In this work an investigation was made of the effects from adding PSSNa, obtained from disposable polystyrene (PS) cups, as admixture agent in mortars and concrete with varying ratios from 0.25 to 1.00%. The evaluation of PSSNa as additive was based on results of fluidity and mechanical strength to compression. In mortars with water/cement ratio of 0.48, an increase in flow was observed when the dosage of PSSNa varied from 0.25 to 1.00%. The dispersion of mortar components was improved due to the adsorption of PSSNa on cement particles, which increased the mechanical strength of mortars. Similar results were obtained with the application of PSSNa to concrete. The slump of the concrete taken as reference was 50 mm, while for the concrete with PSSNa it reached about 200 mm. Because of its plasticization of concrete, PSSNa can be used as additive to reduce the amount of water required. For instance, a concrete with the same slump of the reference concrete was produced using PSSNa and a reduction of 20.8% in the volume of water. The increase in mechanical strength was 21.5 and 26.3%, respectively, at 7 and 28 days of curing. These results showed that PSSNa solutions can act as superplasticizer or as admixture to reduce the amount water in mortars and concretes.
PSSNa; admixture; mortar; concrete
