From Rubble to Potential—Valorization of Mixed Granulate 250+ in Road Foundations

The construction sector is one of the largest consumers of mineral raw materials. In Flanders, the annual extraction of primary raw materials (sand and gravel) amounts to only 3.5 million metric tons, while more than 20 million metric tons are imported, creating a structural dependence on primary aggregates. At the same time, approximately 14 million metric tons of recycled aggregates are produced annually, but only a fraction of the high-quality concrete aggregate is actually used in new concrete. The main bottleneck is the limited confidence in the technical quality of mixed aggregates, which results in them being downcycled en masse for use in foundations rather than being reused in high-quality applications.

The goal of this TETRA project is to validate high-quality blended aggregate (RMA 250+) in a scientifically sound and practically relevant manner as a fully-fledged alternative—in terms of structural, economic, and environmental performance—to primary aggregates and concrete aggregate in cement-bound foundations for road construction. The project is being carried out by the University of Antwerp (EMIB, SuPAR) and OCW, with co-funding from, among others, VSOR, GBV, and COPRO.