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Towards Sustainable Concrete
Towards Sustainable Concrete
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xcept for water, concrete is the with water creates hydration products that and enduring challenge. One strategy
most consumed material in the glue rock fragments (aggregates) into being used is the development of modified
world by mass. With an estimated concrete. The production of traditional Portland cements2 with the goal of reducing
yearly consumption approaching cement, called Portland cement, requires the calcining temperature and hence the
30 billion tonnes, concrete outpaces the heating the basic raw materials energy use. Reduction of CO2 emissions
per capita production of any other material limestone and clay to 1,450 C. Due to by adopting carbon capture and storage
(Fig.1), and the demand worldwide the calcination of the limestone and fuel or carbon capture and reuse technologies
is ever-growing. In fact, developing combustion, the manufacture of 1tonne in cement production is becoming an
countries are investing massively in new of cement releases approximately 1tonne attractive and active research area, but
infrastructures, and developed countries CO2. Its manufacturing is currently still remains uneconomical. Alternative
are facing the challenge of upgrading responsible for 89% of the global approaches focus on replacing Portland
or replacing their ageing infrastructure. anthropogenic CO2 and 23% of energy cement in the concrete composition,
For instance, in 2017the American use, and projections suggest that a 50% particularly using cements based on alkali-
Society for Civil Engineers assigned increase in annual production of cement activated binders often called inorganic
an overall grade of D+ to the United should be expected by 2050. With current polymers or geopolymers. However,
States infrastructure and reported that emission factors and energy consumption, these new non-Portland cements lack
there are 188 million daily trips across this would lead to an additional 85105Gt building codes and data on their long-term
structurally deficient bridges in the US of CO2eq emissions over the next 33years durability, and thus urge the development
(http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org). and 420505TJ of energy demand of realistic accelerated tests (experimentally
With such an extensive consumption, it is (equivalent to the worlds greenhouse gas validated durability modelling) and careful
clear that research efforts to increase the emissions from 2009and 2010 combined, analysis of field performance (such as those
sustainability of concrete are important and the worlds primary energy supply being conducted for heavy-duty pavements,
to control the environmental burden of in 2005)1. foundations and precast panels made with
this commodity. Improving the sustainability of cement alkali-activated binders3). Due to long
An essential component of concrete is production by reducing the amount of CO2 lead times required for the completion
cement, a powder that when in contact generated and energy used is an important of such tests, Portland cement will likely