The industrial heritage of the UK has given rise to around 100,000 sites, being classified as contaminated. There are many different techniques that have recently been developed to remediate land. Thermal desorption is one of these techniques. Contaminants in the soil are volatilised, which are then removed by a thermal or catalytic oxidiser. The chemical and physical properties of the ‘burnt’ soil’, termed thermally desorbed soil (TDS), have significantly changed but is typically still disposed of to landfill. The use of supplementary cementing materials has become a central aspect of construction economics and environmental preservation. This study therefore investigated the potential use of TDS as a partial cement replacement material. Cement was replaced from 0% (as the control) to 30% TDS in 10% increments. The compressive strength of the mortar cubes was then determined at intervals of 7, 28 and 91 days. For a direct comparison, a well-established pozzolanic material, fly ash (FA) was tested throughout the programme. Strength was indirectly related to replacement level, with the control initially (up to 7 days) gaining, and thereafter retaining, the highest degree of strength. However, after 7 days the rate of gain in strength was higher for the replacement mixes (FA and TDS) than the control. There was no significant strength difference between the FA and TDS mixes up to 20% replacement. Hence, based on these initial strength results, the performance of TDS as a partial cement replacement (up to 20%) was directly equivalent to that of FA. Environmental benefits for the use of TDS as a partial cement replacement would be twofold; firstly, by using a waste material rather than disposing to landfill; and secondly by using less cement. This would result in less carbon dioxide (CO2) being released into the atmosphere during the cement manufacturing process, which is currently responsible for 7–10% of the global CO2 emissions.
ORCID: 
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)