Properties of Porous Concrete Using Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Foam Waste as Cement Binder Admixture

Porous Concrete is becoming more popular and widespread as it can drain the water from the top surface to the underneath effectively. It is then applied to the road or pavement surface construction. However, some typical properties of cement-based porous concrete are limited, e.g., low strength, poor durability, or scaling-off of pavement. Conventional polymer admixtures, such as unsaturated polyester and epoxy resins, are thus used to reduce those problems. However, the conventional polymer admixture is quite expensive and less environmentally friendly. This study focuses on utilizing the Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam wastes as an admixture to improve cement-based porous concrete properties. The results show that 10% addition of EPS foam waste admixture provided better compressive strength than that of typical porous concrete with no admixture from 12.02 to 17.89 MPa. This approach of recycling EPS foam waste could be one of the alternative admixtures for the cement and concrete sector. The outcomes could not only improve the specific property for the cement-based porous concrete as construction materials but also promote the recycling of EPS foam wastes and allow communities to be greener and cleaner.