Life cycle assessment (LCA) of polypropylene fibers (PPF) on mechanical, durability, and microstructural efficiency of concrete incorporating electronic waste aggregates

Around the globe, natural reserves are depleting consistently. In this undeniable situation, it has become essential to find out substitute resources for the ingredients of cement concrete. To encounter this issue, the present study aims to utilize electronic waste (e-waste) as a substitute source of natural aggregates in the production of concrete. In this experimental-based investigation, shredded e-waste is utilized as a partial replacement of coarse aggregate (CA) in concrete with a constant volume replacement of 30% to study the mechanical, durability, and microstructural features. However, to cope with the poor mechanical efficiency, and brittleness of e-waste concrete, polypropylene fibers (PPF) were utilized in concrete. The testing results show that the mechanical efficiency of concrete was reduced by the replacement of natural CA with e-waste aggregate. Fibrous materials have a better impact on the mechanical efficiency of e-waste concrete. The incorporation of 0.5% dosage of PPF, as by volume fraction, in concrete, resulted in an increment in flexural strength and splitting tensile strength (STS) values of about 42% and 78%, respectively. However, the permeability-based durability parameters (sorptivity coefficient, chloride penetration, and porosity) are inversely influenced by an enhanced dosage of PPF. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the incorporation of PPF resulted in improved microstructure while the incorporation of e-waste aggregates led to a weak internal matrix. The significance of this research work is the reduction of elevated consumption of natural resources in concrete production accompanied by the improvement in the efficiency of e-waste aggregate concrete by the incorporation of a suitable dosage of fiber reinforcement to make it more practical and sustainable.