Durability and Microstructure Analyses of Waste Granite Powder for Sustainable Concrete Production

The granite industry produces substantial waste in the form of Waste Granite Powder (WGP) that remains non-biodegradable. This study explores the utilization of WGP in concrete production to have a green solution for waste disposal and environmental problems. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how replacing fine aggregates with WGP influences both durability and microstructure in concrete. The fresh and hardened WGP blended concrete with different substitution rates of fine aggregate (10% to 50 % by weight) is subjected to durability tests, including water absorption, water penetration, RCPT, and HCP. Further, the microstructural characterization with Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope analysis is carried out for different WGP blended concrete. The findings indicate that replacing up to 40% fine aggregate with WGP significantly improves concrete's microstructure and durability contrasted to the control mix. This improvement is ascribed to its finer particle size and Si/Al ratio of geopolymers, which encourages better interpore connectivity and geopolymerization. The paper also investigates the relationships among different durability properties. Therefore, the use of WGP in concrete provides a way to solve disposal problems and, at the same time, helps for eco-friendly sustainable construction.