Wastewater Recovery Technologies Laboratory

Solid Waste Recovery Laboratory

General Information

The infrastructure of Building Materials Laboratory

In Turkey, solid wastes with an inorganic character such as waste foundry sand, slag, fly ash resulting from industrial activities are stored in landfills and dumping sites. It requires extensive space for storage, high cost, and long-term monitoring. However, this type of waste poses an environmental risk due to its heavy metal content and its potential for infiltration. We see the emergence of as a sustainable solution in Turkey whereby inorganic wastes resulting from industrial activities are used as a byproduct. In this context, with an equipment and analysis infrastructure in place, the Building Materials Laboratory carries out activities to replace natural resources with inorganic wastes as alternative raw materials originating from industrial activities in concrete production. This laboratory makes it possible to carry out aggregate tests for the use of industrial wastes as fine and coarse aggregates in ready mixed concrete and concrete products (paving stones, curbs, blocks, etc.), and to create concrete mix designs. It determines the fresh and hardened concrete properties of the products manufactured by replacing natural aggregates with wastes in certain proportions. The laboratory sets forth their machinability, strength (pressure, pulling, bending) and durability (permanence) properties. In addition, the Building Materials Laboratories also conduct infrastructure development works for the production of artificial lightweight aggregate through physical, mechanical and thermal processes such as grinding, granulation, drying, sintering, etc., from industrial wastes which are characterized by fine aggregate. It enables all physico-chemical, mechanical, environmental, mineralogical and microstructural properties of the synthetic, rough aggregates to be examined in detail.

 

Soil Mechanics Laboratory

Still in the installation process, the Soil Mechanics Laboratory will enable the determination of soil classes (USCS and AASHTO) for the use of inorganic character wastes from industrial activities as floor fillings as well as the optimum moisture contents, densities and bearing capacity of compacted floors, and also the conduct of experiments regarding the declining and constant permeability and consolidation. It will also be possible to examine the beneficial use of inorganic industrial wastes as an impermeable layer, daily intermediate cover and top cover in these depot areas instead of their disposal in landfills.

 

The infrastructure of Road and Bitumen Laboratory

The Road and Bitumen Laboratory, the infrastructure the installation activities of which are underway, will allow for the examination of the potential use of inorganic industrial wastes in roads, bituminous hot mix coatings and granular layers as aggregates, mineral fillers and/or bituminous binders instead of natural resources. This infrastructure will enable the quality control tests of industrial wastes planned to be used in road layers as binder and aggregate, determining the bearing capacity, yield and tensile strength values of bituminous mixtures and granular layers prepared with industrial wastes, the conduct of Marshall the stability tests, and designs of bitumen and granular layer blends.

 

Soil Laboratory

Installation works of the Soil Laboratory are under way. In this context, infrastructure development studies will be carried out on the use of industrial wastes as alternative surface soil instead of vegetable soil as part of landscaping activities and agricultural practices. The infrastructure will ensure soil fertility analyses, physical analyses, alkalinity-salinity analyses of industrial wastes converted into the surface soil through various pretreatments (screening, dewatering, organic remediation, pH adjustment, nutrient enrichment, etc.), cultivating grass and/or indoor/outdoor decoration plant, follow-up procedures regarding short/long-term plant performance

Implemented Applications

Determination of Aggregate Properties

Determination of aggregate properties according to TS 706 EN 12620+A1:2009 Concrete Aggregates standard:

Sand density (fine aggregate) (TS EN 1097-6: 2013), methylene blue test (TS EN 933-9:2010), sand equivalent test (TS EN 933-9:2010), determining the resistance of aggregate against abrasion (Micro-Deval Experiment) (TS EN 1097-1: 2011)

 

Determination of Fresh Concrete Properties

Precipitation (TS EN 12350-2:2010), unit weight (TS EN 12350-6:2010)

 

Determination of Hardened Concrete Properties

Initial and last setting times (TS EN 196-3+A1:2010), compressive strength (TS 12390-3:2010), tensile splitting strength (TS 12390-6:2010), water absorption rate (TS EN 480-11:2008), density (TS EN 12390-7:2010)

 

Determination of Durability Properties of Concrete Products

Determination of resistance of aggregate and concrete products against freeze-dissolution

Determination of water processing depth in concrete products

Determination of chloride permeability in concrete products

Determination of electrical resistivity in concrete products

Measurement of ultrasonic signal in concrete product

List of devices

  • Freeze-thaw test cabinet (Electron Lab)
  • Climatic test cabinet (Electron Lab)
  • Pressure resistance testing device (Electron Lab)
  • Mechanical Grinder (Electron Lab)
  • Concrete mixer (Pan type) (RANTEK)
  • Curing tank 80x200x65 cm (Electron Lab)
  • Granulator (Electron Lab)
  • Cement Mixer (Armatest)
  • Moisture Detection Device (Baykon)
  • Depth of Water Penetration Device under Pressure (UTEST)
  • Rapid Chloride Impermeability Measuring Device (Perma2, GiaTEC)
  • Ultrasonic Pulse Measuring Device (Proceq)
  • Electrical Resistivity Measuring Device (RCON2, GiaTEC)
  • Micro-Deval Testing Device (RANTEK)
  • Aggregate Impact Value Test Machine (UTEST)
  • Sand Equivalent Shaker (UTEST)
  • Alkali Aggregate Reaction Bath (UTEST)
  • Methylene Blue Test Set (UTEST)
  • Incubator (400 lt) (Binder)
  • Hot Air Gun (Bosch

Completed Projects

  • Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Project with External Assistance, (April 2017-December 2017) Project on Environmental Management of Submarine Scanning Materials

Contact Person (Phone/Email):

  • Dr. Pembe ÖZER ERDOĞAN
  • Phone: 0262 677 34 87
  • Email: pembe.ozer@tubitak.gov.tr