Waste-Derived Geopolymers and Alkali-Activated Materials for Sustainable Construction

Dear Colleagues,

The global construction materials industry, particularly the cement sector, is facing mounting pressure to reduce CO₂ emissions and mitigate anthropogenic impacts. Natural minerals, which are globally limited and non-renewable, fall short of meeting the demands of sustainable construction materials. This reality underscores the urgent need to identify, develop, and validate alternative raw materials derived from demolished buildings and infrastructure. Within the circular economy and sustainability frameworks, utilizing industrial mineral waste—such as fly ash, metallurgical slag, mining residues, and other oxide by-products—as feedstock for geopolymers and alkali-activated materials is a promising solution. However, these materials require further optimization and validation to serve as viable substitutes for conventional OPC-based materials. Additionally, the ongoing need to recycle concrete and reuse its minerals is hindered by challenges at the interface between recycled materials and the concrete matrix, as well as by high processing costs that limit the potential for mineral valorization. This Special Issue seeks to highlight the latest advances in developing sustainable materials that incorporate recycled minerals. It also aims to showcase innovative strategies for integrating circular-economy principles across the construction industry. This encompasses enhancing resource efficiency, promoting waste valorization, and ensuring long-term sustainability in the built environment and beyond.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Innovative materials that use waste or industrial by-products as raw materials;
• Integration of the circular economy in the construction sector;
• Synthesis and characterization of geopolymers and alkali-activated materials;
• Use and reuse of innovative products that use waste as raw materials;
• Materials based on recycled raw materials for additive manufacturing;
• Life cycle assessment;
• Processing and applications of materials that incorporate recycled minerals.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Dumitru Doru Burduhos-Nergis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Construction Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.