Rice husk ash-carbide lime as an alternative binder for waste foundry sand stabilization

Rice husk ash (RHA) is an excellent pozzolana and associated with hydrated lime (HL), it becomes an alternative binder to Portland cement in soil stabilization. In the context of waste valorization, waste foundry sand (WFS) and carbide lime (CL) have been investigated in civil construction and environmental geotechnical applications. However, stabilizing WFS with alternative binders to Portland cement represents a large field of research to be explored. This study evaluated the stabilization of WFS with a binder based on RHA and CL, compared to the use of RHA-HL. An experimental design was carried out to evaluate the influence of different dry-specific weights (12.00, 12.75, and 13.50 kN/m3), RHA contents (10%, 20%, and 30%), and curing times (28, 60, and 90 days) under unconfined compressive strength (UCS). UCS results were submitted to statistical analysis and correlated to the porosity/binder content index (η/Biv). Healing capacity, mineralogy, microstructure, and leaching of metals from mixtures of interest were evaluated. The results showed that higher specific weights and higher percentages of RHA promoted better strength. The η/Biv0.28 index proved to be an adequate parameter to assess the UCS of WFS-RHA mixtures with different limes (CL and HL), lower porosity, and higher binder content leading to higher strengths. The mixture’s mineralogy and microscopy showed the formation of cementing gels, corroborating the strength gains. WFS stabilized with both binders (RHA-CL and RHA-HL) presented satisfactory environmental performance, allowing the immobilization of metals in the waste compositions.