Construction

and Building

Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 1583–1588

MATERIALS
www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Development and tests of lightweight aggregate using sewage sludge

for nonstructural concrete
K.J. Mun *

R&D Center, Hanil Co., LTD, Iksan, 570-946, Republic of Korea

Received 15 April 2005; received in revised form 11 September 2005; accepted 22 September 2005
Available online 28 August 2006

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to efficiently treat sewage sludge discharged from sewage treatment plants and to evaluate the feasibility
of lightweight aggregate made from a large quantity of sewage sludge. Sintered lightweight aggregate from sewage sludge is experimen-
tally manufactured with various mass ratios of clay to sewage sludge by a rotary kiln, and is tested for density, water absorption, abra-
sion loss, crushing value, impact value and heavy metal leaching. Their physical properties are compared to those of a commercial
sintered lightweight aggregate for nonstructural concrete. As a result, an experimentally manufactured lightweight aggregate with a rec-
ommendable sewage sludge content is similar or superior in physical properties to the commercial sintered lightweight aggregate. In par-
ticular, the water absorption of the lightweight aggregate recommended is about half or less than that of the commercial sintered
lightweight aggregate. Because no toxic heavy metals are detected from the tested aggregate, it could be used as an environment-
conscious artificial lightweight aggregate.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sewage sludge; Lightweight aggregate; Nonstructural concrete; Recycling

1. Introduction is expected that the use of sewage sludge in the manufac-

The sludge discharged from sewage and wastewater
treatment plants has increased annually due to industrial
development, increasing population, and in particular,
the environment improvement project recently enlarged
for the quality of water. Difficulties in reclamation, inciner-
ation, and recycling for the sludge have been encountered
because its moisture content exceeded 80%. Moreover,
direct reclamation of the sludge has been prohibited in
Korea since June 2003. Its ocean disposal is also prohibited
throughout the world in accordance with the London
Dumping Convention (1975). Efficient disposal counter-
measures for the sludge are urgently required [1]. The pur-
pose of this study is to efficiently treat sewage sludge and to
evaluate the feasibility or possibility of lightweight aggre-
gate produced from a large quantity of sewage sludge. It
ture could cause the decrease in the density of the light-
weight aggregate and facilitate a reduction in the thermal
energy for sintering raw material mixtures, compared to
commercial sintered lightweight aggregate, since the
decreased viscosity of melted ingredients and gas foaming
in raw material mixtures.
In this paper, several types of lightweight aggregate
using sewage sludge are experimentally manufactured with
various mass ratios of clay, and tested for density, water
absorption, abrasion loss, crushing value, impact value
and heavy metal leaching. Their physical properties are
compared to those of a commercial lightweight aggregate
for nonstructural concrete.
2. Experimental
2.1. Manufacture of lightweight aggregate

*
Tel.: +82 63 270 4273; fax: +82 63 270 2285. Sewage sludge was discharged at a sewage treatment
E-mail address: mun7890@hanmail.net. plant in Jeonju city in Korea. Clay was selected from soil

0950-0618/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.09.009
1584 K.J. Mun / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 1583–1588
in Iksan city in Korea, dried and then crushed to pass a
sieve of 150 lm or to be an average particle size of
11.2 lm to obtain uniform mixtures.
A flow chart of the manufacturing process for light-
weight aggregate is given in Fig. 1. Wet sewage sludge
and clay were mixed in ratios of clay:sewage (based on
dehydrated cake) = 100:(100–500) (by mass) by a knea-
der. Then, a mixture of the sewage sludge and clay was
poured into a twin-roll mill to produce a uniform paste.
The mixture was pelletized to pellets with similar
diameters of 5–10 mm by a pelletizer. The pelletized mix-
ture was charged to a drum mixer to make the aggregate
perfect spheres. The formed mixture with aggregate was
dried at a temperature of 100 C, charged to a rotary kiln
at temperatures of 750–800 C, and then sintered at
temperatures of 1050–1150 C for 10–15 min. When the
mixing ratio of the sewage sludge was low, the sewage
sludge in a dehydrated cake state with water contents
of 80–90% could be used without any drying process.
However, when the mixing ratio of the sewage sludge is
high, the sewage sludge should be dried to water contents
of 30–60% in order to form a sphere-shaped aggregate.
Alternatively, the sewage sludge could be dried
completely, crushed, and then mixed with the sewage
sludge in a dehydrated cake state with a water content
of 80–90%, in order to obtain total water contents of
20–40% in the shaped aggregate [2]. This was one of
the reasons why water could not be added during the
manufacture of the lightweight aggregate. This method
was able to increase the mixing ratio of the sewage sludge
in the manufacturing process of the lightweight aggre-
gate, and to greatly decrease the drying cost of the
sewage sludge.
2.2. Quality tests of lightweight aggregate
Five types of lightweight aggregate manufactured on
trial and a commercial lightweight aggregate for nonstruc-
Fig. 1. Flow chart of the manufacturing process for lightweight aggregate.
tural concrete (imported from a European country) were
tested for comparison.
The density, water absorption, abrasion loss, crushing
value and impact value were determined according to KS
F 2503 (Testing Methods for Density and Absorption of
Coarse Aggregate), KS F 2508 (Method of Test for Abra-
sion of Coarse Aggregate by Use of The Los Angeles
Machine), KS F 2541 (Testing Method for Determination
of Aggregate Crushing Value) and KS F 2581 (Testing
Method for Determination of Aggregate Impacting
Value-Method of Test for Production Control of Aggre-
gate), respectively. The testing conditions for abrasion loss
and crushing value were somewhat modified, as mass of
sample = 2500 g, number of steel ball = 4, rotation
speed = 500 rpm and size of passing sieve = 1.18 mm for
abrasion loss test and diameter of cylinder = 75 mm,
load = 3t, pressurized time = 3 min and size of passing sie-
ve = 0.6 mm for crushing value test. For abrasion loss,
crushing and impact value, the samples were tested by
Los Angeles abrasion, static crushing loading and impact
loading, respectively. Then, their respective loss of mass
was determined, corresponding to abrasion loss, crushing
value and impact value. Some samples selected were
observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
The samples were tested for leaching heavy metals in
accordance with Korean Standard Leaching Test (KSLT)
and Extraction Procedure Toxicity Test (EPT, USA).
2.3. Concrete made of lightweight aggregate
2.3.1. Raw materials
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in Korea was used.
Four types of lightweight coarse aggregate with the ratios
of clay:sewage sludge ratio of 100:100%, 100:300%, and
100:500% manufactured on trial and a commercial light-
weight aggregate for nonstructural concrete (imported
from a European country) were used as samples which
were controlled to have uniform grading with a maximum
 K.J. Mun / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 1583–1588 1585

Table 1
Mix proportions of concrete using lightweight aggregate (kg/m3)
Series Type of lightweight aggregate Cement Water Sand Coarse aggregate Super-plasticizer Viscosity agent
LWC-A 100:100 (Clay:sludge) 320 160 810 363 3.2 0.64
LWC-B 100:300 (Clay:sludge) 287
LWC-C 100:500 (Clay:sludge) 255
LWC-Co. Commercial product 275

size of 10 mm. Fine aggregate river sand was used with a
density of 2.54, water absorption after 24 h was 2.04%,
and a fineness modulus was 2.19. Also, superplasticizer of
a commercial melamine type (density:1.20 g/cm3, amount
of dosage: C · 1.0%, pH 8.5 ± 0.5) was used to obtain a
fluidity and viscosity agent of commercial polyethylene
oxide type (density: 1.06 g/cm3, amount of dosage:
C · 0.2%, pH 10 ± 1) was used to prevent segregation.
2.3.2. Quality tests for lightweight concrete
Concrete specimens were made with four types of light-
weight aggregate. The mixing proportions of concrete are
presented in Table 1.
Cylindrical samples of 100 mm diameter and 200 mm
height, prism samples of dimensions 60 · 60 · 240 mm,
and plate samples of dimensions 140 · 160 · 40 mm were
made. All specimens were demolded 24 h after casting and
then stored in an open shaded environment (temperature
20 C, RH 60%), without exposure to sun or rain, until the
test. The specimens were tested for compressive and flexural
strength, density, water absorption, and thermal conductiv-
ity at a curing age of 14 days. The specimens for density,
water absorption, and thermal conductivity tests were dried
at the age of 14 days in an oven at 110 ± 10 C and weighed
at 24-h intervals until the loss in weight did not exceed 1%
per 24-h. The surfaces of the specimens were sandpapered
before measuring their thermal conductivities [5–7]. A quick
thermal conductivity-meter based on ASTM C 1113-90
hot-wire method was used [8,9]. The QTM 500 device is a
product of Kyoto Electronics Manufacturing, Japan.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effects on physical properties and chemical compositions
of raw materials in the manufacturing process
The principle to make lightweight aggregate by the expan-
sion of raw materials is explained as follows: A part of the
raw materials is melted at a high temperature, attains a
proper viscosity, and generates a gas. The melted raw mate-
rials are expanded and then formed into a lightweight aggre-
gate when the gas pressure is slightly higher than that
required to resist the viscosity of the melted raw materials
[2,3]. The expansion at high temperature depends on their
viscosity. The proper viscosity can be determined from the
chemical compositions of the raw materials used. The phys-
ical properties and chemical compositions of sewage sludge
and clay are listed in Table 2. The chemical compositions
of the sewage sludge are similar to those of ordinary clay,
and its SiO2 content is somewhat lower than that of the clay.
Generally, its CaO and MgO contents account for a sudden
change in the viscosity of the raw materials at high tempera-
tures. The sewage sludge did not cause a sudden change in the
viscosity even at high temperature because its CaO and MgO
contents were 10% or less. In general, when its ratio of Al2O3
to SiO2 is high, its melting point and viscosity tend to be
become high. However, it is expected that the melting point
of the sewage sludge would be low because its ratio of Al2O3
to SiO2 is low [2–4]. The sintering process would also be
accelerated because the calorific value of the sewage sludge
is 13,808 kJ/kg.
Table 3 gives the heavy metal contents of sewage sludge. A
small amount of the heavy metals are contained in the sewage
sludge. However, their content is not very high compared to
other industrial wastes. In addition, the heavy metals are
solidified in the manufactured lightweight aggregate.
The X-ray diffraction analysis of sewage sludge is shown
in Fig. 2. Quartz peaks are dominantly and remarkably vis-
ible, followed by feldspar, muscovite and chlorite peaks. As
shown in Fig. 3, results of the thermal analysis (TG-DTA)
indicate the thermal decomposition and combustion of
organic materials in the sewage sludge at temperatures of
about 290–388 C. The data indicates a thermal equilib-
rium at a temperature of about 700 C.
3.2. Qualities of lightweight aggregate manufactured on trial
Fig. 4 represents the effect of clay to sewage sludge ratio
on the density and water absorption of the lightweight aggre-
gate manufactured on trial. The density of the lightweight

Table 2
Physical properties and chemical compositions of raw materials
Type of Water Organic Inorganic Calorific Chemical compositions (%)
raw material content (%) compound compound value
SiO2 Al2O3 TiO2 Fe2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O MnO P2O5
content (%) content (%) (kJ/kg)
Sewage sludge 83.08 10.17 6.75 13,808 52.00 20.94 0.94 8.98 2.21 4.06 1.30 3.11 0.12 5.31
Clay – 7.13 92.87 – 66.73 19.28 0.98 6.63 1.63 0.43 0.95 3.13 0.13 0.11
1586 K.J. Mun / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 1583–1588

Table 3
Heavy metal contents of sewage sludge
Heavy metal content (mg/kg)
Ti Cr Mn Co Ni Cu Zn As Mo Cd Pb
1204.33 83.61 1094.02 15.68 88.62 710.53 1648.02 71.21 113.46 5.92 126.82

aggregate decreases with the increase in sewage sludge con- 1.0 30

tent. The decrease in density is attributed to the internal 0.9 Density
sintering due to the calorification and combustion of 0.8
25
organic materials and the accelerated expansion due to 0.7
gas generation. Three types of lightweight aggregate with 20
0.6
clay:sewage sludge ratios of 100:300 to 100:500 have a sim-
0.5 15
ilar density to the commercial lightweight aggregate. The Water absorption
0.4
water absorption of the lightweight aggregate tends to 10
0.3
gradually decrease with the increase in the sewage sludge
content and with the decrease in the density. The water 0.2
5
absorption–density relationship of the lightweight aggre- 0.1
gate differs from that of ordinary lightweight aggregate. 0.0 0
Commercial 100:100 100:200 100:300 100:400 100:500
The reason results from the formation of a melted glass lightweight Clay:sewage sludge ratio
aggregate (by mass)

Manufactured lightweight aggregate

Fig. 4. Effect of the clay to sewage sludge ratios on density and water
absorption of lightweight aggregate.

phase made by the thermal decomposition in the foamed

clay–sewage sludge mixture.
Table 4 shows the abrasion loss, crushing value and
impact value of the lightweight aggregate manufactured
on trial. The abrasion loss, crushing value and impact value
of the lightweight aggregate decrease with increasing the
clay to sewage sludge ratios of 100:100, 100:200 and
100:300 and have similar or less abrasion loss, crushing
value and impact value compared to the commercial light-
weight aggregate.
The microstructures of lightweight aggregate are shown
in Fig. 5 with the clay to sewage sludge ratios of 100:100,
Fig. 2. X-ray diffraction patterns of sewage sludge. 100:300 and 100:500. During the expansion of the spher-
ically formed lightweight aggregate in the sintering pro-
100 cess, thin layers with dense microstructures are formed
80
on the surfaces of the aggregate, which prevents the adhe-
sion. As presented in Fig. 5, the thickness of the layers
80
tends to decrease with the increase in the sewage sludge
60
TG content. The diameters of pores inside the lightweight
60 aggregate with the ratio of clay:sewage sludge = 100:100
40
are 500 lm or less, but those of pores inside the light-
weight aggregate with the ratios of clay:sewage
40 20 sludge = 100:300 and 100:500 are 500–1500 lm. The
decomposition of organic materials in the sewage sludge
20 0 causes calorification and gas generation in the formed
DTA mixtures. These generations lead to a decrease in the
-20 melted ingredient viscosity and an increase in the gas
pressure due to the increased inner temperature. The
200 400 600 800 1000 1200
thickness of the thin layers formed on the lightweight
aggregate and the diameters of the pores inside them
Fig. 3. Thermal analysis data of sewage sludge. depend on the balance of the melted ingredient viscosity
 K.J. Mun / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 1583–1588 1587

Table 4
Abrasion loss, crushing value and impact value of lightweight aggregate with various the clay–sewage sludge ratios
Type of lightweight aggregate Clay:sewage sludge ratio (by mass) Abrasion loss (%) Crushing value (%) Impact value (%)
Manufactured lightweight aggregate on trial 100:100 18.2 31.3 29.9
100:200 18.2 32.5 31.3
100:300 18.5 35.5 32.1
100:400 19.8 35.8 33.3
100:500 20.2 36.1 33.9
Commercial lightweight aggregate – 19.6 35.1 33.0

Fig. 5. Microstructures of lightweight aggregate with various clay–sewage sludge ratios: (a) Clay:sewage sludge = 100:100 (·27); (b) Clay:sewage
sludge = 100:300 (·27); (c) Clay:sewage sludge = 100:500 (·27); (d) Clay:sewage sludge = 100:100 (·27); (e) Clay:sewage sludge = 100:300 (·27) and (f)
Clay:sewage sludge = 100:500 (·27).

and gas pressure. Increasing the inner temperature and
the excessive generation of the melted ingredients in the
formed mixtures effectively accelerate the formation of a
glass phase [1–3]. Accordingly, although the larger pores
inside the lightweight aggregate are formed by increasing
the sewage sludge content, the formation of the glass
phase is found to prevent the decrease in the strength
and the increase in water absorption. It is anticipated that
the proper balance between the melted ingredient viscosity
and the gas pressure is obtained at the ratio of clay:sew-
age sludge = 100:300, considering the physical properties
of the lightweight aggregate.
Two types of the lightweight aggregate with clay:sewage
sludge ratios of 100:100 and 100:500 of the lowest sewage
sludge content, and the highest sewage sludge content were
selected for the leaching test of heavy metals. Table 5 pro-
vides the leaching contents of heavy metals from the light-
weight aggregate. No toxic heavy metals were detected.
Small quantities of Mn, Ni and Zn were leached, but their
influences on the environment could be slight [1].
3.3. Application of lightweight in concrete
Table 6 shows the test results of concrete samples. The
highest compressive and flexural strengths are obtained
with LWC-A. The strength of LWC-A is about 11% higher
than that of LWC-Co. In the cases of the aggregate with
higher mixing ratios of sewage sludge, the compressive

Table 5
Leaching contents of heavy metals from lightweight aggregate with various clay–sewage ratios
Method of analysis Clay:sewage sludge ratio (by mass) Leaching content (mg/l)
Ti Cr Mn Co Ni Cu Zn As Mo Cd Pb
EPT 100:100 ND ND 0.36 ND 4.53 ND 0.49 ND 0.70 ND ND
100:500 ND ND 0.35 ND 5.28 ND 0.50 ND ND ND ND
KSLT 100:100 ND ND 0.28 ND 1.06 ND 0.28 ND ND ND ND
100:500 ND ND 0.31 ND 1.07 ND 0.34 ND ND ND ND
ND: not detected.
1588 K.J. Mun / Construction and Building Materials 21 (2007) 1583–1588
Table 6
Properties of concrete using lightweight aggregate
Series Type of lightweight Compressive Flexural
aggregate strength (MPa) strength (MPa)
LWC-A 100:100 (Clay:sludge) 17.0 3.6
LWC-B 100:300 (Clay:sludge) 16.4 3.3
LWC-C 100:500 (Clay:sludge) 15.9 3.3
LWC-Co. Commercial product 15.4 3.1
and flexural strengths in concrete slightly decrease. Gener-
ally, the compressive strength is over 15 MPa and the flex-
ural strength is over 3 MPa. The density is 1400–1500 kg/
m3. These results indicate that the lightweight aggregate
using sewage sludge could lighten the density of concrete
to the extent of 700–800 kg/m3, compared with concrete
of crushed stone, and could be applied to nonstructural
lightweight concrete products.
The water absorption of lightweight concrete is ranged
from 9.6% to 11.8%. The water absorption of LWC-Co.
is higher than the water absorption of LWC with light-
weight aggregate using sewage sludge. However, the
water absorption of LWC with lightweight aggregate
using sewage sludge is not significantly different accord-
ing to the types of aggregate with sewage sludge
contents.
The thermal conductivity is 0.593–0.733 W/mK. In
lightweight aggregate with the highest mixing ratio of
sludge, the thermal conductivity is the lowest, because the
highest levels of porosity are obtained internally due to cal-
orific of organic materials and generated gas.
The thermal conductivity of ordinary concretes using
crushed stones is about 1.50–1.60 W/mK. When concrete
is made of lightweight aggregate using sewage sludge, an
insulation effect becomes twice as strong as that of ordinary
concrete.
4. Conclusions
Conclusions obtained are summarized as follows:
(1) When sewage sludge content increases up to 75%
(clay:sewage sludge = 100:300) in the mixtures of
clay and sewage sludge as raw materials, internal
sintering and gas foaming (or expansion) originate
from calorification and gas generation, due to the
decomposition of organic materials in the foamed
clay-sewage sludge mixtures. This results in the
lightweight aggregate with a reduced density and
water absorption.
(2) An experimentally manufactured lightweight aggre-
gate with a recommendable sewage sludge content
of 75% is similar or superior in physical properties
such as density, water absorption, abrasion loss,
crushing value and impact value to the commercial
lightweight aggregate for nonstructural concrete. In
Density Water Thermal conductivity
(kg/m3) absorption (%) (W/mK)
1500 9.6 0.733
1450 10.2 0.652
1410 10.2 0.593
1430 11.8 0.617
particular, the water absorption of the manufactured
lightweight aggregate is about 50% or less than that
of the commercial lightweight aggregate.
(3) No toxic heavy metals were detected from any of the
manufactured lightweight aggregates with the highest
or lowest sewage sludge contents. Therefore, the
lightweight aggregate can be used as environment-
conscious lightweight aggregate.
(4) Due to a higher mixing ratio of sewage sludge, the
compressive and flexural strengths of concrete
decrease gradually, and the adiabatic effect becomes
more beneficial. Consequently, it is concluded that
nonstructural lightweight concrete with a density
range of 1400–1500 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity
range of 0.59–0.73 W/mK could be manufactured.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express thanks for the financial
support from the Ministry of Construction and Transpor-
tation in Korea.
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