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Dr hab. inż. Paweł Popielski
ORCID: 0000-0002-5425-5821

Professor at the Warsaw University of Technology, specialist in hydro construction, water engineering and the environment. In the years 2014–2020, the Head of the Hydro-Engineering and Hydraulics Department, in the years 2016–2023, the Director of the Geo and Hydro Analysis Centre of the Institute of Applied Research of the Warsaw University of Technology, and now, from 2020, Dean of the Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering. The main areas of his scientific interest concern geotechnical problems in hydro- and environmental engineering, assessment of the technical condition of building structures, including the use of modern measurement methods, e.g. laser scanning, thermal monitoring, fibre optic measurements, etc. He is a specialist in modelling the issues of water filtration in a soil medium in the calculations and analysis of the safety of building structures, as well as in the analysis of the impact of deep foundations on neighbouring structures and groundwater in an urban environment, and in setting limit values for monitoring (both at the construction and operation of the facility).

 
DOI: 10.33226/1231-2037.2023.3.3
JEL: L74, Q01, Q34, Q53

Sand is a globally mined natural resource. It is applied, among others, in construction, because sand is one of the main components of concrete mixtures and a material used in earthworks. The aim of the manuscript is to organize the state of knowledge regarding the management of sandy waste generated in wastewater treatment plants and to indicate the possibilities of using this waste as an alternative raw material in construction applications. The main thesis is the claim that sand recovered in wastewater treatment plants, perceived as waste, can be an alternative for the global economy to obtain a significant amount of raw material for various uses in construction and to replace natural raw materials extracted for industry. The paper presents data on natural sand resources and its use, the effects of uncontrolled exploitation of the worlds sand resources and the potential of the Polish sand resource base. Particular attention was paid to the review of the possibilities of using sandy waste generated in wastewater treatment plants as an alternative raw material for natural sand resources. The practical applications of sand obtained in the processes used in wastewater treatment plants were also presented.

Keywords: sand; mineral waste; sandy waste generated in wastewater treatment plants; circular economy; natural resources (piasek; odpady mineralne; odpady piaszczyste powstające w oczyszczalniach ścieków; gospodarka o obiegu zamkniętym; zasoby naturalne)