Reuse of foundry sand as construction material

Abstract

The ultimate solution to the high volume of excess foundry sands generated in metal casting facilities is to beneficially reuse them. A variety of possible reuse programs suit the utilization of foundry sands. These programs mainly relate to civil and agricultural applications, e.g., highway embankment, concrete, backfills, topsoil, and growing amendments. Foundry sand exhibits qualified physical, mechanical, or chemical properties for these end-use products and is acknowledged as a marketable resource. Most often, foundry sand is characterized to match a target material, which has been adopted as a standardized component in an end-use product, e.g. fine aggregate in concrete. If the match gives favorable outcomes, the foundry sand is introduced fully or partially replacing the target material to form a technically competitive end-use product, e.g. foundry sand used in concrete. In addition to its engineering qualifications, foundry sand’s environmental safety is also ensured to comply with regulations. The chemical characterization of foundry sand needs to be accomplished to demonstrate that it will not pose a thread to environments and human health during reuse programs. This chapter is organized to present the system (foundry) sand operation, foundry sand generation and management, chemical characterization of foundry sand, reuse applications of foundry sand.