Technical, environmental, and economic analysis of required pretreatments for recycling different wastes to be utilized as raw material for producing geocomposite

Abstract

High consumption of raw materials producing vast amount of wastes has become a major concern in the world. Recycling is one of the discussed solutions for this problem. Different recycled waste materials are nowadays substituted virgin ones in various applications. This study aims to detect the required pretreatments for recycling five different wastes to be used as raw material for producing geocomposites. Moreover, the needed annual investment for initiating and running such a project as well as the environmental effects of the selected processes in terms of energy consumption are investigated. This study develops the earlier researches regarding this scope which are presented as literature review. Results indicate considerable differences regarding investment cost and environmental effects for diverse waste materials owing to their required pretreatments in which the flotation sand from the mining industry contributes to the least risks for the environment with the lowest required investment.