Characterization and Land Application of Hydrodemolition and Diamond Grinding Slurries

Abstract

Hydrodemolition and grinding of highway surfaces create large volumes of a water and concrete slurry that must be safely disposed of or reused. This project evaluated the effect of applying the slurry as a liming agent to vegetated areas. Results of two controlled greenhouse studies documented that the incorporation of concrete slurry at up to twice the recommended liming rate had no detrimental effect on the soils or the germination and establishment of fescue and bahiagrass. Further, surface application of concrete slurry to small field plots at rates recommended to correct low soil pH resulted in no detrimental effect on soils or vegetation including bermudagrass. In addition, the water quality of rainfall runoff from the plots with concrete slurry application was not different than runoff from a plot with no slurry application. Thus, these results showed that the application of hydrodemolition and concrete grinding slurry at rates to correct soil pH had no detrimental effect on the soils, vegetation, or surface runoff monitored in this study.