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Towards standardisation of zinc slag as a sustainable fine aggregate substitute in concrete
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  • Published: 21 January 2026

Towards standardisation of zinc slag as a sustainable fine aggregate substitute in concrete

  • Jun Chul Yoon1 na1,
  • Kadepalli Nagendra Shivaprasad2 na1,
  • Tae Beom Min3,
  • Woo Jin Lee4,
  • Jeong Min Na3,
  • Hyun Min Yang5 &
  • …
  • Sanghyo Lee5 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Environmental sciences
  • Materials science

Abstract

In the construction industry, a huge demand for alternative construction materials has driven interest in industrial by-products as substitutes for natural aggregates. The present study evaluates zinc slag (ZS) as a partial to full replacement for natural sand in normal and high strength concrete. Zinc slag was characterised for physical, chemical, particle size distribution, density, water absorption, hazardous element content and leaching potential. Furthermore, comprehensive experimental evaluation of fresh properties, compressive strength, dry shrinkage and carbonation resistance was conducted for concrete mixes with 0-100% ZS replacement of fine aggregates in accordance with relevant standards. The results demonstrated that zinc slag exhibits favourable properties with reduced water demand of 9 to 16 kg/m3. Compressive strength increased by up to 8% (from 31.2 MPa reference normal strength concrete) and 6% (from 52.4 MPa reference high strength concrete) at 28 days across 0-100% ZS replacement levels. Dry shrinkage found to be less than − 600 µɛ for all ZS replacement irrespective of concrete grade and in the range of control mixes. Carbonation depth and air content remained within acceptable limits, and alkali silica reactivity was negligible. These findings indicate that zinc slag can be a sustainable and effective alternative to fine aggregate in wide range of applications in the construction industry. The study contributes critical data needed for the potential inclusion of ZS as a fine aggregate in the upcoming revision of construction material standards.

Data availability

All the data supporting this study are presented within the manuscript in the form of figures and tables.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. RS-2023-00217322 and No. RS-2024-00415881).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Jun Chul Yoon and Kadepalli Nagendra Shivaprasad.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Smart City Engineering, Hanyang University ERICA, Ansan-si, 15588, Republic of Korea

    Jun Chul Yoon

  2. Centre for AI Technology in Construction, Hanyang University ERICA, Ansan-si, 15588, Republic of Korea

    Kadepalli Nagendra Shivaprasad

  3. Aggregates Resource Lab, Korea Aggregates Research Institute, Seoul, 05621, Republic of Korea

    Tae Beom Min & Jeong Min Na

  4. Engineering Center, Samsung C&T, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 05288, Republic of Korea

    Woo Jin Lee

  5. Division of Smart Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University ERICA, Ansan-si, 15588, Republic of Korea

    Hyun Min Yang & Sanghyo Lee

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Contributions

J.C.Y., K.N.S., T.B.M., W.J.L., J.M.N., H.M.Y., and S.H.L. conceived the study. J.C.Y., T.B.M., and J.M.N. performed the investigation and visualisation. J.C.Y., W.J.L., J.M.N., T.B.M., and H.M.Y. contributed to methodology and review/editing of the manuscript. K.N.S. led the original draft preparation. T.B.M., W.J.L., J.M.N., and H.M.Y. supervised the project. H.M.Y. and S.H.L. were responsible for funding acquisition. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hyun Min Yang or Sanghyo Lee.

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Yoon, J.C., Shivaprasad, K.N., Min, T.B. et al. Towards standardisation of zinc slag as a sustainable fine aggregate substitute in concrete. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36155-4

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  • Received: 06 November 2025

  • Accepted: 09 January 2026

  • Published: 21 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36155-4

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  • Zinc slag
  • Sustainable fine aggregate
  • Cement concrete
  • Mechanical and durability properties
  • Construction material standards
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