Microwave-assisted beneficiation of recycled concrete aggregates

The presence of mortar has been reported as the main factor causing the lower quality of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) when compared to natural aggregates (NA). A novel microwave-assisted technique to increase the quality of RCA by partially removing the mortar adhering to RCA particles and breaking up the lumps of mortar present in RCA is introduced in this paper. The technique takes advantage of the difference in the electromagnetic properties of the adhering mortar and natural aggregates to generate high thermal stresses within the mortar, especially at the interface with the embedded natural aggregates, to cause delamination. The stresses generated also result in the breaking up of the lumps of mortar into smaller pieces. The results of an experimental study conducted to investigate the capability of the microwave-assisted RCA beneficiation technique and to compare its efficiency with other beneficiation methods proposed in available literature are presented. Moreover, the effects of incorporating various amounts of un-treated and microwave-treated coarse RCA on the mechanical properties of concrete are investigated. The temperature distribution and stresses developed in RCA when subjected to microwave heating during the beneficiation process are numerically calculated for a better understanding of the processes involved.