Integration of silt waste into cement mortar as sand replacement for sustainable infrastructure development

• Silt waste from textile industry was explored as raw material into cementitious materials. • Cementitious materials with 15–20 % silt showed optimum balance of strength and sustainability. • COMSOL Multiphysics simulation assessed thermal behavior under summer conditions. • Results support the feasibility of silt as partial replacement for conventional aggregates in sustainable construction applications. The sustainable utilization of industrial silt waste in construction materials can provide a pathway for waste management while reducing dependence on natural resources. In this context, the present study focuses on the development and characterization of new waste materials derived from textile industry and on testing their mechanical and thermal performance when utilized in construction materials. For this purpose, small sized cement-sand blocks were prepared in which natural sand was partially replaced with textile industry silt at replacement ratios of 0 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %, and 30 % by weight. The samples were then analyzed for water absorption, porosity, bulk density, compressive strength, and microstructural characteristics. The findings indicate that silt can be effectively utilized in cementitious materials at an optimum proportion of 15–20 %. For numerical study of thermal/ heat transfer through these cement blocks, the COMSOL Multiphysics tool was used and the numerical model was successfully validated against experimental results. Thus these results eventually lead to development of building materials with excellent performance and realize the efficient transformation of resources.