Valorization of lead and zinc slags for the production of construction materials - A review for future research direction

[Display omitted] •Usage of ISF slag can be recommended as a replacement to 20 – 30% fine aggregate.•Heavy metals in slags are effectively bound in the construction materials.•Temperature based durability properties must be checked for concrete with ISF slag.•For other type of lead-zinc slags, further analyses of properties must be done. Expansion of the construction sector is leading to the exploitation of natural resources, and the development of industries is leading to the production of industrial waste, like lead-zinc slag, in large amounts, which is causing disposal problems and contaminating soils, sediments, surface, and ground-water. Lead-zinc slag is a by-product produced during the smelting of Pb and Zn from their ores. This review study is conducted to evaluate the performance of using different types of lead-zinc slag as a construction material which addresses the problem of leaching and the conservation of natural resources. In this context, fresh, hardened, durability, and radiological properties of various mixes of mortar, concrete, geopolymer, alkali-activated material (AAM), and brick discussed in different review papers were studied to estimate the potential use of the lead-zinc slag as a construction material. The results indicated the satisfactory performance of these mixes as a building material. The results revealed that the lead-zinc slag could be used in mortar and concrete mixes for up to 50% replacements from the mechanical properties perspective. Lead-zinc slag can improve the durability and radiological properties of mortar and concrete mixes even for higher replacements and durability properties of SCC mixes for replacements up to 25%. Leaching, a major problem due to the dumping of lead-zinc slag, is effectively controlled when used to prepare mortar, concrete, geopolymer, and AAM. These observations indicate that using lead-zinc slag as a construction material can reduce the disposal problem and conserve natural resources leading to environmental sustainability.