Copper slag, a by-product of the pyrometallurgical process used for obtaining copper from copper ore in Bor, Serbia, contains mainly silicon, iron, calcium, and aluminium oxides. Due to such properties, it is disposed of in landfills. Despite the favourable technical properties copper slag aggregates possess, such as low-water absorption (WA₂₄ 0.6%), low resistance to fragmentation (LA 10%), and low resistance to wear (M_DE 4%), its use in the construction industry is still limited. The results of testing the technical properties of copper slag aggregates (CSAs) as a potential replacement for natural river aggregate (RA) are presented in this paper. The experiments included tests on three concrete mixtures with partial replacement of coarse natural aggregate with copper slag. The replacement of RA particle sizes of 8/16 mm and 16/31.5 mm with CSA in the amount of 20% + 50% and 50% + 50% resulted in an increase in the compressive strength of 12.4% and 10.5%, respectively. The increase of CSA content led to a decrease in water penetration resistance and salt-frost resistance of concrete, whereas the resistance to chloride ion penetration did not change significantly.

Due to the extremely large global production and utilization of concrete, the concrete industry is considered a large consumer of energy and natural resources and one of the main sources of greenhouse emissions and waste generation. Reducing its impacts on the environment is one of the most important paths toward sustainable construction development. Replacing cement and natural aggregates with byproducts and waste from other industries is one possible way of achieving this goal. On the other hand, the disposal of industrial waste, which arises from the pyrometallurgical process of copper production, presents a significant environmental load in many developed countries. Research performed so far has shown that concrete made with aggregate obtained from cooper slag instead of natural aggregate can be produced with good physical-mechanical properties for various applications. In this work, a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment of several concrete mixtures where part of the coarse natural aggregate was replaced with copper slag aggregate was performed. The conducted case study was based on Serbian LCI data and local conditions in the vicinity of the town of Bor in Serbia. Results showed that such concrete mixtures can bring environmental benefits regarding natural aggregate preservation and waste reduction if the transport distance of copper slag aggregates is smaller than 20 km. Therefore, from the environmental protection point-of-view, local application of such concrete is recommended.

This work presents the methods for testing the resistance of materials due to corrosion of structural steel, in the presence of corrosion agents in the immediate vicinity of the industrial complex RTB in Bor. General corrosion testing was performed near the Sulfuric Acid Plant, Electrolytic Refining Plant and next to the automatic air quality monitoring station in Bor for 6 months, as well as in the salt chamber for 120h and 240h and by immersion of samples in electrolyte solution from the Electrolytic Refining Plant for of a month. The results were compared with the standard samples stored in the laboratory. A method based on measuring the loss of mass was used to evaluate the material corrosion resistance. Samples are rectangular, dimensions adopted according to the standard EN 10002-1. The steel used is S235, and its mechanical characteristics were obtained from the tensile test.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the design of a two-way reinforced concrete slab according to the Serbian Code for Concrete and Reinforced Concrete (BAB 87) and Eurocode 2. A continuous multi-span slab was analyzed using identical geometric characteristics, material properties, and loading conditions for both design approaches. The resulting bending moments and required reinforcement areas were compared. The results show that both design methods produce similar values of bending moments and required reinforcement areas, with the observed differences having no significant influence on the final reinforcement design of the slab.

Copper slag, produced as a by-product of the pyrometallurgical process of obtaining copper from copper ore in Bor, is disposed as waste in landfills. Despite the favorable physical and mechanical properties of concrete made with copper slag aggregate, such as higher compressive strength (40.8 MPa), higher tensile splitting strength (10.3 MPa), higher pull-off strength (3.1 MPa) and lower water permeability, its use in the construction industry has not been sufficiently investigated. The paper shows the possibility of using copper slag aggregate (CSA) in concrete as a potential replacement for natural river aggregate (RA).

General corrosion testing is carried out in the field, in selected atmospheric corrosion station, near the Sulphuric Acid Plant in Bor, for six months. To assess the corrosion resistance of steel S235JR, the analysis of mass loss after exposure to the aggressive environments in Bor were employed. In order to obtain a complete characterization of the atmosphere, as well as of the exposure condition, the meteorological data in the period of the experiment duration in the outdoor conditions were analyzed to determinate the corrosivity category. Pollution by SO2 alone was considered in this study because this is the most common and important corrosive agent. Corrosion loss of the experimental specimens were measured. With the help of a quantitative analysis of the test result, a better determining the corrosion category can be done that represents the actual environment.