Resíduo de construção e demolição e EPS reciclado como alternativa de agregados para a Região Amazônica: aplicação em blocos para alvenaria

Abstract

In the Amazon State, the issue of management concerning construction and demolition waste (C&D) deserves attention and solutions that are sustainable from environmental, economical and social standpoints. The RCD produced as well as the expanded polystyrene (EPS), are still discharged in inappropriate places or taken to the dumpsters with the worsening provided by the lack of a management project such as: floods pollution of the water resources (rivers lakes and others) and significant space occupation in the landfills controlled by the city council, among others. Another aspect, related with the civil engineering sector, refers to the usage of components like the pebbles and granite, the first one extracted from rivers and transported by ferries within distances over 700 km and the second one explored within distances over 150 km from Manaus City, causing high environmental impact and high logistics cost. The goal of this research was to study the technical feasibility of producing alternative concrete using RCD and post-consumpting EPS extruded and crushed to transform it in aggregate. The RCDs (of concrete) selected in construction sites and crushed, as well as the EPSR (expanded polystyrene recycled) were analyzed in its granulometric distribution to be used as aggregate on the concrete composition features to obtain wall blocks. The produced blocks were analyzed mechanically and also regarding the water absorption level. The EPSR has low density and contributing to the production of lighter blocks.