Dredged sediments from the Mignano Lake reservoir (Northern Apennines, Italy): technological outlook and potential use for building materials

Sustainable reservoir sediment management requires systematic frameworks to assess their reuse as secondary raw materials. This study evaluates the valorisation potential of Mignano Lake dredged sediments (Northern Apennines, Italy) across four construction applications: extruded bricks, lightweight aggregates, porcelain stoneware, and low-clinker binders. A comprehensive methodological screening approach integrates physicochemical, mineralogical, granulometric, and thermal characterisation. The raw sediment is dominated by clay minerals (35.9 wt.%), quartz (21.9 wt.%), and calcite (18.5 wt.%). Sintering and hydration tests demonstrate high technical suitability across all investigated routes. Specifically, the sediment achieves up to 6 wt.% substitution in porcelain stoneware formulation without altering technological properties, and yields binders with ∼20 MPa compressive strength. The results validate this integrated characterisation framework as a reliable screening tool for materials scientists, supporting circular economy strategies to integrate dredged reservoir silt into regional ceramic and building material supply chains.