The performance of pervious planting concrete prepared with recycled aggregates

A large amount of construction waste could be reused if recycled aggregate (RA) is used to prepare pervious planting concrete (PPC). This would reduce the consumption of natural resources and environmental burdens, in line with the concept of sustainable development. The effects of the water/binder ratio (w/b), polyvinyl alcohol powder (PVAP) content and aggregate size on the compressive strength and water permeability of RA-PPC were studied in this work. Elymus dahuricus Turcz (EDT) was planted on the RA-PPC matrix to study its vegetative property and bacillus was used to improve growth. The results showed that the compressive strength and water permeability of the RA-PPC first increased and then decreased with an increase in w/b and PVAP content. The performance of RA-PPC made with larger aggregate (10–20 mm) was superior to that of RA-PPC made with smaller aggregate (5–10 mm). The pore structure characteristics and the paste thickness on the surface of the aggregates were the primary factors influencing the performance of the RA-PPC. The incorporation of bacillus promoted the growth of EDT on the concrete matrix and enhanced the vegetative property of RA-PPC. The water permeability and compressive strength of the RA-PPC decreased slightly after planting.