Recycling and Reuse of Concrete Materials in Sustainable Engineering
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 March 2026 | Viewed by 170
Special Issue Editor
Interests: innovative and sustainable construction materials in reinforced concrete like bamboo, recycled glass, coconut shells, geopolymer concrete; concrete patch repairs; concrete 3D printing
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The construction industry is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions and resource depletion, and recycling and reusing concrete materials plays a vital role in sustainable engineering by reducing this environmental impact, conserving natural resources, and minimizing construction waste. This Special Issue focusses on researching different areas around the recycling and reuse of concrete materials for sustainable engineering. Examples of such areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA) in Structural Applications: Investigating the mechanical properties of RCA in high-strength concrete, the long-term durability of RCA in harsh environmental conditions, and the performance of RCA in reinforced concrete beams and columns.
- The Use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs): Replacing cement with materials like fly ash, slag, and silica fume in recycled concrete and evaluating the carbon footprint reduction by using SCMs with RCA.
- The Circular Economy in Concrete Recycling: Developing a closed-loop system for concrete demolition and reuse and assessing the economic feasibility and environmental impact of concrete recycling plants.
- Innovative Concrete Crushing and Separation Technologies: Studying advanced crushing techniques for better quality recycled aggregates and improving the efficiency of mechanical and chemical separation methods.
- Self-Healing and Smart Recycled Concrete: Investigating bacteria-based self-healing concrete with RCA, and developing sensor-embedded recycled concrete for structural health monitoring.
- The Carbonation of Recycled Concrete for CO₂ Sequestration: Exploring the potential of RCA to absorb and store atmospheric CO₂ and evaluating the impact of carbonation on RCA strength and durability.
- Three-Dimensional Printing with Recycled Concrete: Assessing the feasibility of using recycled concrete in additive manufacturing and developing optimized mix designs for 3D-printed structures using RCA.
- Recycled Concrete in Pavement and Road Construction: Studying the performance of RCA in road base and subbase layers and evaluating the impact of RCA in asphalt and concrete pavements.
- The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Recycled Concrete: Comparing the environmental impact of recycled vs. traditional concrete and quantifying energy savings and emissions reductions from concrete recycling.
- The Development of High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete with Recycled Aggregates: Investigating geopolymer concrete with RCA for enhanced sustainability and studying the durability and strength characteristics of geopolymer RCA concrete.
Dr. Ghassan Nounu
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- sustainable construction
- recycled aggregates
- supplementary cementitious materials
- carbonation
- durability
- 3D printing
- geopolymer concrete
- life cycle assessment
- road construction
- self healing
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