Title: Utilisation of South African spent foundry sand in paving blocks manufacturing

Authors: Takalani Madzivhandila

Addresses: Department of Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract: An increasing amount of waste is produced by industrial activities, human consumption behaviour, and linear process systems. Due to environmental legislation and the high cost of dumping, these materials are now used in other industries and products. The study is focused on utilising waste foundry sand in the manufacturing of bricks. It was found that foundry greensand waste is very suitable for the manufacturing of paving blocks. We attained the class 25 SANS 1058: 2006 standards which were based on a compressive strength rating of 25 MPa which is now recognised as Class 30/2.0. It can be concluded that waste foundry sand can be reused as a partial replacement for virgin sand. This will result in a reduced cost of production. Foundry greensand waste can also be used for the setting of pavers. Partial replacement of river sand with waste foundry sand will be an advantage to brick makers and it will reduce costs.

Keywords: waste foundry; waste management; waste disposal; leachable concentration threshold limits.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2025.148034

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2025 Vol.38 No.1, pp.85 - 101

Received: 31 Jul 2022
Accepted: 21 Nov 2023
Published online: 15 Aug 2025 *

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