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Volume 18
Issue 21
10.3390/ma18215048
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Article

Durability Considerations in Replacing Blast Furnace Slag with Low-Grade Calcined Clay and Natural Pozzolan in Quaternary Cements

by
Juan Manuel Etcheverry
1,*,
Laurent Detemmerman
1,2,
Krist Degezelle
2,
Vadim Grigorjev
1,
Laurena De Brabandere
1 and
Nele De Belie
1,*
1
Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
2
DEVAGRO, Beton and Recyclage Harelbeke, 8530 Harelbeke, Belgium
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Materials 2025, 18(21), 5048; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215048
Submission received: 29 September 2025 / Revised: 31 October 2025 / Accepted: 2 November 2025 / Published: 5 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Waste Materials’ Valorization)
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Abstract

Belgium and the EU-27 face a shortage of suitable supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) capable of supporting high levels of Portland cement substitution. To reduce CO2 emissions from the cement industry, blended cements incorporating low-grade calcined clay, limestone, and lava (a natural pozzolan) are investigated. Calcined clay is combined with limestone to produce a limestone–calcined clay cement (LC3). The reactivity of these new blends is assessed using isothermal calorimetry and compared to a reference blend with ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS). Results show that mixtures with calcined clay develop slightly lower 28-day strength than those with GGBFS, while blends with lava exhibit strength gains only at later ages due to delayed pozzolanic activity. Overall, concrete made with low-grade calcined clay and lava achieves comparable compressive strength to the reference (CEM III/A), but with higher capillary porosity, leading to increased water absorption, drying shrinkage, and reduced freeze–thaw resistance. Despite these durability limitations, the sustainability assessment reveals that the LC3 mix with low-grade clay and lava has a lower global warming potential per unit strength at 28 days than CEM III/A and is competitive with CEM III/B.
Keywords: calcined clay; lava; natural pozzolan; reactivity assessment; concrete durability calcined clay; lava; natural pozzolan; reactivity assessment; concrete durability

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MDPI and ACS Style

Etcheverry, J.M.; Detemmerman, L.; Degezelle, K.; Grigorjev, V.; De Brabandere, L.; De Belie, N. Durability Considerations in Replacing Blast Furnace Slag with Low-Grade Calcined Clay and Natural Pozzolan in Quaternary Cements. Materials 2025, 18, 5048. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215048

AMA Style

Etcheverry JM, Detemmerman L, Degezelle K, Grigorjev V, De Brabandere L, De Belie N. Durability Considerations in Replacing Blast Furnace Slag with Low-Grade Calcined Clay and Natural Pozzolan in Quaternary Cements. Materials. 2025; 18(21):5048. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215048

Chicago/Turabian Style

Etcheverry, Juan Manuel, Laurent Detemmerman, Krist Degezelle, Vadim Grigorjev, Laurena De Brabandere, and Nele De Belie. 2025. "Durability Considerations in Replacing Blast Furnace Slag with Low-Grade Calcined Clay and Natural Pozzolan in Quaternary Cements" Materials 18, no. 21: 5048. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215048

APA Style

Etcheverry, J. M., Detemmerman, L., Degezelle, K., Grigorjev, V., De Brabandere, L., & De Belie, N. (2025). Durability Considerations in Replacing Blast Furnace Slag with Low-Grade Calcined Clay and Natural Pozzolan in Quaternary Cements. Materials, 18(21), 5048. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18215048

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