Chemical Characterisation of Construction and Demolition Waste in Skopje City and Its Surroundings (Republic of Macedonia)

Gianluca Bianchini, Igor Ristovski, Igor Milcov, Alojz Zupac, Claudio Natali, Gian Marco Salani, Chiara Marchina, Valentina Brombin and Andrea Ferraboschi
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Gianluca Bianchini: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44122, Italy
Igor Ristovski: GAYA-CER Non Governmental Organization, Skopje 1000, Republic of Macedonia
Igor Milcov: GAYA-CER Non Governmental Organization, Skopje 1000, Republic of Macedonia
Alojz Zupac: GAYA-CER Non Governmental Organization, Skopje 1000, Republic of Macedonia
Claudio Natali: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Florence 50121, Italy
Gian Marco Salani: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44122, Italy
Chiara Marchina: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44122, Italy
Valentina Brombin: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44122, Italy
Andrea Ferraboschi: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44122, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: In the Republic of Macedonia, construction and demolition (C&D) waste is often dumped, underestimating the potential recycling and re-use as raw materials for civil engineering works and/or cement/ceramic industries. SAMCODE (Sustainable Approach to Managing Construction and Demolition Waste) is a know-how exchange program, the focus of which is chemical characterisation in terms of major and trace elements in order to evaluate the possible Macedonian C&D waste recycling. Thirty-nine C&D waste samples were collected from different dumps in Skopje and surroundings. X-ray fluorescence analyses, carried out on powdered samples, show i) highly variable concentrations, indicative of the heterogenous nature of C&D waste, and ii) high concentration in Cr, Ni, and Zn with respect to Italian, Chinese, and Dutch tolerance limits, probably due to the presence of these elements in ophiolitic rocks and sulphide-bearing deposits, used as raw material in building activity. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses of leachates, performed to assess the mobility of heavy metals, show significant concentrations of Cr, and to a lesser extent, Ni. Results suggest that homogenisation processes of the recycled materials should be implemented and preliminary screening of C&D waste should be performed to eliminate heavy metals-bearing components.

Keywords: C&D waste; Republic of Macedonia; chemical characterisation; recycling; heavy metals; tolerance limit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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