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This study aims to the framework of the development of a new sand concrete, essentially manufactured with river/dune sand and recycled plastic aggregates (PAs; 0/3.15 mm). This new concrete may have a great interest, as it can enable us to achieve the best economical, technical and ecological solutions for local construction problems. Given the high abundance of dune sand (DS) and the large quantities of plastic waste, plastic–mineral sand concrete can be a good alternative to the ordinary building materials available on the local market.

A replacement of sand by PAs is made by volume substitution. The plastic percentages laid down are 0%, 25%, 50% and 100%. Indeed, after a general experimental characterization of the studied composites, the investigation mainly concentrated on the study of the effect of the addition of plastic particles on the accelerated carbonation of river sand (RS) concrete and DS concrete, separately.

The density of the composites and consequently their compressive strength are slightly reduced; but their thermal insulation is significantly improved. Their structure seems to be homogeneous, the plastic grains are well distributed in the matrix and the adhesion “plastic–matrix” is good. At small plastic contents, the RS concrete is slightly better. As regards the carbonation results, the PAs significantly contribute to the improvement of the resistance of the composite against carbonation effect. It can be observed that increasing the proportion of plastic particles in sand concrete considerably decreases the thickness of the carbonated concrete.

The studies led on the behavior of plastic concrete, particularly in arid zones, are very limited. Moreover, for sand concrete, there are no similar studies. Therefore, the characterization of such materials is necessary. In addition of thermo-mechanical characterization, this work aims at studying the durability of the material, especially its resistance to carbonation. On the other hand, this work has a significant positive impact on both environment and economy, since it focuses on the recycling of industrial waste, and the valorization of DS, which is available in great quantities in south of Algeria.

This paper aims to characterize and develop a new ecological lightweight concrete reinforced by addition of palm plant fibers (from vegetal waste) to be used in the thermal and acoustical insulation of local constructions. The date palm plant fibers are characterized by their low sensitivity to chemical reactions, low cost and large availability in local regions. Therefore, the newly obtained lightweight concrete may suggest a great interest, as it seems to be able to achieve good solutions for local construction problems, technically, economically and ecologically.

The experimental program focused on developing the composition of palm-fiber-reinforced concrete, by studying the effect of the length of the fibers (10, 20, 30 and 40 mm) and their mass percentage (0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%), on the mechanical and acoustical properties of the composite. The main measured parameters were the compressive strength and flexural strength, sound absorption coefficient, noise reduction coefficient (NRC), etc. These tests were also borne out by the measure of density and water absorption, as well as microstructure analyses. To fully appreciate the behavior of the material, visualizations under optical microscope and scanning electron microscope analyses were carried out.

The addition of plant fibers to concrete made it possible to formulate a new lightweight concrete having interesting properties. The addition of date palm fibers significantly decreased the density of the concrete and consequently reduced its mechanical strength, particularly in compression. Acceptable compressive strength values were possible, according to the fibers content, while better values have been obtained in flexion. On the other hand, good acoustical performances were obtained: a considerable increase in the sound absorption coefficient and the NRC was recorded, according to the content and length of fibers. Even the rheological behavior has been improved with the addition of fibers, but with short fibers only.

Over the recent decades, many studies have attempted to search for more sustainable and environmentally friendly building materials. Therefore, this work aims to study the possibility of using waste from date palm trees as fibers in concrete instead of the conventionally used fibers. Although many researches have already been conducted on the effect of palm plant fibers on the mechanical/physical properties of concrete, no information is available neither on the formulation of this type of concrete nor on its acoustical properties. Indeed, due to the scarcity of raw materials and the excessive consumption of energy, the trend of plant fibers as resources, which are natural and renewable, is very attractive. It is therefore a major recycling project of waste and recovery of local materials.

This study is part of the valorization of local materials and the reuse of industrial waste in construction. This study aims to improve the physical-mechanical properties of sand concrete. This work is a continuation of previous studies conducted on sand concrete, the purpose of which is to introduce industrial waste into this material. For this purpose, a glass waste in powder form is added.

This study is focused on the effect of adding glass powder (GP) whose mass percentage varies from 0 to 40% with an interval of 10% to target the right composition that ensures the best compromise between the characteristics studied.

The results found show that the workability and density of the studied concretes decreased with increasing GP dosage. Indeed, the optimal addition which constitutes the best compromise between the studied properties is 10% of GP. Improvements of up to about 9% in the case of flexural strength and about 18% in the case of compressive strength. The thermal conductivity has been reduced by 12.74%, the thermal diffusivity which characterizes the notion of thermal inertia has been reduced by about 4% and the specific heat mass has been reduced by 7.80%. Also, the shrinkage has been reduced by about 20%. The microstructure of the studied composite shows a good homogeneity between the aggregates. Finally, the addition of GP to sand concrete gives very encouraging results.

The interest of this study is in two parts. The first one is the exploitation of local materials: dune sand, river sand and limestone filler to meet the growing demand for construction materials. And the second one is the reuse of glass waste, in the form of powder (GP), to solve the environmental problem. All this participates in the improvement of the physical-mechanical properties of sand concrete and the extent of its response to the development of an economical structural concrete.