Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Nadhir Toubal Seghir, Biskra University, Biskra, Algeria

Łukasz Sadowski, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
Oussama Benaimeche and Mekki Mellas, Biskra University, Biskra, Algeria
r 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nomenclature PCC Portland composite cement

fcd Compressive strength RH Relative humidity
MGR Marble granite residue SCC Self-compacting concrete
MP Marble powder WMD Waste marble dust
MS Marble sludge WMP Waste marble powder
MSD Marble stone dust WMS Waste marble slurry
OPC Ordinary Portland cement ϒad Apparent density

Introduction

The cement production is typically requires about 3.2–6.3 GJ of energy and 1.7 tons of raw materials (chiefly limestone) per ton (t)
of clinker produced (Oss and Padovani, 2003). Moreover, it is followed by a significant emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), and
also nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulates. The average intensity of carbon dioxide emissions from total global cement
production is 222 kg of C/t of cement (Worrell et al., 2001). For these reasons, the worldwide cement production has known
recently high interest toward the mineral addition in attempts to reduce the clicker manufacture activity.
In order to minimize the polluting and the expensive industrial process, the mineral additions could be found abundant in the
nature. In particular, it could be find as the natural pozzolana from (a deposit of pumice ash or tuff, the explosive volcanic
eruption, and opaline shales, rice husk ash and metakaolin) (Ciuperca, 2018). In addition, it could be manufactured as a fly ash
which is a by-product that is obtaining during the combustion of pulverized coal in the electric generation process. Moreover,
another type of addition could be cited that is created during the quarrying operations of the aggregate materials and the
ornamentals stone. Large quantities of fine by-products wastes generated such as quarry dust and marble sludge, which cause
serious environmental problems. This fine by-product waste is basically a limestone material which is extensively used recently as
cement replacement material or as fine aggregates (Galetakis and Soultana, 2016). The waste generated from the marble industry
can represent as much as 80%–90% of the total extracted soil and stone (Sardinha et al., 2016).
The present article reviews the recent contributions which deal with the valorization of marble powder in the cement-based
materials. In particular, it focuses on the historical overview of the marble production and the marble wastes generated in some
valorization domains as well as its physical, chemical and mineralogical composition. Finally, it summarizes the effect of the use
of marble powder as cement substitution on the properties of fresh and hardened cement-based materials.

Historic Overview
The Romans discovered marble stone (Fig. 1). At first, they were used for religious architectural achievements like statues of deities,
temples, tombs, and after a while, they developed its industry from the manufacture of floors, cladding, sculptures, statues, and
others as a building material. Its manufacture passes through several operations, shaping, sawing and polishing, during these
operations, waste including marble powder are produced. This powder can be stolen in the air by wind effect; this can pollute the
environment considerably and can threaten even agriculture and public health. These problems have stimulated researchers for
recycled it; at the same time, in the construction branch, there are many problems, the cost of cement materials, gas emissions
during cement production, the aggressive environment, so the first idea that came to researchers, which is the incorporation of the
marble powder in the production of the cement-based materials. Bartoli and Bartoli (1965) incorporated the powder into the
mortar composition as a partial substitution of OPC with a proportion of 1% to improve its properties. The researchers do not
stop here, Bernett (1977) tries to prepare a mortar based on this powder by increasing its incorporation percentage up to 25%, this
mortar is used for the repair of tiles ceramic (fill the joints between the porous edges). Research continued until 1982 when it came
Sadler (1982) who proposed a mixture of mortar contains 6.7%–20% of marble powder to make this mixture more economical
without noticeable degradation of its physical characteristics. Until now, researchers still want to develop building materials and
minimize its cost by recycling this waste. The marble powder generally used by researchers Egyptians, Turks and Indians because
the rate of marble waste is higher in their countries.

Marble stone
Since antiquity, marble has been widely used as a material for sculpture and architecture. Marble is a metamorphic rock derived
from recrystallized limestone or dolomite sedimentary, composed mainly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and magnesium

Encyclopedia of Renewable and Sustainable Materials doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-803581-8.11446-8 1

2 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Fig. 1 Historic overview.

Fig. 2 Marble manufacture and waste generating process.

 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials 3

carbonate (MgCO3). It is generated by the influence of the pressure, the temperature and the action of vapors that come from the
deep parts of the globe.
Marble characterized by various colors, which are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides,
or chert that are originally present as grains or layers in the limestone (Ghosh et al., 2008) but the white is the most common.

Application of marble stone

Because of its strength, durability, formability, architectural adaptability and aesthetic satisfaction, the marble has utilized
throughout historic time as an important building material. Marble industry comprises two major branches; the first produces the
carved marble, it is blocks or slabs that meet size and shape specifications. The application areas of carved marble include building
stone, monumental stone, ashlar, wainscoting, veneer paneling, tiling, statuary and others. The second produces the crushed and
ground marble, which ranges in size from large blocks to fine granular.

Marble powder
Marble powder is an inert material of pure limestone produced during the extraction and treatment of marble stones (Fig. 2). Since
antiquity, it was used as a coating material due to its perfect impermeability and served as pigments.

Application of marble powder

The manufacture of marble pass through several stages: extraction, sawing, shaping and polishing that generate waste including
marble powder.
The marble powder can be used in many branches, are as follows:

• Coating, decorative plaster, paint.

• Ceramic industry.
• Glass industry (used as mineral powders).
• Manufacture of paper (stone paper).
• Manufacture of plastic materials.

Advantages of marble powder

The marble powder has many advantages it can be mentioned:

• An economic and environmental interest by recycling that allows to reduce the pollution.
• Marble powder can be used as a coating material.
• Marble powder can be used as an additive in concrete and mortar to improve its mechanical properties.
• Marble powder can be used in the manufacture of limestone-cement.
• Possibility of mixing with many materials.

Disadvantages of marble powder

During the manufacturing processes of the marble stone, only 20%–25% of the final product (waste) is obtained. In addition, the
marble stone is not available in all places.
The application, advantage and disadvantage of marble stone and marble powder are briefly shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Application, advantage and disadvantage of marble stone and marble powder

Application Advantage Disadvantage

Marble stone • Building stone, monumental stone and • Strength • Expensive

ashlar • Durability • Not available in all places
• Wainscoting • Formability
• Veneer paneling • Architectural adaptability
• Tiling • Aesthetic satisfaction
• Statues
Marble powder • Coating, decorative plaster and paint • Reduce the pollution. • The waste obtained is ¼ of marble
• Ceramic industry • Used as a coating material • Not available in all places.
• Glass industry (used as mineral • Used as an additive in concrete and mortar
powders) • Used in the manufacture of limestone-cement.
• Manufacture of paper (stone paper) • Possibility of mixing with many materials.
• Manufacture of plastic materials
4 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Fig. 3 Chemical analysis of marble powder used in the existing literature research.

Marble waste rate in some countries

Several researchers have estimated the amount of waste after the operations mentioned previously.

• In Turkey and exactly in the Afyon region about 340,000 tons of marble waste resulting from 409 marble processing plants that
produce 19% of the total slab in Turkey (Celik and Sabah, 2008).
• In Brazil, the amount of waste left after the process of mining and the manufacture of ornamental stone can reach up to 40% of
the total volume extracted, while the amount of waste after cutting and sawing operations can easily reach 20%–25% of the
total block volume (Saboya et al., 2007).
• In India, from the marble industries about 6 million tons/year of waste is released through cutting, polishing, processing and
grinding operations (Pappu et al., 2007).
• In Egypt, the industrial area of marble and granite processing “Shaq Al-Thoaban” produces about 800.000 tons/year of waste
(Hamza et al., 2011).

Chemical and Mineralogical Compositions of Marble Powder

Several studies have carried out on marble powder to know its chemical and mineralogical compositions for incorporating in the
mixture of concrete and mortar as partial replacement of cement or sand in order to obtain a cement-based material having good
properties and intended for construction.

Chemical compositions
The X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) diffraction is generally used for the chemical analysis quantitative. The chemical compositions of the
MP used in some different studies are presented in Fig. 3. By examining the results indicated in this figure it can be seen that the
main chemical component of the marble powder is Calcium oxide (CaO). In addition, it also indicated the presence of small
amounts of Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Magnesium oxide (MgO), Iron and Aluminum oxide (Fe2O3 and Al2O3), with a loss on
ignition around 40%. The results shown in the figure reflect the typical composition of a marble which is mainly compose of the
calcite (CaCO3) and the dolomite (CaMg (CO3)2). The chemical analysis results of marble powder are briefly shown in Fig. 3.
The ternary diagram CaO–SiO2–Al2O3 showing position of marble powder and other cementitious materials is shown in Fig. 4.
As can be seen form this figure, the main components of cement are CaO and SiO2 and it has a small amount of Al2O3.
By comparison to the cement, the fly ash has a higher placement in the diagram. In this case, it can be mentioned that its
main components are SiO2 and Al2O3. The main components of blast furnace slag are identical as cement but with higher
amounts.
 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials 5

Fig. 4 Ternary diagram CaO–SiO2–Al2O3 showing typical position of marble powder and other cementitious materials.

By comparison to the other cement-based materials, the MP is located at the bottom of the diagram and its main component is
CaO. Furthermore, it has minor amounts of SiO2 and traces of Al2O3. Thus, its utilization as a partial replacement of cement leads to
an increase of CH content and a decrease of C–S–H, this is attributed to the excess of CaO provided by MP (Toubal Seghir et al., 2018).

Mineralogical compositions
X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) is usually used for the determination of the mineralogical composition of mineral powder as
shown in the Fig. 5 (Toubal Seghir et al., 2018). The majority of the recent studies indicated that the most dominant crystalline
mineral of marble powder is mainly calcite (calcium carbonate CaCO3) (Chaid et al., 2011; Ergün, 2011; Mashaly et al., 2015;
Vardhan et al., 2015; Toubal Seghir et al., 2018).

Utilization of Marble Powder in the Manufacturing of Cement-Based Materials

The choice of a suitable formulation of a cement-based material requires a compromise between three objectives: facility of
implementation defined by its workability, strength referred to different stages of maturation and durability with respect to
physicochemical attack from the environment.
Marble powder (MP) can be used as a partial substitution of OPC in the concrete and mortar, its effect is expressed by the
following:

Effect of Using Marble Powder on the Properties of Fresh Cement-Based Materials

Normal consistency and setting times
According to research performed by Aliabdo et al. (2014), which is presented in Fig. 6. The amount of water needed by each
mixture is not so much varied from each other by using MP with a specific area about 3996 cm2/g as cement substitution up to
15%. In addition, the initial and final setting times of OPC pastes are not also affected, as shown in Fig. 4. The results are almost
similar to that obtained by (Toubal Seghir et al., 2018) which used the MP with a specific area about 3869.46 cm2/g.
The increase of the MP fineness up to 6700 cm2/g increases the water requirement of all samples containing MP. However, as
visible from the results published in the literature, there is a sudden reduction in the initial and final setting times as shown in
Fig. 7. Nevertheless, the setting times of all OPC pastes are complying with the limits of ASTM C 150 (Mashaly et al., 2015).
The results of the effect of cement substitution on the consistency and setting times are briefly shown in Table 2.
6 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Fig. 5 Typical XRD pattern of marble powder.

Fig. 6 Normal consistency and setting times.

Workability
The fluidity of the OPC pastes made by partially substituting cement with MP up to 50% at w/b ratios of 0.48, 0.50 and 0.52 was
evaluated by marsh cone test; it is taken as the inverse of flow time. The literature results illustrated in Fig. 8 show that the
maximum benefit of improved workability is achieved up to 10% of the added marble powder at w/b ratios of 0.50 and 0.52
where the flow time is almost identical (Vardhan et al., 2015).
This ratio of substitution (10% MP) was used in the manufacturing of concrete by Ashish et al. (2016). The authors concluded
that the use of MP with higher specific area leads to an increase of friction and a decrease of workability. Similarly, Rana et al.
(2015) conducted a study on concrete mixes prepared with marble sludge (MS) at 0.38 w/c. On the other hand, Sardinha et al.
(2016) indicated that the decrease of cement content using MS with lower specific area does not affect the workability.
The results of the effect of cement substitution on the workability are briefly shown in Table 3.

The density of the fresh cement-based material

In the research published in the literature it is visible, that the density of fresh concrete made with 0%, 5%, 10% and 20% of MP as
cement substitution measured right after the mixes production slightly decreases as the substitution ratio increases (Fig. 9). This
may be due to the fact that the MP has a lower bulk density than the cement (Sardinha et al., 2016). On the contrary, Singh et al.
(2017) concluded that the incorporation of WMS does not significantly affect the density of concrete.
 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials 7

Fig. 7 Normal consistency and setting times of OPC pastes.

Table 2 Effect of cement substitution on water requirement and setting times

Researchers Marble type Fineness (cm2/g) Optimum (%) Consistency Setting times

Aliabdo et al. (2014) WMD 3996 10 Slightly reduction Ignored reduction

Mashaly et al. (2015) MS 6700 20 Increase Sudden reduction
Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) MP 3869.46 10 Ignored increase Ignored reduction

Fig. 8 Workability of OPC pastes at various replacement levels of MP.

Effect of Using Marble Powder on the Hardened Properties of Cement-Based Materials

Physical properties
The physical behavior of cement-based materials represented in terms of density, water absorption, permeability, and porosity.

The density of the hardened cement-based material

Mashaly et al. (2015) determined the dry bulk density of water-cured concrete containing 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of MS as
cement substitution. They concluded that the incorporation of 10% and 20% of MS slightly increases the density by 0.5% and
1.4% respectively, due to the filler effect of fine MS particles that filling of voids among aggregate particles. While the substitution
by 30% and 40% showed a reduction in bulk density by 2.3% and 2.8% respectively, due to the to the lower specific gravity of MS
8 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Table 3 Effect of cement substitution on cement-based material’s workability

Researchers Marble type Cement-based material Optimum (%) w/b Workability

Vardhan et al. (2015) MP Cement paste 10 0.5–0.52 Improved

Rana et al. (2015) MS Concrete 10 0.38 Reduce
Ashish et al. (2016) WMP Concrete – 0.42 Lower
Sardinha et al. (2016) MS Structural concrete – 0.54–0.55 Ignored reduction

Fig. 9 The density of fresh concrete at various replacement ratio.

Table 4 Effect of cement substitution on fresh cement-based material’s density

Researchers Marble type Cement-based material Optimum (%) Density

Mashaly et al. (2015) MS Concrete 20 Slightly increases

Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) MP Cement paste – Decrease almost imperceptible

when compared to the OPC. On the contrary, Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) observed that the incorporation of MP by 5, 10 and 15%
as cement substitution in the manufacturing of air-cured cement paste slightly decreases the apparent density due to the presence
of ultrafine particles provided by MP, and the specific gravity of the MP is lower than the specific gravity of the cement. However,
the change in the apparent density was almost imperceptible.
The results of the effect of cement substitution on the density of fresh cement-based material are briefly shown in Table 4.

Water absorption
The incorporation of MP with the high surface area (6700 cm2/g) as cement substitution led to an increase of apparent porosity
thus increases the water absorption, as presented typically in Fig. 10. However, the progression in curing time leads to decrease of
these properties due to the filling of some pores by the hydrate product that represents twice of anhydrous OPC (Mashaly et al.,
2015). In fact, as mentioned in the literature, the tricalcium aluminate (C3A) reacted with calcite (CaCO3) which led to the
forming of calcium carbo-aluminates (CCA) (Ergün, 2011; Arel, 2016; Toubal Seghir et al., 2018). In addition, the CaCO3 can be
reacted with tetracalcium-aluminoferrite to form calcium carbo- aluminoferrites (CCAF) (Toubal Seghir et al., 2018) that may
increase the total volume of the hydration products and decrease the apparent porosity and water absorption of the hardened OPC
paste (Mashaly et al., 2015).
In the experimental study (Chaid et al., 2011), it can be concluded that the increase of the surface area of MP decreases the
capillary absorption coefficient, the authors incorporate the MP as cement substitution with fineness of about 12,000 cm2/g, the
typical results shown in Fig. 11 indicate that its incorporation in concrete samples can help to get concrete with low water
absorption capacity. This is may be due to the filler effect of MP associated with porosity reduction (Mashaly et al., 2015).
The results of the effect of cement substitution on the water absorption are briefly shown in Table 5.

Permeability
Rana et al. (2015) reported that the concrete containing 5%–15% MS showed better resistance to water permeation than the
control mix. The impermeability of concrete was credited to lower capillary pores (pore size and pore distribution) and their
 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials 9

Fig. 10 Water absorption and apparent porosity of OPC pastes.

Fig. 11 Evolution of the capillary absorption coefficient versus time.

Table 5 Effect of cement substitution on cement-based material’s water absorption

Researchers Marble type Fineness (cm2/g) Cement-based material Optimum (%) Water absorption

Mashaly et al. (2015) MS 6700 Cement paste 20 Slightly increase

Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) MP 12,000 concrete – Decrease

discontinuity. However, further addition of MS (more than 15%) could not compensate for the poor microstructure thus increased
the permeability of concrete. Fig. 12 shows typical reduction in concrete permeability.

Porosity
Rana et al. (2015) measured the porosity of water-cured concrete made with MS by MIP (Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry)
technique. They concluded that the porosity of concrete containing 5 and 10% of MS was found lower than that of the control
concrete whereas the pores within the concrete mixture were identified as fewer and discontinuous. However, the increase of MS
more than 10% led to an increase in the concrete porosity. Some other studies found that the substitution of cement more than
10% by MP reduces the porosity. As Aliabdo et al. (2014) which concluded that the substitution of cement by 15% of MD reduced
the concrete porosity due to the filler effect of MD. Moreover, intersected substitution percentage was up to 20% of MS determined
by (Mashaly et al., 2015) which observed that cement paste and concrete mixes containing 20% of MS displayed lower porosity
10 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Fig. 12 Concrete permeability versus MS content.

Table 6 Effect of cement substitution on cement-based material’s porosity

Researchers Marble type Cement-based material Curing condition Optimum (%) Porosity

Aliabdo et al. (2014) MD Concrete Water 15 Reduce

Rana et al. (2015) MS Concrete Water 10 Lower
Mashaly et al. (2015) MS Cement paste and concrete Water 20 Lower
Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) MP Cement paste Air – Increase

than the corresponding cement paste and concrete mixes prepared without MS at the different water-to-binder ratio. They
explained the reduction of porosity by both physical and chemical effect of MS that fill some of the pores.
On the contrary, Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) observed that the incorporation of MP by 5, 10 and 15% in the manufacturing of
air-cured cement paste led to an increase of the porosity which measured by methanol exchange method due to the decrease in the
volume of hydrate products by the reduction of C3S and C2S in the cement paste, also due to an incomplete hydration process
which resulted by water evaporation under lower relative humidity.
The results of the effect of cement substitution on the porosity are briefly shown in Table 6.

Mechanical properties
Compressive strength
The compressive strength (fcd) of hardened cement-based materials is evaluated by testing of specimens prepared and cured
according to a national or international standard.
Aruntas¸ et al. (2010) investigated the usability of waste marble dust (WMD) as cement substitution in cement production. Two
types of cement were studied. In type I mixes, the mortar were prepared with Portland composite cement (PCC) which was
substituted by WMD at levels 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%. Type II mixes, the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was used with
same substitution ratio. The authors concluded that the fcd of mortar containing WMD at a cement-substitution ratio of 10% was
higher than those of mortar based on PCC by 10% and lower than those of mortar based on OPC by 14% at 28 days. However,
Mashaly et al. (2015) concluded that the increasing percentage of marble sludge (MS) from 10% to 40% resulted in a decrease of
fcd by 17%, 9%, 21%, and 30%, respectively at 28 days.
Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) investigated the effect of using MP as a partial substitution of OPC (0, 5, 10 and 15 % by weight).
The MP incorporated in the mixture was grinded in order to obtain its fineness in the OPC fineness range, they reported that the
use of MP in air-cured cement paste decreases the compressive strength at all curing age (3, 7, 28 and 65 days).
Singh et al. (2017) investigated the hardened properties of mortar and concrete containing 10% WMS as a substitution of
cement after 7, 28 and 56 days. They concluded that the fcd was improved by using 10% of WMS in a mortar and less than 10%
in concrete, this is attributed to micro filler effect of WMS. The use of WMS more than 10% lead to decrease the fcd. In a similar
investigation, Boukhelkhal et al. (2016) evaluated the fcd of SCC prepared with partial substitution of cement by MP. A
continuous decrease in compressive strength was observed with increasing substitution ratios, the reduction in compressive
strength was attributed to the use of an inert mineral unlike to the pozzolanic admixture. Contrarily, Aliabdo et al. (2014)
concluded that the substitution of cement by WMD (10%) improved the fcd of concrete at 0.40 w/c. However, the increase of
w/c up to 0.5 lead to decrease the fcd. Similar lines, (Ashish et al., 2016) reported a decrease of fcd with the incorporation of 10%
MD in concrete at 0.42 w/c.
 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials 11

Table 7 Effect of cement substitution on cement-base material's compressive strength

Researchers Marble type Cement-based material Optimum (%) Compressive strength (fcd)

Aruntas¸ et al. (2010) WMD Mortar 10 Satisfactory

Corinaldesi et al. (2010) MP Mortar – Reduced
Ergün (2011) WMP Concrete 5 Improved
Gesoğlu et al. (2012) MP SCC – Systematic reduction
Aliabdo et al. (2014) WMD Cement paste and concrete 10 Improved
Mashaly et al. (2015) MS Cement paste and concrete 20 Appropriate
Ashish et al. (2016) WMP Concrete – Reduced
Boukhelkhal et al. (2016) MP SCC – Reduced
Singh et al. (2017) WMS Concrete 10 Improved
Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) MP Cement paste 5 Acceptable

Ergün (2011) examined the mechanical properties of concrete using WMP as cement substitution, the superplasticizer was used
to decrease water demand in the production of concrete and to keep it constant in all mixes. The substitution of 5% cement by
WMP affect positively the fcd. The increase in fcd was attributed to the filler properties of WMP and low water demand caused by
using a superplasticizer admixture.
According to Arel (2016), in Turkey the concrete production costs US$40/m³ and the use of MD substitution of 5% increases
the fcd by 12% thus reduced the cost by US$4/m³, while the use of 10% MD reduced the cost by US$7/m3 correspondingly,
decreases the global annual carbon dioxide (CO2) releases also by 12%. Worldwide, both cement production and the CO2
emissions will decrease by 10%.
Generally, the use of 5%–10% MP as cement substitution was beneficial and more than 10% decreases the fcd, this decrease was
attributed to the significant reduction of C3S and C2S in the cement-based material, which is mainly responsible for the devel-
opment of compressive strength. It is commonly known as the dilution of pozzolanic reactions (Ergün, 2011; Aliabdo et al., 2014;
Mashaly et al., 2015; Toubal Seghir et al., 2018).
The results of the effect of cement substitution on the compressive strength are briefly shown in Table 7.

Chemical properties of hardened cement-based materials

Carbonation
Rana et al. (2015) measured the carbonation resistance of concrete prepared with MS in the accelerated carbonation chamber of
5 ± 0.2% carbon dioxide concentration at 50–65%RH and 27 ± 2°C temperature. Concrete prepared with MS showed poor
resistance to carbonation than the control concrete. At all substitution ratios, the carbonation depths gradually increased. This
increase due to the lower bicarbonate alkalinity of MS (89 mg/l) compared to that of Portland cement (113 mg/l).

Chloride ion migration

Rana et al. (2015) reported that the chloride diffusion coefficient of the concrete containing 5%–10% MS as cement substitution
was found lower in comparison to the control mix. The fine particles of MS help to fill the capillary pores this phenomenon
explains the lower apparent chloride diffusion coefficient obtained.

Corrosion resistance
Rana et al. (2015) measured the corrosion activity of concrete containing MS using the half-cell potential with CSE (Coppere-
Copper sulfate electrode). The use of 5%–10% MS as cement substitution enhances the corrosive resistance of concrete. This
indicates that the fine particles of MS occupy voids and densify the concrete microstructure. However, the incorporation of
15%–25% MS deteriorated the corrosive resistance of the concrete mix.

Chemical effect of marble powder on the hardened cement-based materials

Prassianakis and Prassianakis (2004) defined that the marble is a metamorphic product of pure limestone, resulting from its
transformation under the heat and/or pressure effect. During its extraction and treatment operation, the WMP produced. Several
studies pointed out that this waste is an inert by-product. However, as mentioned by Ergün (2011), Arel (2016) and Toubal Seghir
et al. (2018) the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) provided by WMP can be reacted with tricalcium aluminate C3S presented in cement
which formed calcium carbo-aluminates (CCA). Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) pointed out that the CaCO3 also reacts with Tetra-
calcium-aluminoferrite to form calcium carbo-aluminoferrites (CCAF).
Toubal Seghir et al. (2018) analysis the specimen of cement paste containing MP using SEM-EDX. They mentioned that the use
of MP as cement substitution, lead to an increase of calcium hydroxide (CH) and a decrease of silicate hydrate thus decreases the
C–S–H content, this decrease allowed for a decrease of compressive strength and an increase of porosity.
Vardhan et al. (2015) were studied the mortar specimen by XRD diffraction technique for identification of phases present in the
hardened mortar containing marble stone dust (MSD). The results indicate that MP is an inert material and there is no change in
the phase composition qualitatively of the cement-based materials.
12 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials

Conclusions

The present article reviews the recent peer-reviewed paper available online on the utilization of marble powder in the cement-
based materials as cement substitution. The main conclusion could be summarized in the following points:

(1) The consistency and setting times of cement pastes are not affected when using the MP as a cement substitution with almost
similar fineness to that of cement. Whereas, the increase in fineness of MP showed an increase of the water requirement and
a sudden reduction in the setting times.
(2) The marble powder influence positively on the workability of the fresh cement-based material by an inclusion ratio up to
10%.
(3) The fresh concrete density showed contradictory results in the literature. Some researchers have mentioned that the density
of fresh concrete decreases with an increasing percentage of MP. Others have pointed out that the density affected slightly by
using MP as cement substitution.
(4) The incorporation of MP as cement substitution led to an increase of apparent porosity thus increases the water absorption
of cement paste, contrary, the use of MP in the production of concrete decreases the capillary absorption coefficient thus
reduced the porosity.
(5) The dry bulk density of cement-based materials slightly increases by using up to 20% MS due to its fine particles that filling
voids among aggregate particles. Some other authors found that the use of MP up to 15% slightly decreases the apparent
density due to the lower specific gravity of MP compared to that of cement.
(6) The porosity of water-cured cement-based materials showed a decrease by using MP as cement substitution due to the effect
of MP that filling some pores.
(7) The porosity of air-cured cement-based materials showed an increase by using MP as cement substitution due to the
reduction of C3S and C2S. In addition, due to an incomplete hydration process which resulted by the water evaporation.
(8) The incorporation of MP up to 10% as cement substitution give acceptable results in term of compressive strength.
(9) The use of 10% MP decreases the cement production and the global annual CO2 emissions by 10%. Thus, reduced the cost
by US$7/m3.
(10) The marble powder is an inert material; however, the CaCO3 of MP can be reacted with C3A of cement and Tetracalcium-
aluminoferrite.
(11) The SEM-EDX of cement-based materials indicates that the addition of MP resulted in an increase of CH and a decrease of
silicate hydrate thus decreases the C–S–H content, this decrease allowed for a decrease of compressive strength and an
increase of porosity.
(12) XRD diffraction technique appears that marble powder does not lead to much change in the phase composition of the
mixture.

The general conclusion of this review is that the incorporation of marble powder as cement substitution was beneficial. The
properties of cement-based materials with more than 10%MP will be inappropriate. While replacing cement with 5%–10% marble
powder yielded the favorable results. The substitution at appropriate ratios, marble powder has no adverse effects on cement-based
materials quality.
The existing research showed the possibility to utilize the marble waste in cement-based materials. The future research in the
field of the utilization of marble waste may be related to the applications in structural concrete. These applications may also
include non-structural parts of the buildings such as for example the concrete floor screeds.

References

Aliabdo, A.A., Abd Elmoaty, A.E.M., Auda, E.M., 2014. Re-use of waste marble dust in the production of cement and concrete. Construction and Building Materials 50, 28–41.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.09.005.
Arel, H.S¸., 2016. Recyclability of waste marble in concrete production. Journal of Cleaner Production 131, 179–188. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.052.
Aruntas¸, H.Y., Gürü, M., Dayi, M., Tekin, I., 2010. Utilization of waste marble dust as an additive in cement production. Materials and Design 31 (8), 4039–4042. doi:10.1016/
j.matdes.2010.03.036.
Ashish, D.K., Verma, S.K., Kumar, R., Sharma, N., 2016. Properties of concrete incorporating sand and cement with waste marble powder, Advances in Concrete Construction,
2, 145–160.
Bartoli, J.A., Bartoli, J.J., 1965. Mortar compositions, U.S. Patent No. 3,169,877.
Bernett, F.E., 1977. Cementious composition for use in preparing pointing compounds or mortar compounds, U.S. Patent No. 4,021,257.
Boukhelkhal, A., Azzouz, L., Belaïdi, A.S.E., Benabed, B., 2016. Effects of marble powder as a partial replacement of cement on some engineering properties of self- compacting
concrete. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology 30 (22), 2405–2419. doi:10.1080/01694243.2016.1184402.
Celik, M.Y., Sabah, E., 2008. Geological and technical characterisation of Iscehisar (Afyon-Turkey) marble deposits and the impact of marble waste on environmental pollution.
Journal of Environmental Management 87 (1), 106–116. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.01.004.
Chaid, R., Jauberthie, R., Zeghiche, J., Kherchi, F., 2011. Impact de la poudre de marbre conjuguée au calcaire du CEM II sur la durabilité du béton. European Journal of
Environmental and Civil Engineering 15 (3), 427–445. doi:10.1080/19648189.2011.9693335.
Corinaldesi, V., Moriconi, G., Naik, T.R., 2010. Characterization of marble powder for its use in mortar and concrete. Construction and Building Materials 24 (1), 113–117.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2009.08.013.
Ciuperca, R.I., 2018. Manufactured natural pozzolan, improved manufactured natural pozzolan-based cement and method of making and using same. Google Patents.
 Valorization of Marble Waste in Cement-Based Materials 13

Ergün, A., 2011. Effects of the usage of diatomite and waste marble powder as partial replacement of cement on the mechanical properties of concrete. Construction and
Building Materials 25 (2), 806–812. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.07.002.
Galetakis, M., Soultana, A., 2016. A review on the utilisation of quarry and ornamental stone industry fine by-products in the construction sector. Construction and Building
Materials 102, 769–781. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.10.204.
Gesoğlu, M., Güneyisi, E., Kocabag, M.E., et al., 2012. Fresh and hardened characteristics of self compacting concretes made with combined use of marble powder, limestone
filler, and fly ash. Construction and Building Materials 37 (1), 160–170. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.07.092.
Ghosh, D., Deb, A., Bera, S., et al., 2008. Assessment of alpha activity of building materials commonly used in West Bengal, India. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 99
(2), 316–321. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.08.002.
Hamza, R.A., El-Haggar, S., Khedr, S., 2011. Marble and granite waste: Characterization and utilization in concrete bricks. International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and
Bioinformatics 21 (4), 115–119. doi:10.7763/IJBBB.2011.V1.54.
Mashaly, A.O., El-Kaliouby, B.A., Shalaby, B.N., et al., 2015. Effects of marble sludge incorporation on the properties of cement composites and concrete paving blocks.
Journal of Cleaner Production. 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.07.023.
Oss, H.G., Padovani, A.C., 2003. Cement manufacture and the environment part II: Environmental challenges and opportunities. Journal of Industrial Ecology 7 (1), 93–126.
doi:10.1162/108819803766729212.
Pappu, A., Saxena, M., Asolekar, S.R., 2007. Solid wastes generation in India and their recycling potential in building materials. Building and Environment 42 (6), 2311–2320.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.04.015.
Prassianakis, I.N., Prassianakis, N.I., 2004. Ultrasonic testing of non-metallic materials : Concrete and marble. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics 42, 191–198.
doi:10.1016/j.tafmec.2004.08.007.
Rana, A., Kalla, P., Csetenyi, L.J., 2015. Sustainable use of marble slurry in concrete. Journal of Cleaner Production 94, 304–311. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.01.053.
Saboya, F., Xavier, G.C., Alexandre, J., 2007. The use of the powder marble by-product to enhance the properties of brick ceramic. Construction and Building Materials 21
(10), 1950–1960. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.05.029.
Sadler, T.H., 1982. Crystalline calcium carbonate as a diluent in hydrothermally cured hydraulic cement compositions’, U.S. Patent No 4,326,891.
Sardinha, M., Brito, J. De., Rodrigues, R., 2016. Durability properties of structural concrete containing very fine aggregates of marble sludge. Construction and Building
Materials 119, 45–52. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.05.071.
Singh, M., Srivastava, A., Bhunia, D., 2017. An investigation on effect of partial replacement of cement by waste marble slurry. Construction and Building Materials 134,
471–488. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.12.155.
Toubal Seghir, N., Mellas, M., Sadowski, Ł., Zak, A., 2018. Effects of marble powder on the properties of the air-cured blended cement paste. Journal of Cleaner Production
183, 858–868. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.267.
Vardhan, K., Goyal, S., Siddique, R., Singh, M., 2015. Mechanical properties and microstructural analysis of cement mortar incorporating marble powder as partial replacement
of cement. Construction and Building Materials 96, 615–621. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.08.071.
Worrell, E., Price, L., Martin, N., et al., 2001. Carbon dioxide emissions from the global cement industry. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 26 (1), 303–329.