Costs and economic benefits of recycling electrical insulators in special concretes production

Abstract

The article is a continuation of the research work undertaken to indicate the economically and ecologically justified recycling of ceramic waste material from used electrical insulators. During the renovation works of old electric lines, relatively large amounts of insulators are obtained, the disposal of which is now quite a costly undertaking. Based on previous experiences (Zegardło, Ogrodnik,
Woliński, 2016; Zegardło et al., 2018), the authors of this article indicate the potential possibility of using the used insulators in the production of aggregates for special concretes. Such aggregates meet all parameters and requirements, and the concretes obtained from them have parameters higher than those obtained from traditional aggregates. Based on the analysis of data taken from the archives of the company dealing with electrical and repair works, the areas from which insulators are obtained were presented. The scale of the said project on a national scale was discussed. The aim of the study is to estimate the costs and economic benefits related to the disposal of insulators and their reuse as aggregates for special concretes. Despite the calculations that show that such a project would not be associated with significant financial profits, the authors indicate other benefits that would flow from this type of management of the mentioned waste.