Retention of Lead and Total Suspended Solids in Pervious Concrete

Abstract

Pervious concrete, an alternative to conventional concrete, is a material with an increased amount of void space that allows water to pass through the concrete versus ponding and/or running off into catchment systems. This study examines the retention capabilities of lead and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) within an entire pervious concrete system and the effects of different fly ash compositions for pervious concrete along with two different types of crushed stones and a soil layer. A complete pervious concrete system consisted of one formulation of pervious concrete along with one type of crushed stone and the soil layer used in the individual trials of TSS removal and lead retention to determine if a complete pervious concrete system would equal the sum of its parts. The retention of lead by the complete pervious concrete system was compared against the individual results from the parts of the complete pervious concrete system. Among the different formulations of pervious concrete, the specimens with a high loss on ignition showed a higher removal rate of lead but not TSS than those with low loss on ignition, yet the difference in the percentage of fly ash did not show an effect on the removal or retention of either lead or TSS. Of the two types of crushed stone tested, the 3/8" crushed stone retained more TSS than the #57 crushed stone. The amount of lead retained by the #57 crushed stone was not significantly different from the 3/8" crushed stone after the crushed stone was flushed. The dirt layer showed a complete removal rate of lead as did the complete pervious concrete system. The sum of the parts of the pervious concrete system indicate that for maximum removal of TSS and lead, a high loss on ignition fly ash pervious concrete cylinder should be used in conjunction with a 3/8" crushed stone layer.