Main Aspects of Tunnel Muck Recycling

Abstract

Problem statement: Italy is one of the first countries in the world as far as the number of tunnels is concerned. Many new tunnels are currently under construction or have been planned (300 km of railway tunnels and 150 km of road tunnels, some more than 500 m long, but also metropolitan tunnels). Tunnels are usually excavated in mountain areas of great value: the longest ones in Italy are in fact located in the Alps or in the Apennine mountain range. Approach: If the re-use of excavated material is not taken into account each time a tunnel is excavated, new quarries are required to obtain aggregates for cement, asphalt and concrete and new landfills are created, to allocate the tunnel muck. If the planned tunnel is large (in size and length), numerous quarries and landfills can be expected in the vicinity of the tunnel, with a consequent considerable amount of environmental damage. Results and Conclusion: For these reasons and not only for the obvious economic reasons, it is necessary to develop all the technologies that make the re-use of muck possible as an aggregate for cement and asphalt and as material for road and railways embankments.