Use of Non-Metallic Powder Reclaimed from Waste Printed Circuit Boards in Rigid Concrete Pavement

Abstract

Treating E-Waste is the need of the hour, about 2 million tons of E-Waste with a 5% share of PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) is generated by India out of which only few is treated, majority of which is disposed in water bodies and landfills. The disposal of e-waste is a worldwide concern and to deal with the same we propose to use the e-waste in rigid concrete pavement. India with 43,20,000 km of roads, gives a wide possibility of using e-waste in this industry. This research mainly focuses on the conversion of Non-Metallic Powder (NMP) waste recycled from PCBs into acceptable construction material. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of e-waste as a filler replacement, on the strength parameters of concrete (M40 grade) and used as rigid pavement. NMP from waste PCB is mixed with 0%, 3%, 6%, 9% and 12% as an additive and based on Compressive Strength, Split Tensile Strength, Flexural Strength test and Impact Resistance test, the most suitable dosage of the additive is then to be calculated. It is observed that there is definite increase in compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength with increase in percentage of NMP up to 9%. Here an attempt is made to use the PCB waste products in rigid road construction, which affect the environment and are difficult to process. The study concludes that 9% of e-waste can be used as filler material in bituminous mixes.