TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lee, Joel
AU  - Song, Hyunho
AU  - Park, Jaeyoung
AU  - Lee, Sugjoon
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/10/03
TI  - Recycling Spent Coffee Grounds on Permeable Interlocking Concrete Paving Blocks
JO  - Advances in Environmental and Engineering Research
SP  - 046
VL  - 04
IS  - 04
AB  - Decomposition of spent coffee grounds (SCGs), a byproduct of brewing coffee, in disposed landfill sites releases significant amounts of potent greenhouse gases. This study aims to investigate the maximum recycling proportions of SCGs, a nonconventional filler material, for permeable interlocking concrete paving (PICP) blocks. These blocks have a porous structure that helps mitigate surface ponding while maintaining sound structural performance. Using Scanning Electron Microscope image analysis, the water absorbency of SCGs is inferred from the granular surface features of SCGs with voids of measured sizes. The flow table test was conducted to determine the water-to-SCG filler ratio, following a nonlinear trend, and then establish the water-to-cement ratio for constructing PICP specimens for this study. Among a range of PICP specimens with 9 different proportions of SCGs without replacing sand, those containing the 10% SCG filler as an inflection point exhibited the highest performance, achieving 18 MPa of compressive strength and 6 MPa of flexural strength, respectively. Conclusively, the PICP specimens with a maximum 10 % SCGs still maintained sufficient permeability at 0.47 mm/second, despite a 67% reduction compared to the control sample, attributed to the additional 1.69% weight of 10% SCGs. Based on the proven performance of tested PICP specimens, a maximum of 10% SCG filler has the potential to be applied in the concrete block market for recycling up to 27% of the annual Korean coffee consumption, reducing carbon emissions by more than 13,000 tons from incineration.
SN  - 2766-6190
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/aeer.2304046
DO  - 10.21926/aeer.2304046
ID  - Lee2023
ER  -