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Applications of Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2025) | Viewed by 2061

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete is the most widely used building material worldwide and it is integral to modern life. However, its production can have a number of adverse environmental effects due to the use of nonrenewable natural materials or, if Portland cement is used, due to the high CO2 emissions in the cement production process. It comes as no surprise that nonhazardous waste materials and by-products, which would otherwise be mostly landfilled, have been proposed to be utilized in making concrete and similar construction materials, thus addressing the environmental impact and overall sustainability of concrete while also providing an outlet to reuse high quantities of waste materials and by-products.

This Special Issue invites papers that research the usage of waste materials or by-products in different types of concrete for various applications. Papers could study waste materials and by-products as concrete mix components, including water, coarse and fine aggregates, and cement or other binding agents, as well as admixtures or fibre reinforcements. Papers on the usage of waste or by-product materials in innovative concretes (for example, concretes with alkali-activated/geopolymer binders, polymeric binder concretes, and CO2-mixed/cured concrete or bioconcretes) are of interest. Material characterisation and modelling in addition to mechanical and durability testing, usage potential and sustainability assessments are also of relevance.

Prof. Dr. Maria Mavroulidou
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • concrete
  • waste materials and by-products
  • mechanical behaviour and durability
  • sustainability assessment
  • material characterisation and modelling
  • thermodynamic analysis

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 9896 KiB  
Article
Performance Characterization and Evaluation of Innovative Cement Mortars and Concretes Made with Recycled EPS
by Albina Scioti and Fabio Fatiguso
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(4), 1583; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14041583 - 16 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1365
Abstract
The construction industry involves some of the activities with the highest consumption of raw materials and significant waste production. According to the European Commission, it requires large quantities of resources, representing approximately 50% of all extracted materials, and accounting for over 35% of [...] Read more.
The construction industry involves some of the activities with the highest consumption of raw materials and significant waste production. According to the European Commission, it requires large quantities of resources, representing approximately 50% of all extracted materials, and accounting for over 35% of the EU’s total waste production. In particular, the production and use of concrete, as well as that of EPS (expanded polystyrene), largely exploited for energy-efficient buildings, involve a substantial amount of extracted raw materials and waste. This study focuses on the development of construction materials, such as lightweight and thermally efficient mortars and concretes, incorporating recycled EPS (R-EPS) instead of fine aggregates. Mixtures were designed by partially or completely replacing the fine aggregate with R-EPS on a volume basis. All designed mortars exhibit compressive strength exceeding the minimum values required by Italian legislation and show thermal performance improvements of up to 89.49% compared to the reference mortar. Similarly, the concretes demonstrate strengths compliant with regulations and exhibit thermal characteristic enhancements, ranging from 27.68% for structural lightweight mixes to 74.58% for non-structural ones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete)
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Review

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23 pages, 1211 KiB  
Review
Dealuminated Metakaolin in Supplementary Cementitious Material and Alkali-Activated Systems: A Review
by Mostafa Elsebaei, Maria Mavroulidou, Amany Micheal, Maria Astrid Centeno, Rabee Shamass and Ottavia Rispoli
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(15), 8599; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15158599 (registering DOI) - 2 Aug 2025
Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive review of dealuminated metakaolin (DK), a hazardous industrial by-product generated by the aluminium sulphate (alum) industry and evaluates its potential as a component in cementitious systems for the partial or full replacement of Portland cement (PC). Positioned within the [...] Read more.
This paper presents a comprehensive review of dealuminated metakaolin (DK), a hazardous industrial by-product generated by the aluminium sulphate (alum) industry and evaluates its potential as a component in cementitious systems for the partial or full replacement of Portland cement (PC). Positioned within the context of waste valorisation in concrete, the review aims to establish a critical understanding of DK formation, properties, and reactivity, particularly its pozzolanic potential, to assess its suitability for use as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), or as a precursor in alkali-activated cement (AAC) systems for concrete. A systematic methodology is used to extract and synthesise relevant data from existing literature concerning DK and its potential applications in cement and concrete. The collected information is organised into thematic sections exploring key aspects of DK, beginning with its formation from kaolinite ores, followed by studies on its pozzolanic reactivity. Applications of DK are then reviewed, focusing on its integration into SCMs and alkali-activated cement (AAC) systems. The review consolidates existing knowledge related to DK, identifying scientific gaps and practical challenges that limit its broader adoption for cement and concrete applications, and outlines future research directions to provide a solid foundation for future studies. Overall, this review highlights the potential of DK as a low-carbon, circular-economy material and promotes its integration into efforts to enhance the sustainability of construction practices. The findings aim to support researchers’ and industry stakeholders’ strategies to reduce cement clinker content and mitigate the environmental footprint of concrete in a circular-economy context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete)
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