Martina Soliman

The Pennsylvania State University, MS
Robert P. Stearns/SCS Engineers Scholar 2019

Reclaimed Waste to Energy Aggregates as Lightweight Sand in Concrete Masonry UnitsProject Description:
In the United States, solid waste is being disposed of in landfills at a rate of 50 – 60% due to a lack of existing recycling infrastructure. Solid waste is processed through municipal solid waste incinerator plants, where it is burnt into ash to significantly reduce its volume. 80 – 90% of this ash is sent to landfills, which is an unsustainable practice due to decreasing land availability. In addition, landfill disposal of raw ash costs $30-40 per ton. Alternatively, in recent years a recycling process has been developed to refine solid waste ash into a sand-like material known as reclaimed sands. This research investigates the utilization of reclaimed sands as lightweight fine aggregates in concrete masonry units (CMU).

Biography:
Martina an Integrated Undergraduate- Graduate (IUG) student attending The Pennsylvania State University. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Penn State from 2015 to 2019. Through the Schreyer Honors College, she was able to create her own IUG accelerated graduate program. In May 2020, she will graduate with a B.S in Civil Engineering and a M.S in Civil Engineering with a structural focus.