Experimental and analytical selection of sustainable recycled concrete with ceramic waste aggregate

•Ceramic waste as aggregate was incorporated in concrete and various properties were assessed.•Environmental impacts like CO2 footprints and volume of raw materials were also evaluated.•Sustainable recycled concrete was achieved and verified by two analytical techniques. This experimental and analytical investigation is conducted to develop a sustainable recycled concrete by incorporating ceramic waste as coarse aggregate. In order to achieve the designed goal, conventional aggregate is replaced by different amounts of ceramic waste aggregate. Fresh and hardened properties of conventional as well as ceramic waste aggregate concrete are assessed. Environmental impacts are also considered in terms of CO2 footprints and consumption of volume of raw materials by concrete. Interfacial model is proposed at micro level to evaluate the behavior of ceramic waste and conventional aggregate with hydrated cement paste. Finally, sustainable concrete is selected which has the best performance with respect to compressive strength and environmental impacts. It is concluded that 30% partial replacement of ceramic waste aggregate with conventional aggregate provides the highest compressive strength, less environmental impacts and is selected as sustainable concrete, which is also verified by analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS)