Soil Improvement Using Reclaimed Bituminous Pavement Materials and Ground Granulated Slag: A Review

Abstract

With the rapid pace of road, rail, and building construction, substantial construction byproducts are produced, disrupting natural habitats. Managing these waste materials, such as fly ash, construction, demolition (C & D) waste, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), and agricultural waste material, has emerged as a critical environmental concern. These wastes, if improperly disposed of, can harm ecosystems. In the past decade, India, a developing country, has focused on expanding its rail and road network. The growing volume of waste worldwide highlights the necessity of implementing effective strategies to mitigate its adverse environmental effects. Dumping garbage in landfills is not a feasible solution as it may result in a risk of soil contamination, potentially leading to groundwater pollution. When bitumen pavement is reconstructed, these materials are produced to gain access to embedded utilities. There has been a lot of research in the field of road construction that emphasizes improving the quality of roads and keeping costs low. Various recycled and waste materials can be employed to enhance the strength characteristics of soil subgrades. This study is an attempt to review the improvement in soil-bearing capacity using various waste materials such as lime, plastic waste, cement, industrial waste, jute, mushroom waste, and reclaimed asphalt pavement to find their impact on the engineering properties of the soil.