Investigating the Viability of Recycling Rice Husk Ash and Plastic Bag Waste to Enhance Durability of Lightweight Concrete

The disposal of waste plastic bags (WPB) represents an environmental challenge. Recycling (WPB) in the concrete industry would represent a huge environmental advantage if proven effective and economic. This study aims to investigate the viability of recycling rice husk ash and plastic bag waste to enhance the durability of lightweight concrete (LWC). Rice husk ash (RHA) is used as a cement replacement to reduce the health and environmental hazards originating from the cement industry. The mutual influence of using WPB and RHA on the mechanical properties and durability of LWC is investigated in this study. The effect of various WPB contents (10, 20 and 30%) as natural sand substitution with RHA of (5, 10 and 15%) as partial cement replacement on the flow-ability, self- weight, compressive and tensile strengths, water permeability, chloride resistance, and fire resistance was examined and reported. The results of this study consolidated the idea of recycling WPB in the construction field. In summary, the optimal content of WPB is 10% by volume of fine aggregate and 10% of RHA by weight of cement.