Recycled Aggregate Concrete: A Critical Review of its Properties, Limitations and Applications

Around 1.3 billion tons of solid waste is generated worldwide every year, of which building materials make up roughly 50% of all materials consumed by human activities and similarly contribute to about 50% of the solid waste generated. The waste that is generated during a building construction, maintenance, repair and disposal phase is called Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste. The management of C&D waste is a big challenge faced by the world. However, rather than being treated as waste, using construction waste as an aggregate for developing new concrete appears to be technically viable. Therefore, the idea of recycled aggregate has been developed and adopted which is beneficial to the environment. The use of RCA in concrete also reduces the demand of virgin aggregates. This paper reports the use of RCA in concrete, its basic properties & also compare the properties of RCA with natural aggregates. Also discuss the production, properties and application of RCA, the barriers to its uptake. The future recommendations are also discussed in addition.