Sustainability in Concrete and Cement Industry: Green and Economical Material Development

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete, the most commonly used substance in the world, has seen numerous significant turning points throughout its historical evolution. Its benefits, including ease of manufacture, ability to be shaped in a fresh state, high compressive strength, and low cost, have made it the leading material in the industry. However, the fact that it has drawn the attention of researchers from all over the world is what makes it the industry’s leading material. With each investigation carried out in this context, new characteristics of concrete have been discovered, and many properties have been improved. Special concrete concepts such as self-compacting concrete, fiber-reinforced concrete, high-strength concrete, high-performance concrete, reactive powder concrete, rubberized concrete, pervious concrete, etc. evolved from the traditional concrete concept through works carried out in this way. However, both the use of significant amounts of aggregate and cement in the production of concrete and the large quantity of raw materials required for the manufacturing of cement, one of the most essential components of concrete, currently presents a problem in terms of sustainability. Researchers were compelled by this circumstance to explore the manufacture of more environmentally and ecologically friendly and sustainable concrete materials. There are now many studies in the literature in which both sustainable binding materials alternative to cement and sustainable substances alternative to aggregate are extensively researched and proposed. It should be highlighted that the studies are not solely aimed at seeking sustainable materials alternative to concrete. Numerous studies have been conducted and published in order to make cement manufacturing, which requires lower energy consumption, more environmentally and ecologically friendly and sustainable. Alternatives to the raw materials and fuel types utilized in manufacturing have been researched and proposed in these studies.

In light of the aforementioned information and explanation, we are preparing this Special Issue entitled ‘Sustainability in Concrete and Cement Industry: Green and Economical Material Development’, in collaboration with Sustainability, an open-access journal published by MDPI, with the aim of publishing papers on the latest advancements in sustainable concrete and cementitious materials together with trends and recent developments in the cement and concrete industry. In this Special Issue, original research papers, case studies, and critical review articles are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

- Innovative cementitious materials;

- Sustainable binder systems;

- Novel sustainability/environmentally friendly/energy efficient/ecologically friendly aspects in concrete and cement manufacturing, etc.;

- Emerging trends in concrete- and cement-based products;

- Recent development in the cement and concrete industry.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Erhan Güneyisi
Dr. Kasım Mermerdaş
Dr. Süleyman İpek
Guest Editors

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability 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 2400 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.