The ceramic industry produces a significant volume of ceramic waste (CW), representing around 20-30% of its the entire output. The waste mostly comes from challenges noticed in the manufacturing process, overproduction, and damage to products. Considering the substantial worldwide production of ceramics, it is crucial to efficiently handle and recycle this waste to promote sustainability efforts. This study explores the conversion of ceramic waste into fine aggregates suitable for the production of paver blocks. Currently, a variety of assessments are being conducted to determine the effectiveness of these enhanced paver blocks. The evaluations involve aspects like compressive strength, water absorption (WA), dry density, flow table measurements, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and rebound hammer tests. The results indicate that replacing natural aggregates with up to 30% CW significantly improves compressive strength (CS) and Rebound results from tests. This study provides useful information into optimising the content of CW in paver blocks, contributing to the development of sustainable and economical construction materials. Furthermore, it focusses on minimising landfill waste and preserving natural resources.

The research on the durability and physical properties of lightweight aggregate (LWA) with addition of sanitary ceramic wastes and sewage sludge was presented in the paper. The following characteristics of LWA were defined: contact angle (CA), absorptivity, roughness, surface free energy (SFE) before and after the UV radiation durability test, thermal conductivity coefficient lambda, compressive strength, freezing-thawing, salt resistance and others. Open porosity was examined using computed tomography, it reached 20.987 % for the ceramic waste aggregate, and 7.023 % for the reference aggregate. The aggregate with the largest amount of ceramic waste (20 %) and sewage sludge (10 %) has the highest average roughness (Ra), which is 14 % higher than the Ra of the reference aggregate. The contact angle decreased by almost 4 times and samples had higher absorptivity (19.994 %) when 10 % sewage sludge and 20 % sanitary ceramic were added to the aggregate. The sanitary ceramic waste application may enhance the poor durability characteristics of lightweight aggregate with/without sewage sludge. Replacing natural loess with sanitary ceramic waste material brings benefits both in terms of respect for natural resources and also improves the properties of lightweight aggregates.

The experimental study of geopolymeric stabilized samples based on ceramic waste powder (CWP) and sodium hydroxide solution acting as an alkali activator was investigated in the present research to evaluate the possibility of geopolymeric stabilization of silty sand soil as a sustainable method for improving the mechanical properties of inshore sand soils. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) was employed to analyze and determine the chemical components of the CWP and natural soil. The effect of four factors on the unconfined compression strength (UCS) and failure strain (sigma f) of silty sand soil, including CWP content (0-24%), NaOH solution concentration (0-15 M), the curing time (7, 28, and 91 days), and the initial curing temperature (25C and 70(degrees)C), were investigated. The results demonstrated a substantial increase in both UCS and sigma f for geopolymeric stabilized samples in comparison to natural soil and the soil that was stabilized with 5% ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The UCS and sigma f values of the 28-day-cured optimal sample (CWP = 15% and NaOH solution concentration = 6 M) in comparison with natural soil increased from 0.080 to 2.22 MPa and from 2.31% to 5.45%, respectively. Moreover, the UCS value in this sample was 1.75, 1.81, and 1.29 times higher than the stabilized soil with 5% OPC for each curing time. Without an alkali activator, CWP addition to the soil had no effect on UCS at all curing times. However, when a 2 M NaOH solution was added to the soil without CWP, the UCS of this sample rose to 0.36 MPa after 7 days of curing. The UCS of geopolymeric stabilized samples experienced growth from 1.27 to 2.04 times by shifting the initial curing temperature from 25C to 70C. Through the use of energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra and scanning electron microscope (SEM) photomicrograph, the microstructure of stabilized samples was inspected. SEM photomicrographs corroborated the UCS test findings, and EDX analysis confirmed the high quality of the aluminosilicate gels' growth and production. To sum up, soil stabilization using CWP geopolymer is a cost-effective, environmentally friendly method that reduces the consumption of natural resources and energy.

Cement, the key ingredient in concrete, is responsible for 8% of the world's CO2 emissions. Thus, reducing the amount of cement used in concrete is highly desirable to lower the total embodied carbon in concrete manufacturing. Furthermore, an increasing amount of ceramic waste powder (CWP) is generated during the ceramics manufacturing process, which can result in severe environmental problems such as soil, air, and groundwater pollution. This paper reports the use of CWP as a cement replacement agent in concrete to reduce environmental pollution in both concrete production and CWP waste management fields. For this purpose, comprehensive laboratory work was carried out to replace different levels of cement with CWP. It was found that changes in compressive strength and water absorption value are within the acceptable tolerance when 20% CWP replaces cement. In addition, there was an improvement in thermal conductivity, and no significant damage to the mechanical properties of concrete after 30 min of fire exposure when CWP replaced 20% of cement was observed. Therefore, using up to 20% of CWP to replace cement in concrete manufacturing is feasible without compromising the essential properties of the finished products. The microstructural studies of the test specimens further proved that the added CWP was evenly scattered in the concrete matrix.

An effective application of artificial intelligence involves artificial neural networks. Artificial neural networks and linear regression models were developed to simulate the effects of using discarded ceramic waste as a subgrade for pavement. The ceramic waste was used at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5%, and 15%. A sample with 0% ceramic waste was tested to serve as a reference sample. The dataset was produced from laboratory experimentation findings used to train, test, and evaluate the model. A training set, a target set, and a prediction set were created from the dataset. The artificial neural network MSE was 0.42-1.40, while the linear regression model range was 1.74 to 3.63 for ceramic modified samples. The R2 2 range for the ANN model was 0.85-0.92, and the linear regression model exhibited a range of 0.71-0.78. The ANN model was more accurate than the linear regression model. Future studies are required to compare different machine-learning approaches for predicting soil mechanical properties.