Interactions of aqueous Cu2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ ions with crushed concrete fines

The crushing of reclaimed concrete-based demolition waste to produce recycled aggregate gives rise to a large volume of cement-rich fine material for which market development would be beneficial. It was envisaged that this fine fraction may prove to be an effective sorbent for aqueous heavy metal species by virtue of its ion exchangeable phases and high pH. A batch sorption study confirmed that crushed concrete, in the particle size range 1-2 mm, successfully excluded Cu2+ (35 mg g(-1)), Zn2+ (33 mg g(-1)) and Pb2+ (37 mg g(-1)) from aqueous media. Subsequent distilled water leaching of the metal-laden concrete particles indicated that 1.9, 0.9 and 0.2% of the bound metals, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+, respectively, were readily soluble. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the removal of Cu2+ and Zn2+ arose from surface precipitation reactions, whereas, the principal mechanism of uptake of Pb2+ was found to be by diffusion into the cement matrix. The metal ion removal efficiency of crushed concrete fines is compared with those of other low cost sorbents and potential applications which may exploit this sorptive property are also discussed.