Current Sustainable Trends of Using Waste Materials in Concrete—A Decade Review
ISILC, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC3011, Australia
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Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9622; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229622
Received: 27 October 2020 / Revised: 12 November 2020 / Accepted: 15 November 2020 / Published: 18 November 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Construction Management Practices for a Sustainable Built Environment Future)
Concrete is the most used construction material in the world. Consequently, the mass extraction of virgin materials required for concrete production causes major environmental impacts. With a focus on promoting sustainability, numerous research studies on incorporating waste materials to replace virgin substances in concrete were undertaken. Despite this vast volume of published literature, systematic research studies on these sustainable concrete mixes that inform various stakeholders on current research trends, future research directions, and marketability options products are seldom conducted. This paper presents a decade review on sustainable concrete with a focus on virgin materials being replaced with waste materials. It aims to inform researchers of current research trends and gaps in the research area of waste material use in concrete. The review also identifies key parameters that restrict the marketability of these sustainable concrete products. The three-step research methodology involves a bibliometric assessment, a key review of selected waste materials, and an interview with a panel of experts focusing on impediments towards the transition of sustainable concrete products into the industry market. Bibliometric assessment was based on 1465 research publications in which five key materials (plastic, glass, fly ash, slag) and construction and demolition waste were selected for the review. The interview was conducted with ten industry experts to discuss the industry limitations in the commercial establishment of materials. The review of existing knowledge and the findings on sustainable concrete presented in this paper provide directions for both research academics and industry stakeholders to systematically focus on sustainable concrete products that are market-ready.
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Keywords:
concrete; construction; sustainable; materials waste
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MDPI and ACS Style
Sandanayake, M.; Bouras, Y.; Haigh, R.; Vrcelj, Z. Current Sustainable Trends of Using Waste Materials in Concrete—A Decade Review. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9622. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229622
AMA Style
Sandanayake M, Bouras Y, Haigh R, Vrcelj Z. Current Sustainable Trends of Using Waste Materials in Concrete—A Decade Review. Sustainability. 2020; 12(22):9622. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229622
Chicago/Turabian StyleSandanayake, Malindu, Yanni Bouras, Robert Haigh, and Zora Vrcelj. 2020. "Current Sustainable Trends of Using Waste Materials in Concrete—A Decade Review" Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9622. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229622
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