Utilizing different forms of waste sludge in Eco-construction material production

Large volume of sludge generated from drinking water purification and domestic/industrial wastewater treatment processes is disposed to landfills. This leads to severe environmental problems and secondary pollution, particularly in highly urbanized cities. Diverting the waste sludge from landfills would alleviate the shortage of landfill sites. Utilization of properly treated waterworks and sewage sludge to produce sustainable construction materials is a win-win strategy. It not only converts such wastes into useful materials but also helps solve the disposal problems in the world to achieve volume reduction and stabilization. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a critical review on utilization of waste sludge as raw material or resource for construction material production. It has been studied and analyzed that more than hundreds of publications about the eco-construction material production from waterworks and sewage sludge. This chapter has given a comprehensive analysis about this issue in the perspective of waste sludge characteristics, waste sludge pretreatment, production process, mechanisms, feasibility, and case studies about the production for bricks, concrete blocks, lightweight aggregates, cement, and glass-ceramics. Studies have concluded the sludge forms and additional amounts can affect the quality and specifications of different kinds of final products, however, the overall approach can contribute to waste management improvement and environmental remediation. Copyright © 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.