Wastewater Treatment Plant Secondary Sludge as a Sustainable Partial Cement Replacement for Concrete Applications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.icaces.18Keywords:
Secondary sludge, sewage sludge ash, supplementary cementitious material, concrete, cement replacementAbstract
The cement industry accounts for roughly 8% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, making supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that can lower the clinker factor without compromising performance a pressing priority. Secondary sludge, the biological residue produced in large quantities at municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants, is increasingly difficult and costly to dispose of. This chapter reviews its use as a partial cement replacement through a unifying source–processing–performance–mechanism framework, covering the compositional variability of sludge, the pre-treatments that render it reactive, the mechanical and durability performance of sludge-modified concrete, and the underlying hydration mechanisms. Synthesis of the evidence indicates that replacing up to about 10% of cement with optimally processed sludge ash preserves more than 90% of the compressive strength while delivering measurable environmental benefits; beyond this level, porosity rises, strength declines, and durability deteriorates. Three barriers most strongly limit adoption: the absence of standardised characterisation procedures, the scarcity of multi-year field durability data, and the narrow geographical scope of existing life-cycle assessments. Coordinated field trials and harmonised testing standards will be decisive in moving the material into routine practice.
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