Wastewater utilization for concrete production: Prospects, challenges, and opportunities

The persistently increasing demand for construction materials due to rapid urbanization and population growth is concerning from a sustainability perspective. Concrete, a primary building material requiring a significant quantity of freshwater for production, threatens the already depleting and scarce freshwater resources. Further, untreated wastewater from construction and other industries poses significant environmental and public health risks. Using wastewater in concrete production has emerged as a potential solution to reduce freshwater consumption and wastewater discharge and improve sustainability in the construction industry. However, the utilization of wastewater in concrete production is subject to various factors, including the physical and chemical characteristics of wastewater, the type of concrete required, and environmental and economic considerations. Therefore, this comprehensive review paper aims to evaluate the feasibility, benefits, and limitations of using wastewater in concrete production. The review covers the characteristics of wastewater, its effects on concrete properties, environmental and economic benefits, challenges and limitations, and future research directions. Valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges of using wastewater in concrete production have been presented based on various studies. The findings indicate that using wastewater in concrete production can offer significant environmental and economic benefits, although some technical and regulatory challenges must be addressed. The intrinsic attributes of wastewater, including the presence of impurities and ions as well as the modified pH, hinder its use in concrete production. Due to these intrinsic characteristics, concrete production by using wastewater has not gained wide acceptance, and as such, there are limited studies in the subject area. It is concluded that the utilization of wastewater in concrete production has immense potential, and further research to enhance the feasibility and sustainability of this approach is recommended.