
requirements for bulk density, water absorption, compressive
strength. It has been observed that recycled concrete aggregate
with mortar content below 44% could be used in the production
of structural concrete [20].
There is lot of interest by sustainable environmentalists and
government organisations to improve the quality of recycled con-
crete aggregate and utilize it as replacement of virgin concrete,
therefore numerous studies have been conducted to promote the
potential use of treated and improved quality recycled concrete
aggregate in ready-mix and precast concrete. Researchers have
adopted 2 main pathways to produce recycled concrete aggregate
of high quality: (1) removal of adhered old cement mortar from the
aggregate grains; and (2) fortification of attached cement mortar to
make it stronger, less porous, and hydrophobic. Based on these two
main paths, various research studies have explored separate or in
combination (hybrid) treatment approaches to fully eliminate or
partially compensate for the adverse effects of recycled concrete
aggregate for the use in recycled concrete.
The objectives of this review study are to summarize the pub-
lished literature on the treatment methods and highlight the
promising techniques which have been researched and examine
the avenues for their implementation in the construction industry.
By the application of these treatments, high-quality aggregate hav-
ing increased dry density, low water absorption and the ability of
improved bonding in new concrete can be produced so as to con-
form to the standards regulated by various countries. The high-
quality aggregate obtained can be confidently utilised in the load
bearing infrastructure applications. The removed mortar also has
its uses, it can be used as cement substitution material, or can be
used as raw material for geopolymerisation, or can be heat treated
to enhance its activity for use as moderate strength cementitious
material by itself. It also has some novel uses; it can be trans-
formed into soil nutrient fertiliser for garden plants or converted
to Vaterite (a polymorph of CaCO3) to be used as admixture for
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram showing quality improvement techniques of recycled concrete aggregate by the removal of residual mortar and its reuse.
densifying concrete matrix and enhancing the concrete durability.
Vaterite has various other chemical industry uses as well.
2. Determination of the residual mortar content of recycled
concrete aggregate
It has been demonstrated by many studies that the amount of
residual mortar adhered to recycled concrete aggregate is one of
the main impediments which adversely effect on the characteris-
tics and performance of recycled concrete aggregate. Hence, it is
crucial that the attached mortar content be accurately determined;
before using recycled concrete aggregate in the new concrete.
One method to measure amount of residual mortar on the sur-
face of recycled concrete aggregate was proposed by [21]. This
method is comprised of a combination of mechanical and chemical
4
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
stresses that disintegrate the attached mortar and destroy bonding
between mortar and virgin aggregate. Mechanical stresses are cre-
ated by subjecting recycled concrete aggregate to freeze-and-thaw
action, while chemical degradation is achieved by exposing recy-
cled concrete aggregate to sodium sulphate solution. Firstly, the
oven-dried aggregate is weighed (mass = M1) and immersed in
sodium sulfate solution and then subjected to seven freeze-and-
thaw cycles. The treated recycled aggregate are washed on 5 mm
sieve, oven-dried and weighed again (mass = M2). The adhered
mortar content is calculated using Eq. (1).
Adhered mortar contentð%Þ ¼ ðM1  M2Þ  100=M1 ð1Þ
Other methods supported by [20,22,23] are based on thermal
treatment. Oven-dried recycled concrete aggregate (mass = M1)
are immersed in water for 2 h for saturation, then heated to
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

Table 1
Standards adopted in different countries for the use of recycled concrete aggregate.

Country/Standard Classification Dry density Water Max. replacement ratio of VA. Max. Strength Applications
(kg/m3) absorption (%)
Fine Coarse
Australia RCA  2100 6 0% 30% 40 MPa Structural concrete
AS 1141.6.2 Class 1A
CSIRO HB-155 RCA  1800 0% 0% 100% 25 MPa Non-structural concrete
[24,25] Class 1B
Belgium GBSB-2  2100 9 0% 100% C 30/37 Inside building, dry
PTV 406:2003 Mainly concrete Similar as RILEM environment
NBN EN 933-11 BGSB-1  1600  18 0% C 16/20 Inside building, dry
NBN EN1097-6 Mainly masonry Similar as RILEM environment
NBN EN 12620
[26–29]
Brazil RCA-Coarse n.a 7 Use of both, coarse and fine ——
NBR 15116 Class-A aggregate allowed
De Brito et al. RCA-Fine Class-A n.a  12 ——
[30,31] MA-Coarse n.a  12 Use allowed in non– structural —— Non-structural concrete
Class-A, concrete.
MA-Fine n.a  17 —— Non-structural concrete
Class-A,
China RCA —  10  5%  95% —
GB/T 25176 GB/ masonry
T 25177 RMA — —  10%  90% —
JGJ/T 240 masonry
[32–34]
Denmark RCA-without  2100 n.a 20% 100% Particle size 4–32 mm
DS EN 933-11 testing
DS EN 206 RCA-with testing  2100 n.a 20% 100% Particle size 0–32 mm
DS EN 1097-6 Mix  1800 n.a 20% 100%
DS EN 12620
[35–38]
Finland RCA-1  1800  10 n.a n.a
SFS EN 933-11 RCA-2  1750  12 n.a n.a Non-structural concrete
SFS EN 1097-6 RCA-3 —  12 n.a n.a Non-structural concrete
SFS EN 12620
[39–42]
Germany Type 1  2000  10 0% 20–35% C30/37 (20% Structural concrete pre-stressed
DIN 4226-101 replacement) concrete not allowed
DafStb-2010 Type 2  2000  15 0% 20–35% C25/30 (35% Structural concrete pre-stressed
DIN EN12620 replacement concrete not allowed
[43–45] Type 3  1800  20 0% — — Non-structural concrete
Type 4  1500 — 0% — — Non-structural concrete
Hong Kong RCA  2000  10 0% 20% C25/30 Structural concrete
CS 3:2013 RCA  2000  10 0% 100% C20 Non-structural concrete
HKBD 2009
[46,47]
Italy RCA n.a n.a 0% 30% C37 Structural concrete
NTC 2008 0% 60% C25 Structural concrete
UNI 8520-1 0% 100% C10 Non-structural concrete.
UNI EN 1097-6
UNI EN 933-11
UNI/EN-12620
[48–52]
Japan Coarse (Class-H)  2500 3 —— —— —— Structural concrete with
JIS-A5021, 5022, Fine (Class-H)  2500  3.5 —— —— —— nominal strength of 45 MPa or
5023 less.
[53–55] Coarse(Class-M)  2300 5 —— —— —— Concrete members not
Fine (Class-M)  2200 7 —— —— —— subjected to drying or freeze
and thaw.
Coarse (Class-L) No Limit 7 —— —— —— Non-structural concrete,
Fine (Class-L) No Limit  13 —— —— —— Backfill & concrete filled in steel
tubes.
Korea RCA (Coarse)  2500 3
KS F 2573 RCA (Fine)  2200 5
De Brito et al.
[56,31]
Netherlands RCA  2100 n.a  20  20 RCC= (Cl < 0.1%, SO4 < 1.0%
NEN 5905 for < 4 mm), (Cl < 0.05%, no
NEN-EN933-11 requirement of SO4 for > 4 mm)
NEN EN 1097-6 RMA (mixed  2000 n.a RCC= (Cl < 0.1% for < 4 mm),
NEN-EN 12620 aggregate) and < 0.05%, for > 4 mm)
[57–60] PC= (Cl < 1.0% for 4 mm & >
4 mm)
Pre-Str. = Cl < 0.015%
for < 4 mm & 0.007%
for > 4 mm) SO4 (<1.0%
for  4 mm).

(continued on next page)

5
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

Table 1 (continued)

Country/Standard Classification Dry density Water Max. replacement ratio of VA. Max. Strength Applications
(kg/m3) absorption (%)
Fine Coarse
Norway Type 1  2000  10 94%
NS EN 206 Crushed
NS EN 933-11 concrete
NS EN 1097-6 Type 2  1500  20 90%
NS EN 12620 Mix materials
[61–64]
Portugal ARB (type 1)  2200 7 25% C 40/50 Structural concrete
LNEC-E471 ARB (type 2)  2200 7 20% C 35/45 Structural concrete
De Brito et al. ARC  2000 7 — — Non-structural concrete
[65,31]
RILEM Type1 (>4mm)  1500  20 0%  100% C 16/20 Non-structural concrete
TC-121 DRG Type 2 (>4mm)  2000  10 0%  100% C 50/50 Structural concrete
TC-37 DRC Type 2 (>4mm)  2400 3  20% No limit Structural concrete
Butler et al.
De Brito et al.
[66–68,31]
Spain RCA  2000 3 — —
EHE 08- 2000
UNE EN 933-11
UNE EN1097-6
UNE EN 12620
[69–72]
Switzerland RCA — — — ~100% C 30/37 Not allowed in reinforced
SIA 2030 Must comply with C 25/30 concrete.
OT 70085:2006 SIA 162/4 Allowed in pre-stressed
SN EN concrete only with additional
12620 + A1 tests.
[73,31,74] RMA — — ~100% — — Non-structural concrete and
mortar
UK RCA — — 0%  20% C40/50 to C20/25 Structural concrete
BS EN 206 RMA — — 0%  100% C 16/20 Non-structural concrete
SB EN 933-11
Draft prEN
1097-6
BS EN 12620
[75–78]
USA. Coarse  100% Not specified
ACI- Fine  20% Not specified
E-701–2007
[79]

RCA = recycled concrete aggregate, RMA = recycled mixed aggregate (concrete + masonry), RCC = reinforced cement concrete, PCC = Plain cement concrete, Pre-str. = Pre-
stressed concrete.

500 ℃ for 2 h and immediately quenched by immersing the spec-
imen in water (at 20 ℃) to cause sudden expansion by thermal
shock causing de-bonding, detachment and cracks in the attached
mortar. The mortar still remaining on aggregate surface could be
removed by rubbing techniques or by rubber hammer. After mor-
tar removal, the cleaned recycled aggregate is dried at 100 ℃ to
reach a constant mass (M2). The adhered mortar content is calcu-
lated using Eq. (1). The results obtained by applying this procedure,
show that the removal rate of the attached mortar is higher from
smaller size aggregate compared to bigger size aggregate [20].
3. Treatment methods
The present study conducts a comprehensive review of almost
all treatment methods reported in the literature for improving
the quality of recycled concrete aggregate, based on physical and
chemical treatments, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The removed mortar
also has its uses, making the treatment processes ‘‘complete recy-
cle with no waste”. These removal techniques will be discussed in
this paper, taking into account the economic and environmental
aspects of the treatment methods., to give a clear insight to the
researchers as well as the recycling companies and producers of
recycled aggregate about the cost effective techniques which can
be applied to produce high quality recycled concrete aggregate
6
conforming to the specifications regulated by different countries
and compiled in Table 1, for use in structural and non-structural
concrete applications.
3.1. Physical treatments
3.1.1. Mechanical treatment
Various studies have observed that recycled concrete produced
from recycled concrete aggregate show 25% lower strength than
conventional concrete [80–84], due to the presence of porous
and relatively soft residual mortar of about 25% to 64% (based on
the analysis using HCl treatment) and about 30% to 55% (based
on analysis by thermal treatment) [20,85–88] attached to recycled
concrete aggregate grains and due also to its weaker interfacial
transition zone [9] of approximately 40 to 50 mm thickness [12].
Other studies showed that the performance of recycled aggregate
concrete can be brought at par to virgin aggregate concrete by
using high quality recycled aggregate concrete [89–91,18,8].
The adhered mortar on recycled concrete aggregate can be loos-
ened and separated to its maximum by using mechanical treat-
ments such as: impact and abrasion. It is simple, easy and
popular treatment, however, during mechanical grinding, the
breakage of recycled concrete aggregate to finer fraction is high
and it can induce micro-cracks damaging the aggregate. The
mechanical techniques for conventional processing are mentioned
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

below and their performance is discussed: (1) Autogenous clean-
ing; (2) Ball/Tube milling; (3) Impact crushing; (4) Eccentric shaft
rotor; and (5) Screw abrading.
3.1.1.1. Autogenous cleaning. In this process, recycled concrete
aggregate are placed in a rotating mill drum of 30 cm diameter
and 50 cm depth filled up to 33% with ‘‘raw” recycled concrete
aggregate and rotated at 60 RPM for different time durations. After
10 or 15-min rotations, the recycled concrete aggregate are rinsed
with water and dried to remove the attached dust and impurities.
The conceptual working of rotating drum is presented in Fig. 4a.
There was progressive decrease in water absorption capacity of
recycled concrete aggregate with increase in the duration of clean-
ing process. After autogenous cleaning of 15-min duration; the
amount of water absorption reduced by approximately 53.4% for
the aggregate size (4.75–9.5 mm) and 17.2% for the aggregate size
(9.5–19.0 mm). While its bulk density improved by 13.9% and 2.6%
respectively, after 15 min’ treatment. The 28-day compressive
strength of concrete prepared from treated recycled concrete

Fig. 4. Schematic diagrams of: (a) Autogenous cleaning by rotating drum [22]; (b) mortar removal by ball mill [92,6]; (c) mortar removal by impact crusher [98,6]; (d) mortar
removal by eccentric shaft rotor [92,5,6]; and (e) mortar removal by screw abrading crusher [100,6].

7
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
Fig. 4 (continued)
aggregate increased by 8% with treated recycled concrete aggre-
gate, while at 60 days the improvement in strength was 14.7% [22].
3.1.1.2. Ball/tube milling. To produce high quality recycled concrete
aggregate by effectively removing the adhered mortar of
(5 ~ 40 mm) size grains, the use of ball mill or tube mill is cheaper
relative to other improvement methods. The working principle of
ball mill is presented in Fig. 4b [92,6]. This device is provided with
several partitions which contain steel balls. The adhered mortar is
removed by scrubbing the aggregate grains against steel balls
placed between partitions in the drum, thus improving its quality.
Mechanical grinding can also improve the shape of aggregate par-
ticles due to collisions, attrition, and peeling effect. After treat-
ment, high quality recycled concrete aggregate usually meets the
required specifications and therefore, good enough to replace vir-
gin aggregate in producing structural concrete [93–97]. However,
care should be taken when using ball mill method, because the
aggregate grains can easily get damaged due to collision and attri-
tion actions and induction of micro-cracks.
3.1.1.3. Impact crushing. [98] developed a fully closed metallic
structure containing impact roller crusher and adjustable velocity
fan with forced air, to separate fines and dust when the mortar is
being removed as depicted in Fig. 4c. The attached mortar is
stripped by the adjustable speed impact roller and adjustable wind
pressure generated by 120 m3/min capacity fan installed inside a
knife type supply device with three variable directions for removal
of impurities and an air suction device to trap and capture the fine
8
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
particles and dust. Due to the removal of mortar, the dry density of
treated aggregate increased by 3%, 3.5% and 4.3% in the first, sec-
ond and third pass. The water absorption rates reduced gradually
from 5.42% to 4.62% in the first pass and maintained similar trend
reducing gradually from 5.35% to 4.68% and from 5.38% to 4.75%, in
the second and third pass, respectively.
3.1.1.4. Eccentric shaft rotor. In this equipment illustrated in Fig. 4d,
circular mechanical forces are used to remove the attached mortar
by attrition, friction, compression and grinding to produce high
quality recycled concrete aggregate [92,5,6]. The demolished con-
crete lumps are fed from the top which pass through between an
outer cylinder and an inner cylinder. The speed of the inner cylin-
der which rotates at high speed can be controlled with speed con-
troller. Due to the tumbled action and grinding by compression
between aggregate with aggregate and aggregate with cylinders,
the adhered mortar is easily removed, this action also improves
aggregate shape [99,94]. The quality of recycled concrete aggregate
can further be improved by a second pass.
3.1.1.5. Screw abrading mill. Screw abrading mill contains a mech-
anism where coarse concrete aggregate are charged in a cylinder
containing two cones (middle cone and discharge cone) which
scrub and abrade the aggregate to improve its quality. The process
can be repeated several times until the required quality of recycled
concrete aggregate is acquired. The schematic diagram is illus-
trated in Fig. 4e [100,6]. The comparative performance of both,
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

Table 2
Comparison of mechanical treatments for quality improvement of recycled concrete aggregate [6].

Treatment method Processing Input material Production Density (gm/cm3) Water Adhered Recovery as coarse
stages size (mm) capacity (t/hr) absorption (%) mortar (%) aggregate (%)
Eccentric shaft rotor crusher 0 – – 2.22 5.61 – –
Eccentric shaft rotor crusher 1 2.55–40 30–60 2.58 2.1 – 39
2 2.65 1.6 32
3 2.67 1.0 27
Screw abrading crusher 1  40 5–10 2.47 3.19 11.0 53.5
2 2.51 2.53 7.8 46.8
3 2.53 1.85 6.4 45.1
4 2.55 1.55 4.0 43.7

eccentric shaft rotor and screw abrading mill is presented in Table 2

for the improved properties of recycled concrete aggregate.

3.1.2. Thermal treatments

3.1.2.1. Thermal treatment (high temperature). This treatment is
based on heating the recycled concrete aggregate at temperatures
of 300 ℃ and above for time duration of about 2 h. The thermal
stresses generate differential expansion of mortar and aggregate
which weakens the bonding while the dehydration of mortar
allows it to detach easily. Soaking of recycled concrete aggregate
in water before exposing it to heat can increase the efficiency of
the mortar removal due to higher vapour pressure inside the pores
and interfacial transition zone [20,101]. The concept behind this
treatment is similar to the effect of fire or high temperatures on
the surface of concrete. [8] observed that when the recycled con-
crete aggregate below 50 mm size are heated to 300 ℃, the
attached mortar dehydrates and becomes brittle, while the bond- Fig. 5. Effect of heating temperature on the quality improvement of recycled
ing between mortar and aggregate breaks due to induced thermal concrete aggregate [8].
stresses. [102] heated recycled concrete aggregate to 700 ℃ with a
two pronged idea (a) to easily remove the dehydrated mortar and
(b) to use the mortar (which got activated at 700 ℃) as cement sub-
stitution or as soil stabiliser. The authors managed to recover 45%
coarse aggregate, 35% fine aggregate and 13% adhered mortar from
recycled concrete aggregate. [103] studied the effects of heating on
the removal rate of adhered mortar by heating the aggregate to
750 ℃ and its utilisation as cement substitution material. However,
it is believed that the properties of treated aggregate may degrade
at temperatures >500℃ due to the thermal expansion which create
internal stresses followed by thermal micro-cracking and phase
transformation of minerals in the aggregate. [104] observed that
when recycled concrete aggregate are exposed to temperatures
of 600 ℃ to 800 ℃, the aggregate suffers from degradation, break-
down and mass loss.
It is well known that soaking the recycled concrete aggregate
before heating can increase the removal rate of mortar due to
higher internal pore vapour pressure, also by immersing the heated
recycled concrete aggregate in cold water immediately after heat-
ing can also result in the higher removal rates of attached mortar Fig. 6. Removal of adhered mortar based on heating temperature and grinding time
due to the differential expansion and induction of tension in the [107].
mortar.

(takes 5–7 days) and requires high number of freeze–thaw cycles

3.1.2.2. Thermal treatment (low temperature). This treatment is
based on the effect of freeze–thaw cycles applied to the water
soaked or chemical (26% sodium sulfate solution) soaked saturated
recycled concrete aggregate, which damages the bonding in inter-
facial transition zone between mortar and aggregate due to
increase in volume of ice/chemical when it freezes, creating inter-
nal pressures [105,106]. [21] applied the treatment suggested by
the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario, to successfully remove
large amount of adhered mortar from recycled concrete aggregate.
Though this method is efficient, but it is also time consuming
9
to complete.
3.1.2.3. Thermo-mechanical treatment. In this treatment, recycled
concrete aggregate are first heated at high temperatures (300 ℃
to 750 ℃) for about 2–3 h and then mechanically rubbed to remove
maximum amount of adhered mortar. Thermal stresses generated
by differential expansion, fracture of bonds between aggregate and
mortar and mortar dehydration makes it easy to remove the resid-
ual mortar by rubbing treatment. [8] proposed thermo-mechanical
treatment for producing high quality recycled concrete aggregate
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
Fig. 7. Water absorption of recycled concrete aggregate after heating to 500 ℃ and
rubbing for 1 h at ball/aggregate ratio = 1.5 [107].
Fig. 8. Diagram showing weakening mechanism of interfacial transition zone and
separation of mortar from aggregate [110].
Fig. 9. Microwave attenuation factors of coarse aggregate and wet and dry mortars
[115].
by heating the coarse aggregate at 300 ℃ in a vertical furnace to
dehydrate thereby making the mortar fragile and breakable, allow-
ing maximum removal when rubbed against the steel balls in a ball
mill. Fig. 5 shows substantial improvement in dry density and
reduction in water absorption which happens between 300 ℃
and 400 ℃. The recycled concrete produced from the treated recy-
cled concrete aggregate showed its compressive strength to be at
par with the virgin aggregate concrete
10
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
[107] observed that the removal rate of mortar increased sub-
stantially when heat treated between 300 ℃ and 500 ℃ and
mechanically rubbed for 30 to 120 min. Fig. 6 illustrates the effect
of grinding time on mortar removal.
Fig. 7 presents the reduction in water absorption of different
size recycled concrete aggregate (5–25 mm) treated at different
temperatures and mechanically rubbed for 1 h in a ball mill.
[101] adopted heat treatment as part of combination of hybrid
treatments to increase the removal rate of adhered mortar from
recycled concrete aggregate. The aggregate were heated at four dif-
ferent temperatures 250 ℃, 350 ℃, 500 ℃ and 750 ℃ with 1-h res-
idence time in oven/furnace to determine the most effective
temperature for mortar removal. They observed that 350 ℃ was
the most effective temperature, which resulted in the increase in
specific gravity of 1.09% and decrease in water absorption of about
9.5%. [108] used hybrid thermo-mechanical treatment at heating
temperatures of 300 ℃, 600 ℃ and 900 ℃ and rubbing treatment
for 5, 10 and 15 min. They observed that recycled concrete aggre-
gate of two sizes (4–8 mm) and (8–16 mm) treated at 600 ℃
showed very improved bulk density (in both the sizes) just 3.1%
lower than virgin aggregate while the water absorption reduced
by 3.11% and 3.70% in both the sizes. Moreover, with 60% substitu-
tion of treated recycled concrete aggregate, it was possible to
obtain high strength class C55/67 concrete.
3.1.2.4. Thermo-mechanical treatment (microwave). Microwave
treatment can rapidly remove the adhered mortar, improving the
quality of recycled concrete aggregate in shorter time. Microwave
heating is based on the differences in the electromagnetic proper-
ties of adhered mortar and aggregate, since both the mediums have
different sensitivity to microwaves due to different densities. Ther-
mal stresses and cracks develop initially in the interfacial transi-
tion zone and then extend gradually to the surface [109]. Fig. 8
illustrates the application of microwave for weakening the bonds
in the interfacial transition zone and separation of mortar.
Microwave-assisted beneficiation of recycled concrete aggre-
gate is directly proportional to the difference in the microwave
energy absorption between mortar and aggregate which leads to
the development of higher thermal stresses in the mortar rather
than the aggregate. The recommended threshold of microwave
energy is below 7.1 kWh/t [111] and the efficiency of microwave
treatment depends on the size and type of recycled concrete aggre-
gate [112]. This treatment is more efficient for coarse recycled con-
crete aggregate with mortar removal rates of approximately 71%
compared to 19% for fine recycled concrete aggregate. The results
of other studies on microwave assisted beneficiation
[113,111,114] revealed a thorough fragmentation of mortar with
removal rate of 65.1% for coarse recycled concrete aggregate
>20 mm size compared to 29.7% for fine recycled concrete aggre-
gate <2 mm size. Experimental results reveal that recycled con-
crete produced from microwave treated recycled concrete
aggregate, showed significant improvement in the compressive
and flexural strengths as well as modulus of elasticity.
3.1.2.5. Water soaking of aggregate before microwave treat-
ment. Mortar attached to recycled concrete aggregate has signifi-
cantly higher water absorption rate compared to virgin aggregate
and the attenuation factor of wet mortar is much higher than dry
mortar at 10–20 GHz frequency, illustrated in Fig. 9. Hence pre-
saturation of recycled concrete aggregate with water can improve
the mortar fracture efficiency due to the formation of vapour pres-
sure in mortar pores. Experimental results show that mortar
removal rate increased from 24% to 47% in the 10–20 GHz fre-
quency range. To improve the microwave effectiveness, immersion
of recycled concrete aggregate in water for at-least 10 min has
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
Fig. 10. Temperature characteristics with microwave heating of recycled aggregate
and mortar [114].
Fig. 11. Effect of microwave heating on the increase in void volume of coated
mortar [114].
been suggested and the effectiveness of this treatment can also be
increased by successive applications of this treatment [115].
3.1.2.6. Coating the aggregate with fast heating di-electric materi-
als. Iron based dielectric materials (ferrous oxide) can be heated to
several hundred degrees Celsius in a short time period (tens of sec-
onds) by microwave heating without causing temperature run-
away (which makes controlling the temperature difficult with
heating time). This property of dielectric materials can be used
Fig. 12. Recovery rate of recycled concrete aggregate from various types of concrete
specimen using microwave heating at different heating times [114].
11
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
effectively to fracture the mortar on recycled concrete aggregate
and retrieve high quality recycled concrete aggregate.
[114] coated the mortar surface of recycled concrete aggregate
with ferrous oxide powder and then heated it with microwave
radiation. The powder coating on mortar surface showed big
increase in mortar temperature of nearly 80 ℃ in 60 s. and
130 ℃ in 120 s, in comparison to the aggregate temperature as
depicted in Fig. 10. The increase in mortar temperature effectively
changed its void volume as depicted in Fig. 11.
When the heating time was increased above 180 s, the number
of pores with 0.05 mm diameter reduced while pores with 0.05–
0.1 mm diameter enlarged to 0.1 mm diameter, this increased the
void volume and weakened the interfacial transition zone, result-
ing in the fractures and micro-cracks in the periphery of interfacial
transition zone making the mortar removal much easier. Micro-
wave heat treatment at different heating durations was also stud-
ied by [114] using a variety of concrete types produced from
ordinary Portland cement, from cements blended with flyash/
slag/silica-fume. The recovery rates of recycled concrete aggregate
from the aforementioned concrete types using microwave heating
for different heating durations are collated in Fig. 12. This type of
treatment procedure was developed in Japan by various research-
ers [116,110,114,117] in the decade (2000–2010). They succeeded
in retrieving high quality RCA which conformed to the require-
ments of Japanese Standards [118,54,55].
[116] assessed the environmental impact of retrieving high
quality aggregate by microwave heating method. It produced an
environmental impact of 2.97 kg-CO2/ton concrete which is almost
1
/10 times lower than the traditional heating and rubbing method.
The approximate estimation of the energy consumed and the envi-
ronmental impact of CO2 emissions was evaluated by [6] and pre-
sented in Table 3. The evaluation is based on three treatment
methods i.e. traditional heating & screening [102], the hybrid heat-
ing & rubbing [8,119] and the microwave heating and rubbing
[120,115].
3.1.3. Electro-dynamic treatment
Recently, some highly effective technology treatments have
raised interest for the selective fragmentation and reduction in
the size of big concrete chunks to smaller pieces with high voltage
electric pulse discharge (HVPD) these methods are discussed.
3.1.3.1. Electrohydraulic pulse discharge (for big concrete chunks).
HVPD provides an effective solution to crush big 1 m3 size chunks
of the construction and demolition waste reducing it to smaller
pieces. This technique is implemented in four steps: (i) drilling a
hole into the object; (ii) adding and filling the hole with elec-
trolyte; (iii) placing the discharge electrode into the electrolyte;
and (iv) switching on the high voltage current through the dis-
charge electrode. Due to instantaneous high electrical voltage,
the molecules of electrolyte and electrons of electric discharge col-
lide forming plasma in the electrolyte which expands due to heat-
ing created by electric pulses, releasing shockwaves within the
small space creating blasting effects and fragments the 1000 kg
of concrete/rock in to smaller size fragments [121]. The beneficial
features of this technology are: (i) it is green technology with no
noise and free of dust or harmful gas, which are a common place
in other concrete crushing treatments; (ii) HVPD is very easy to
operate even by common workers; and (iii) HVPD is highly energy
efficient, it can achieve excellent fragmentation effect within a very
short time span and at a very low energy cost.
3.1.3.2. Electrohydraulic pulse discharge (for small concrete blocks).
This new type of equipment using pulse power discharge has been
developed for recycling of coarse and fine aggregate from construc-
tion and demolition waste. The pulse power technology can gener-
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

Table 3
Comparison of thermo-mechanical treatments of coarse recycled concrete aggregate [6].

Treatment method Heating temperature and Size of input Heating time Rubbing time After treatment Adhered mortar
heating system material (mm) (min.) (min.) (% kg/kg)
Density Water absorption
(g/cm3) (%kg/kg)
Heating and screening 700 ℃
Mulder et al. [102] Rotary kiln  100 —— —— —— 2
Hybrid heating and 300 ℃
rubbing Vertical furnace (kerosene)  50 40–60 30–45 2.68AD 0.8 ——
Shima et al. [8],
Kasai et al. [119]
Microwave heating 140 ℃
and rubbing. Microwave 10kw, 2.45 GHz  30 2 3 2.46S 2.8S 24S
Akbarnezhad et al. (bulk) 3.4AD 32AD
[120], 2.43AD
Akbarnezhad et al. (bulk)
[115]

AD = Air dried, S = saturated

Fig. 13. Schematic diagram of fragmentation of concrete by pulse power applications [122].

ate controllable high voltage electrical energy which can produce

Fig. 14. (a) Dependence of dry density of fragmented recycled concrete aggregate
on the number of pulse discharges [122]; (b) Dependence of water absorption of
fragmented recycled concrete aggregate on number of discharge pulses [122].
pulse discharges in concrete submerged under water. When the
pulses are applied to concrete pieces, the air in the concrete voids
converts to plasma which creates shockwaves due to volume
expansion [122]. These shockwaves spread through the concrete
and divide into reflected wave and penetration wave at the surface
of concrete and the surrounding mortar. This creates tensile stres-
ses which delaminate the mortar from aggregate including break-
ing the concrete pieces into smaller size fragments (>5.0 mm and
<5.0 mm) based on the number of discharged pulses. The coarse
aggregate (>5.0 mm) size are retrieved from above the sieve, while
fine size aggregate (<5.0 mm) pass through the sieve and are
retrieved from the bowl at the bottom of water tank as depicted
in Fig. 13.
Density of recycled concrete aggregate is a criteria index for the
quality assessment of recycled concrete aggregate. Fig. 14a pre-
sents the relationship between increase in dry density of recycled
concrete aggregate with the increase in the number of discharge
pulses. When the number of shots is increased, more mortar is
removed resulting in the increase in density of recycled concrete
aggregate.
Water absorption of recycled concrete aggregate is the second
important criteria for its quality assessment. Fig. 14b shows the
relationship between the decrease in water absorption with the
increase in the number of discharge pulses. The coarse recycled
concrete aggregate reproduced by 40–60 pulse discharge treat-
ments with the electrical pulse discharge energy of 640 kJ having
400 kV of peak voltage, met the requirements of Japan Industrial
Standards (JIS) A 5021 (Class H) for dry density and water absorp-
tion requirements and the recycled concrete produced from trea-
ted recycled concrete aggregate showed enough compressive
strength and Young’s modulus to be used in structural concrete,
while the fines produced with this treatment satisfy the require-
ments of JIS A 5023 (Class L). It was observed that mortar separates

12
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
Fig. 15. Comparison of the mortar removal efficiency by jaw, impact crusher and
high-performance sonic impulses [123].
effectively at about 50 pulse shots, while above 50 pulse shots, the
fineness modulus of grains increases steeply.
3.1.3.3. Electro-hydraulic sonic discharge. In this treatment, stresses
are generated by high frequency sonic waves which damage and
break the bond between adhered mortar and recycled concrete
aggregate. High performance sonic impulses allows the separation
of aggregate from residual mortar without damage to recycled con-
crete aggregate. The mortar removal efficiency of this treatment is
much higher than mechanical treatments e.g. jaw crusher, impact
crusher, screw crusher. Comparison of the mortar removal effect of
these treatments is presented in Fig. 15. The efficiency of this treat-
ment depends on aggregate size, for fine aggregates (<4 mm) the
mortar removal is about 40% while for coarse aggregate
(<24 mm) the mortar removal reaches to 70%. The energy con-
sumption with this treatment is about 12.0 kWh/ton of recycled
concrete aggregate.
3.1.4. Water treatment
3.1.4.1. Hydraulic pressure jet. High pressure, high velocity micro-
jet cavitation can extremely erode and damage concrete by neatly
separating the surrounding cement mortar from aggregate grains.
The erosion of concrete happens due to the following mechanisms:
(1) formation of air bubble in high pressure liquids; (2) generation
of shock waves due to symmetric bubbles implosion [124,125]; (3)
formation of micro-jets due to non-symmetric bubble implosion
Fig. 16. Theoretical stress levels obtained during micro-jet impact [126,129].
13
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
Table 4
Degree of liberation of different classes of concrete [129].
Concrete Strength Class Liberation degree (%)
C25 100 ± 8
C35 46 ± 15
C45 88 ± 5
C55 77 ± 10
[126]; and (4) formation of micro-jets due to shock induced bubble
collapse [126,127].
The pressure generated during the implosion and collapse of
cavitation bubbles is typically in the range of several 100 MPa. Dur-
ing the collapse of 3 mm bubbles, shock induced micro-jets attain
speeds as high as 4000 m/s. [126] and generate stresses in the
order of several GPa, illustrated in Fig. 16. Such high pressure
pulses have the ability to fracture a material if the material con-
tains micro-cracks on which the pulse can interact, subject to if
no plastic deformation accompanies with the crack propagation
[128]. These requirements are readily met by concrete and mor-
tars. [129] observed that the erosion damage usually starts from
interfacial transition zone between adhered mortar and aggregate.
Cracks following the interfacial transition zone and aggregate
grains are exposed and thus mortar is removed. This removal
method shows high degree of separation between mortar and
aggregate tabulated in Table 4.
It is a well-known concept that interfacial transition zone
between mortar and aggregate is the weakest zone in concrete
due to its high micro-porosity [130,131]. This zone has very low
density (due to higher porosity) and low surface energy, at least
one order of magnitude lower than that of cement mortar and
aggregate. Hence, aggregate can be separated neatly from sur-
rounding cement mortar using high-pressure hydraulic jet
technique.
4. Chemical treatment
4.1. Acid soaking
The hydration products of cement mortar (C-S-H gel, Ca(OH)2,
AFt and AFm phases) can be dissolved in acid solution and the effi-
ciency of mortar removal from RCA depends on the factors like,
mortar porosity, the nature of aggregate, the choice of acid solu-
tion, the molar concentration of acid solution as well as treatment
conditions e.g. duration of treatment and volume of the material to
be processed. It has been observed by various studies that
hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric (H2SO4) and acetic acid (C2H4O2)
are the three most effective acids to dissolve and remove cement
mortar. The major impediments of using HCl and H2SO4 are the
possible increase in the chloride and sulfate content of the aggre-
gate after treatment with the higher concentration of these acids,
which may affect the durability of recycled concrete produced.
However, acetic acid is reported to be superior in removing the
residual mortar of recycled concrete aggregate without these
impediments. Acetic acid reacts with the hydration products in
the residual mortar i.e. Ca(OH)2, C-S-H gel and CaCO3 and weakens
the bonds in interfacial transition zone allowing the mortar to be
removed easily. Acetic acid treatment of recycled concrete aggre-
gate is considered safer, cleaner and cheaper compared to other
acid treatments [132]. Also the waste slurry obtained after acetic
acid treatment can be converted using CO2 sequestration to
‘‘Vaterite”, a polymorph of CaCO3, which can be added to concrete
mix to enhance its strength and durability [132,133].
For the removal of attached mortar, many researchers
[101,134–137] experimented using HCl as primary treatment by
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

Table 5
Improvement of recycled concrete aggregate properties with different concentrations of acetic acid [132].

Properties of recycled concrete aggregate Untreated recycled concrete aggregate Acid concentration and immersion time (days)
1% acetic acid 3% acetic acid 5% acetic acid
1 day 3 day 5 day 1 day 3 day 5 day 1 day 3 day 5 day
Water absorption (%) 5.95 4.94 4.90 4.95 5.06 5.14 4.99 5.05 5.26 5.41
Dry Density (gm/cm3) 2.56 2.61 2.61 2.58 2.61 2.61 2.60 2.62 2.61 2.61

soaking the aggregate in HCl solutions of varying concentrations
and used other acids for comparison such as; sulfuric acid
(H2SO4), acetic acid (C2H4O2), phosphoric acid (H3PO4) together
with sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), calcium metasilicate (CaSiO3) and
silica-fume. [101] soaked RCA in acid solutions of HCl (37% purity)
and acetic acid (C2H4O2) (99.7% purity) of 0.1 M concentration for
24 h at ambient temperature. The results showed that HCl treat-
ment proved more effective than acetic acid treatment. Wang
et al. [132] treated RCA with 1%, 3% & 5% acetic acid solutions for
the durations of 1, 3 and 5 days to elucidate the optimal treatment
conditions. Acetic acid reacted with residual mortar which con-
verted to calcium acetate, it’s pH increased from 3.4 to 5.43 and
to 5.6 at 25 h and 125 h. The improvement in recycled concrete
aggregate properties are summarised in Table 5. The compressive
strength of concrete produced from treated aggregate increased
by 25% at 28 days, compared to concrete from untreated aggregate.
[134] conducted the most comprehensive study for the removal
of residual mortar on recycled concrete aggregate. They used three
acids i.e. (HCl), (H2SO4) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) to pre-soak
the recycled concrete aggregate in 0.1 M acid solution for 24 h at

Table 6
Improvement in the properties of recycled concrete aggregate before and after acid and hybrid treatments by various researchers.

Researcher Properties of recycled concrete aggregate Aggregate size (mm) Before pre-soaking After pre-soaking
HCl H2SO4 H3PO4 C2H4O2
Tam et al. [134] Dry density (g/cm3) 10 mm —— —— —— —— ——
20 mm
Water absorption (%) 10 mm 2.63 2.31 2.37 2.41 ——
20 mm 1.65 1.45 1.48 1.53
pH aggregate 10 mm 11.63 9.34 9.35 9.33 ——
20 mm 10.46 9.07 8.95 8.55
Chloride content (%) 10 mm 0.0012 0.0056 0.0001 0.0001 ——
20 mm 0.0016 0.0025 0.0001 0.0001
Sulfate content (%) 10 mm 0.0025 0.0082 0.1040 0.0109 ——
20 mm 0.0025 0.0076 0.1090 0.0110
Ismail et al. [137] Dry Density (g/cm3) 20 mm 2.33 2.39 —— —— ——
Water Absorption (%) 20 mm 4.44 3.58 —— —— ——
10 mm 2.23 2.27
pH aggregate Mixed 12.56 12.60 —— —— ——
Chloride content (%) Mixed 0.002 0.002 —— —— ——
Sulfate content (%) Mixed 0.001 0.001 —— —— ——
Guneyisi et al. [140] Dry Density (g/cm3) 4–8 mm 2.43 2.45 —— —— ——
8-16 mm 2.45 2.45

Water Absorption (%) 4–8 mm 8.72 6.99 —— —— ——

8-16 mm 7.66 6.84
Al-Bayati et al. [101] Dry Density (g/cm3) 4.75–19 mm 2.295 2.305 —— —— 2.299
Water absorption (%) 4.75–19 mm 5.91 5.66 —— —— 5.79
Abrasion loss (%) 4.75–19 mm 23.57 25.31 —— —— 23.51
Kim et al. [136] Dry Density (g/cm3) < 5 mm 2.27 2.35 2.35 —— ——
Water absorption (%) < 5 mm 6.6 4.4 4.3 —— ——
Abrasion loss (%) < 5 mm 36.5 35.3 35.9 —— ——
Katkhuda et al. [139] Dry Density (g/cm3) 5–20 mm 2.58 2.47 —— —— ——
Water absorption (%) 5–20 mm 5.20 3.10 —— —— ——
pH aggregate 5–20 mm 10.17 9.75 —— —— ——
Chloride (%) 5–20 mm 0.0014 0.0024 —— —— ——
Abrasion loss (%) 5–20 mm 31 29.5 —— —— ——
Kim & Hanif et al. [142] Dry Density (g/cm3) 5 mm 2.43 —— —— —— ——
25 mm 2.48 2.57
Water absorption (%) 25 mm 2.43 1.49 —— —— ——

3
Tang et al. [144] Dry Density (g/cm ) 50 mm 2.31 —— 2.37 —— ——
Water absorption (%) 50 mm 7.7 —— 7.0 —— ——
Abrasion loss (%) 50 mm 29 —— 27 —— ——
Alodaini et al. [135] Water absorption (%) 10 mm 5.73 2.99 @ 10 M —— —— ——
20 mm 5.86 2.93 @ 10 M
Mortar Loss (%) 10 mm —— 26.5 @ 10 M —— —— ——
20 mm —— 25.8 @ 10 M
3
Kazemian et al.[143] Dry Density (g/cm ) 10 mm 2.39 2.51 —— —— ——
Water absorption (%) 10 mm 5.32 4.41 —— —— ——
Abrasion loss (%) Grade B 45 39 —— —— ——
Kazmi et al. [141] Dry Density (g/cm3) 20 mm 2.55 —— —— —— 2.58
Water absorption (%) 20 mm 6.85 —— —— —— 6.44

14
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

Table 7
Summary of treatment methods of recycled concrete aggregate and their environmental and economic effects.

Treatment techniques Improvement Improvement Improvement Environmental effects, References

in water in in applicability, and
absorption of density of compressive practicality
recycled recycled strength of
concrete concrete recycled
aggregate (%) aggregate (%) concrete
(MPa)
Mechanical Autogenous cleaning ; 53.4 " 14.00 " 8.0
Need specific equipment Pepe et al. [22]

Increase energy consumption & CO2
emissions

Convenient on industrial scale
Impact crushing ; 12.36 " 4.26 ——
Need specific equipment Kim et al. [98]

Increase energy consumption & CO2 Quattrone
emissions et al. [6]

Convenient on industrial scale
Eccentric shaft rotor mill ; 82.17 " 20.27 ——
Need specific equipment Noguchi et al.

Increase energy consumption & CO2 [5]
emissions Quattrone

Convenient on industrial scale et al. [6]
Screw abrading mill ; 72.40 " 14.86 ——
Need specific equipment Tomosawa

Increase energy consumption & CO2 et al.[100]
emissions Quattrone [6]

Convenient on industrial scale
Heating Traditional @ 300 ℃ ; 2.38 " 0.42 ——
Increase in energy consumption & CO2 Akbarnezhad
Heating @ 500 ℃ ; 9.52 " 0.84 emissions et al. [115]

In-convenient on industrial scale

Time consuming
Microwave (Air dried) ; 19.00 " 2.53 " 27.0
Can be adopted on industrial scale Akbarnezhad
Heating (Pre-saturated) ; 33.33 " 3.80
Need specific equipment et al. [115]

Need to consume removed mortar fines
Thermomechanical Heating & @ 300 ℃ ; 21.42 " 2.53 ——
Increase in energy consumption & CO2 Akbarnezhad
Rubbing @ 500 ℃ ; 50.00 " 4.64 emissions et al. [115]

Can be adopted on industrial scale

Need specific equipment

Need to consume removed mortar fines
Microwave Heating & ; 73.80 " 7.60 ——
Energy efficient & no CO2 emissions Akbarnezhad
Rubbing (Pre-saturated)
Inconvenient on industrial scale et al. [115]

Need to design high capacity microwave
equipment for industrial scale
Electrodynamic Pulsed Power Discharge ; 70.30 " 20.0 ——
Highly energy efficient & no CO2 Narahara et al.
emissions [122]

Environmentally friendly, do not pro-
duce dust

Easy to use and reliable

Need special device
Chemical HCl acid (0.1 M)H2SO4 acid ; 12.12 " 13.30 " 10.07 @ 20%
Cost intensive Tam et al.
(0.1 M) ; 10.30 " 14.40 RCA
Need to dispose-off waste acids [134]
H3PO4 acid (0.1 M) ; 7.27 " 18.26 " 10.90 @ 20%
Increased acidic contents on recycled
RCA concrete aggregate
" 0.07 @ 20%
RCA
HCl acid (0.1 M) " 4.28 ; 0.43 " 27.43 @ 45%
Cost intensive Ismail et al.
HCl acid (0.5 M) ; 15.54 " 2.15 RCA
Need to dispose-off waste acids [137]
HCL acid (0.8 M) ; 11.04 " 1.72 " 15.08 @ 45%
Increased acidic contents on recycled
RCA concrete aggregate
" 11.99 @ 45%
RCA
H2SO4 acid (0.1 M) ; 2.38 " 0.42 ———
Cost intensive Akbarnezhad
H2SO4 acid (0.5 M) ; 7.14 " 0.84
Need to dispose-off waste acids et al. [115]
H2SO4 acid (1.0 M) ; 16.70 " 1.69
Increased acidic contents on recycled
concrete aggregate
Chemico- HCl acid (0.1 M) ; 4.23 " 0.44 ——
Time consuming Al-Bayati et al.
mechanical C2H4O2 acid (0.1 M) ; 2.03 " 0.18 ——
Need to dispose-off waste acids [101]

Increased acidic contents on recycled
concrete aggregate
C2H4O2 acid (1.0 M) ; 16.80 " 0.78 " 4.50
Low cost, safe & clean Wang et al.
C2H4O2 acid (3.0 M) ; 16.13 " 1.56 " 13.8
Need to dispose-off waste acids [132]
C2H4O2 acid (5.0 M) ; 9.07 " 1.95 " 5.60
Time consuming

Waste slurry useful in producing con-
crete admixture

15
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
20 ℃, then rinsed with water to remove traces of SO 
4 , Cl , and PO4
 
from the aggregate. The contents of SO4 , and Cl remained under
specified limits. The mechanical properties of recycled concrete
produced from treated aggregate showed considerable improve-
ment. [135] studied the effect HCl of different concentrations from
0.2 M to 12.8 M on the removal rate of residual mortar. At concen-
tration of 0.5 M, the mortar removal was 2 times higher for 10 mm
size recycled concrete aggregate compared to 20 mm, but at higher
HCl concentrations, the mortar removal rate was only 1% higher,
indicating that for bigger size recycled concrete aggregate, higher
molar concentrations of HCl may be needed for effective mortar
removal. [136] attempted to improve the quality of fine recycled
aggregate of granite using HCl and H2SO4 acid solutions because
these acids have very low solubility effect on granite aggregate
[138]. [137] based their investigations on the significantly positive
results of [134], and used three concentrations (0.1 M, 0.5 M,
0.8 M) of HCl acid solutions for 3 soaking durations (1, 3, 7 days).
The concretes produced by varying the content of treated aggre-
gate indicate that incorporation of up to 45% treated aggregate pro-
duced concrete with optimum compressive strength. [139] treated
recycled concrete aggregate by immersion in 0.1 M HCl solution for
24 h. The improvement in the properties of treated recycled con-
crete aggregate are summarised in Table 6. Similarly, [140] evalu-
ated the effect of HCl treated recycled concrete aggregate in self-
compacting concrete (SCC). Two recycled concrete aggregate size
fractions (4–8 mm) and (8–16 mm) were soaked in 0.1 M HCl solu-
tion for 24 h at 20 ℃. The improvement in the properties of treated
aggregate are summarised in Table 6. The removal of loose parti-
cles from recycled concrete aggregate surface lead to stronger con-
tact of the new interfacial transition zone between treated
aggregate and new cement paste in self-compacting concrete.
[141] applied various treatment methods to remove residual mor-
tar, which include acetic acid, acetic acid + mechanical rubbing,
carbonation, lime soaking + carbonation. Higher mechanical prop-
erties (compression, flexural and tensile strengths) were realised in
recycled concretes produced from two types of treatment, i.e.
(acetic acid + rubbing) and (lime soaking + carbonation). The
mechanical properties improved substantially, nearly equivalent
to virgin aggregate concrete.
4.2. Chemico-mechanical (hybrid) treatment
Other researchers [21,101,142–144] tried hybrid chemico-
mechanical treatment to improve the properties and quality of
recycled concrete aggregate. The improvement in recycled con-
crete aggregate properties before and after acidic and hybrid
(chemico-mechanical) treatments quoted by researchers cited
above, have been compiled in Table 6. [21] used hybrid thermo-
chemical treatment by immersing different size fractions of recy-
cled concrete aggregate in 26% sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) solution
for 24 h (based on ASTM C 88). While still immersed in the solu-
tion, the recycled concrete aggregate specimens were subjected
to 5 freeze and thaw cycles per day in the temperature range of
(17 ℃ to +80 ℃) (as per ASTM C 672), the whole procedure took
7 days. The average mortar removal rates were 18.4%, 27.7%, 29.4%
and 23.5% for the aggregate sizes 4.75 mm, 9.5 mm, 17.7 mm and
19.0 mm, respectively. [101] after treatment of recycled concrete
aggregate in HCl (37%) and weak acetic acid (0.1 M), for 24 h at
20 ℃ used Micro-Deval device (without metal balls) for mechanical
abrasion treatment of aggregate for 15 min in dry condition. The
HCl and abrasion treatment, yielded 7.4% higher mortar removal
and reduction in water absorption by 4.23%, while with acetic acid,
water absorption reduced by 2.03%. [142] analysed the effect of
hybrid treatment using 0.1 M HCl and 1.65 M Na2SO4 for removal
of residual mortar. HCl treatment yielded higher mortar removal
compared to Na2SO4. Recycled concrete produced from HCl treated
16
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
aggregate showed 14% higher compressive strength, while aggre-
gate treated with Na2SO4 showed 5% decline compared to concrete
made from untreated recycled aggregate. In addition, concrete
made from HCl treated aggregate showed higher resistance to car-
bonation and Cl- ion penetration. [143] applied hybrid treatment
by immersion in 0.1 M HCl solution for 24 h, then coating the
aggregate with calcium meta-silicate (CaSiO3) slurry. The hybrid
treatment showed improved aggregate properties presented in
Table 6. Recycled concrete produced with 25% treated aggregate
showed 12.5% higher compressive strength, compared to untreated
recycled concrete with similar aggregate replacement ratio..[144]
analysed the effects of hybrid treatment of recycled concrete
aggregate with H2SO4 together with silica fume (SF) impregnation
to fortify interfacial transition zone and reduce its porosity. The
authors realised that H2SO4 treatment had detrimental effect on
the recycled aggregate surface which developed a weaker layer
of mortar on recycled concrete aggregate surface, resulting in the
reduction in mechanical properties of recycled concrete.
5. Utilisation of residual mortar
The presence of un-hydrated cement, di-calcium silicates (C2S),
calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 and some amount of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) have been validated in the residual mortar powder when
analysed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis
(DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). These components,
when activated are capable of hydration and produce cement
hydration products. The techniques for the utilisation of removed
residual mortar (RRM) are discussed below.
5.1. As partial cement substitution
A number of researchers have investigated the utilisation of
residual mortar powder as partial cement replacement in mortars
and concrete specimen. [145] investigated the physical, chemical
and durability properties of concrete containing residual mortar
powder. The authors conclude that activated residual mortar pow-
der can be used as partial cement replacement within the limits of
10~20%, performance discussed in Table 7. [146] activated the
residual mortar powder by thermal treatment at temperatures of
500 ℃, 800 ℃ and 1100 ℃. Comparatively residual mortar powder
treated at 800 ℃ gave much better results in terms of physical
properties. The authors concluded that (800 ℃) treated residual
mortar powder can be used as cement replacement without signif-
icant loss of compressive strength, performance discussed in
Table 7. [147] investigated the performance (discussed in Table 7)
of partial substitution of residual mortar powder (RMP) with
cement (CEM-1 52.5 N). Residual mortar powder analysed by
TGA showed its composition as, 2.4% portlandite and 73% calcite.
Residual mortar powder after grinding and passing through
80 mm sieve, was substituted at 10% ~ 50%, 75% and 100% with
CEM-1. For comparison, mortars were prepared at water/cement
ratio of 0.3. RMP substitution developed almost similar compres-
sive strengths as limestone powder with 25%, 50% and 75% replace-
ment ratios. The authors concluded that the use of residual mortar
powder as a substitute for limestone filler in cement may be a
practical solution to reduce limestone quarrying and CO2 emissions
resulting from cement manufacture. [148] after grinding the resid-
ual mortar powder and passing it through 80 mm sieve, evaluated
its hydration kinetics and mechanical properties which show that
it contains 24% of reactive anhydrous phase which contributes to
the hydration process. It decreased Ca(OH)2 content despite the
reactivity of its anhydrous phase. Its substitution in cement
increased the porosity of mortars. [149] evaluated the effects of
different substitution percentages (33%, 67% and 100%) of residual
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066

mortar powder in cement paste to determine its critical maximum cured at 50 ℃ for 24 h and then left in open atmosphere for further
substitution content, after which the strength properties start to curing. Alternatively, [156] studied the mix ratio of 70/30 of RMP/
decrease. They noted that below 33% residual mortar powder sub- powdered slag, to produce geopolymer maintaining sodium sili-
stitution in cement, the strength properties were almost constant cate/NaOH ratio of 1.4. The specimens cured at 20 ℃ showed com-
and comparable with the control samples. But in their another pressive strengths of 18.4 MPa and 45.5 MPa and flexural strength
study [150]. They noted that though residual mortar powder sub- of 4.4 MPa and 7.5 MPa for 3- and 28-days curing.
stitution decreases the strength properties at all the replacement
ratios, 20% replacement seems a better option at which the flexural 5.4. As soil nutrient fertiliser
strength increased by 21%, dynamic Young’s modulus increased by
2% compared to control samples, but compressive strength [157] used citric acid of 0.04 M, 0.05 M and 0.055 M concentra-
decreased by 25.7%. [151] investigated the use of residual mortar tions to dissolve Ca+ & Si available in the residual mortar powder
powder as partial cement substitution, after thermal activation. with (0.038 ~ 0.3 mm) particle sizes. The acid pH was constantly
The activation temperatures varied from 288 ~ 712 ℃ and the time maintained at 2.2 for efficient dissolution of mortar powder. The
of thermal activation varied from 30 ~ 90 min. They found that the relationship between amount of dissolved Ca2+ depending on the
most optimum temperature for maximum activation of residual time for dissolution is depicted in Fig. 17 a, while the amount of
mortar powder was 650 ℃. The mortars made with 25% activated dissolved Si based on the time of dissolution is depicted in
residual mortar powder substituted with CEM-1 42.5R, showed Fig. 17b. The dissolved Ca2+ & Si in citric acid solution, was agitated
even higher compressive strength (107%) compared to control at 110 rpm for 48 h maintained at 28 ℃. The recovered leachate
sample after 28 days of curing. containing higher percentage of dissolved Ca2+ and Si could be
used as fertilizer to provide nutrients for plants.
5.2. As cementitious material after thermal/or chemical activation
5.5. As admixture for improving concrete durability
Some researchers (thermally/chemically) activated residual
mortar powder to study its cementitious characteristics, rehydra-
[133] used acetic acid treatment for the removal of residual
tion capabilities and strength development. [152] heated residual
mortar and treated the recovered slurry with CO2 gas bubbling
mortar powder at temperatures (300 ~ 900 ℃) for 2.5 h and then
through, to convert the dissolved Ca2+ & Si to Vaterite (a poly-
cooled it to room temperature. The physical properties such as
morph of CaCO3). Its purity was found to be 96.49%, and the depen-
consistency, setting time, degree of rehydration, microstructure
dence of its purity based on the concentration of ethanol, used for
development and its compressive strength were evaluated. The
its stabilization, is depicted in Fig. 18.
water requirement for consistency showed linear relationship with
the incremental heating temperature while the compressive
strength of residual mortar powder activated at 800 ℃ exhibited
maximum compressive strength of 11.7 MPa, 14.0 MPa and
19.0 MPa for 3, 7- and 28-days curing time. The residual mortar
powder activity was influenced by the activation temperature.
[103] studied the effect of heating on RCA at 750 ℃ and on the
removal rate of attached mortar and its level of activation. After
treatment, the attached mortar came off quite easily which was
ground to a Blaine fineness of 390 m2/kg, having density of
2670 kg/m3. The residual mortar powder showed compressive
strength of 12.3 MPa, and flexural strength of 3.5 MPa, but showed
water requirement as high as 60% which was in agreement with
the findings of [86].

5.3. As raw material for geopolymerisation

A number of studies were carried out to use residual mortar

powder as raw material for geopolymerisation. [153] treated resid-
ual mortar powder with pressurised 95% CO2 in the carbonation
chamber for 7 days, then used it as raw material to make geopoly-
mer with 5.0 M NaOH solution as activator. The specimens were
cured at 20 ℃ and at 65 ℃ for 3 days. The specimen’s compressive
strengths were 6.31 MPa cured at 20 ℃ and 14.11 MPa cured at
65 ℃ and flexural strengths were 1.34 MPa cured at 20 ℃ and
0.78 MPa cured at 65 ℃. The results show that alkali activation
of residual mortar powder could have a relevant potential use for
low strength materials. [154] produced geopolymer material by
partially substituting RMP at 25%, 50% and 75% with Class F fly
ash. They noticed that the specimen with 50/50 mix ratio of
RMP/ fly ash when activated with 10.0 M NaOH solution and
sodium silicate/NaOH ratio of 1 and 2 gave compressive strengths
of 26 MPa and 34.5 MPa. Chen et al. [155] used mix ratios of RMP/
fly ash similar as [154] using 10.0 M, 14.0 M and 18.0 M concentra-
tions of NaOH and sodium silicate/NaOH ratio of 1.5, maintaining Fig. 17. (a) Dissolution of calcium from residual mortar powder of recycled fine
the liquid/solid ratio at 0.4. They found that with 75% fly ash sub- aggregate at controlled pH [157]; (b) Dissolution of silica from mortar of fine RCA at
stitution, compressive strength was 37.5 MPa at 7 days, when controlled pH [157].

17
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
The flow diagram of the process is presented in Fig. 19. It is
valuable product which has many uses in chemical industry e.g.,
paper making, paints, rubber manufacturing, plastics, pollution
adsorption, reaction catalyst etc.
The summary of the treatment methods discussed in this
review paper have been compiled in Table 7 which also include
comments on the applicability, practicality, and environmental
effects of applying such treatments.
6. Discussions
For processing construction and demolition waste, the applica-
tion of jaw crusher as primary crusher and impact crusher as sec-
ondary and tertiary crusher produce medium and low-quality
recycled concrete aggregate. Its quality can be improved by
increasing the number of treatments recycles but that will
decrease the recovery rate of recycled concrete aggregate and pro-
duce increasing amounts of mortar powder. Various treatments
have been discussed in this paper to produce cost effective, high
quality recycled concrete aggregate as well as the use of removed
mortar in various applications making the process ‘‘100% recovery
and re-use with 0% waste”.
Fig. 18. Vaterite content at different concentrations of ethanol [133].
Fig. 19. Schematic diagram of recycled concrete aggregate treatment and conversion of Ca + rich waste solution to value added products [133].
18
Construction and Building Materials 288 (2021) 123066
6.1. Mechanical treatments
To produce improved quality recycled concrete aggregate, the
following mechanical treatments have been used: (i) autogenous
cleaning (ii) ball/tube mill; (iii) impact crushing; (iv) eccentric
shaft rotor mechanical grinding; and (v) screw abraded grinding.
The quality improvement of recycled aggregate based on
mechanical treatments compiled in Table 7 show that eccentric
shaft rotor treatment looks quite effective in improving the density
and reducing the water absorption of recycled aggregate, followed
by screw abrasion treatment.
6.2. Thermal treatments
In the thermal and thermo-mechanical treatments, the opti-
mum heat treatment at 400 – 500 ℃ effectively improved the RA
density, reduced water absorption and increased mortar removal
rates at the grinding times of 90–120 min. Relative to conventional
heating, microwave heating has additional advantages of very
rapid heating in a short heating time; (i) cleaner heating process
without ash/secondary waste generation; and (ii) easy mortar
removal due to di-electric properties of mortar and aggregate.
6.3. Electrodynamic treatments
Pulse technology (high and low voltage) developed in Japan and
evaluated by many researchers has shown very promising results
(16.7% improvement in density and 66.0% reduction in water
absorption) and retrieving high quality recycled concrete aggre-
gate conforming and complying to Japanese Standards (JIS A
5021, 5022, 5023). These methods have added advantage of being
very cost effective, efficient, easy to use and producing recycled
concrete aggregate of sustained quality.
6.4. Chemical treatments
Using various acid treatments many researchers have shown
that improvement in the removal rates of mortar, reduction in
water absorption and improvement in recycled concrete aggregate
density are possible, but there are major impediments with HCl
and H2SO4 treatments which leave traces of Cl- and SO-4 ions on
the treated aggregate and can prove harmful to the durability of
concrete produced from acid treated aggregate. This type of treat-
ment also includes health hazard and longer times of treatment.
Vivian W.Y. Tam, M. Soomro and Ana Catarina Jorge Evangelista
6.5. Utilisation of removed mortar
[9]
For its utilisation, different methods have been discussed in this
paper. The production of value-added product ‘‘Vaterite” with CO2
sequestration of removed mortar looks very promising, eco- [10]
friendly, green, sustainable, and cost-effective, though production
of soil nutrient fertiliser may also be a useful treatment.
[11]
7. Conclusion
[12]
This study identified all the promising treatment methods
available in the published literature relevant to the removal of
mortar. These treatments can be applied to: (i) improve quality [13]
of recycled concrete aggregate for use in structural concrete; and [14]
(ii) utilise recycled mortar in variety of ways to achieve complete
recycling of demolition waste. Applications of these treatments
[15]
must be based on their ease of processing and handling, cost-
effectiveness and eco-friendliness taking into consideration the
treatment cost, time of processing, CO2 emissions and/or CO2 [16]
sequestration to work out operationally easy and feasible treat-
[17]
ment for quality improvement and complete recycling of recycled
aggregate and removed mortar.
The hybrid chemico-mechanical treatment such as microwave
[18]
heating followed by mechanical treatment e.g., autogenous clean-
ing or ball/tube milling and electro-hydrodynamic pulse discharge
could be most cost effective, easy to operate treatments with most
[19]
effective mortar removal efficiency.
Most of the treatments discussed in this paper have been [20]
researched on small scale in laboratory conditions. Based on these
research outcomes, further research can be carried out to assess [21]
and analyse the viability and feasibility of these treatments on
industrial and commercial scale.
[22]
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan- [23]
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
[24]
Acknowledgements [25]
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support from the [26]
Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Government (No:
DP200100057, IH1501000006, IH200100010). [27]
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