Sustainable application of industrial side streams as alternative fine aggregates for cement mortar

Increase in industrialization has led to the production of huge volume of side-stream materials that need safe disposal solutions. The present study proposes the use of local industrial side streams such as ferrochrome slag, phyllite dust and mine tailings as secondary raw materials for construction, mainly as fine aggregates. Four different cement mortar mixtures, with a combination of selected side streams as a sole, binary, and ternary blends were investigated. Workability, strength, and durability properties of the derived mortar mixtures were compared with mortar produced using standard sand as reference. Mortar mixtures with a ternary blend of side-stream fine aggregates resulted in a compressive strength of 68–72 MPa at 28 days, which is 30–40% higher than that of control mix. The addition of industrial side streams resulted in a denser microstructure and enhanced the mechanical properties. The durability performance of the mortar with alternative fine aggregates is comparable with those of standard sand.