The effect of using sanitary ware as aggregates on rendering mortars' performance

Abstract The effect of the incorporation of recycled ceramic aggregates from crushed sanitary ware, in coating mortars, as replacement of sand, is evaluated. Using these recycled aggregates allows the integration of a non-biodegradable waste in mortars. This brings considerable environmental benefits, both by reducing the extraction of natural sand and the deposits in landfills. To evaluate the performance of the mortars with sanitary ware waste a wide experimental campaign was developed, comprising a series of tests to characterize the behaviour of formulated mortars in terms of mechanical strength, water-related behaviour, durability and other properties. Four replacement ratios were tested (0%, 20%, 50% and 100%) of sand by aggregates from crushing sanitary ware waste keeping the grain size distribution constant. This research reveals that sanitary ware waste can be used as aggregates without affecting the mortars' performance. Many of the properties of the modified mortars (with sanitary ware incorporation) had a similar performance to that of conventional mortar. Furthermore, they showed improvements in terms of mechanical behaviour, in particular of flexural strength, and permeability to water vapour. Thus, the incorporation of a non-biodegradable material as substitute of natural sand is possible and advantageous for the environment and in terms of mechanical performance.