Sustainability

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Sustainable Building Materials for Greener Future

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The construction sector’s rapid expansion drives an urgent need to reduce reliance on virgin resources, lower embodied energy, and safeguard ecosystems. For this Special Issue, titled “Sustainable Building Materials for Greener Future”, we invite original cross-disciplinary research and reviews centered on the principles of sustainable development, circularity, resource efficiency, and resilience studies related to sustainability and sustainable development. We particularly welcome studies that transform industrial, agricultural, and municipal wastes into high-performance, sustainable, reduced CO₂ impact on the environment construction products, thereby closing material loops. Submissions may explore innovative mix designs, nano-sized additives to enhance functionality, and multi-scale modelling approaches that optimize mechanical strength, durability, and thermal performance. Comprehensive life-cycle assessments, cradle-to-cradle carbon accounting, carbon sequestration potential, and techno-economic analyses demonstrating eco-efficiency and risk reduction are especially encouraged. By highlighting advancements in sustainable processing methods, rigorous material characterization, and real-world application case studies, this collection aims at accelerating the adoption of circular economy strategies, reducing environmental footprints, and fostering regenerative practices across the global construction industry.

Dr. Jolanta Pranckevičienė
Dr. Ina Pundienė
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.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.

Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.

Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.

External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.

Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

28 pages, 10235 KB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of a Wood Biomass Ash-Derived Multipurpose Sustainable Lightweight Geopolymer: A Pilot Study in Wastewater Treatment

by Ina Pundienė, Jolanta Pranckevičienė, Aušra Mažeikienė, Yiying Du, Kinga Korniejenko, Vygantas Bagočius and Ernestas Ivanauskas

Sustainability 2026, 18(4), 2128; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18042128 - 21 Feb 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 618

Abstract

This work supports the circular economy and sustainable material by facilitating the creation of low-carbon materials with enhanced elimination of nutrients from wastewater, thereby assisting in preventing eutrophication. Porous geopolymers, owing to their distinctive pore structure and numerous superior properties, including noise reduction and thermal insulation, have a wide range of potential applications in the building sector, chemical industry, and water treatment. Developing low-carbon-footprint porous geopolymer materials is an important step toward creating multipurpose lightweight materials that can serve as structural materials and, at the same time, as adsorbents. In this study, it was revealed that the porous material created during the hydrothermal synthesis of (lime–Portland cement-based aerated composition), by replacement of sand with wood biomass bottom ash (WBA), can be used as porous aggregates (PA) for adsorbent development. PA was produced with an apparent porosity of 65%, a density of 610 kg/m³, and a compressive strength of 2.0 MPa. The effectiveness of employing an air-entraining additive (AEA) and creating PA in geopolymers was tested. A different-molarity activator was used, and wood biomass fly ash (WFA) and metakaolin (MK) waste were used as precursors for the synthesis of porous geopolymers. Using an air-entraining admixture in geopolymers allows for the production of lightweight geopolymers with densities up to 1400 kg/m³, compressive strengths up to 8.0 Mpa, and apparent porosities up to 38.4%. Such properties, together with their low cost, offer good prospects for geopolymers in the construction industry. By utilizing PA in the geopolymer composition, a lightweight geopolymer (GPA) with a density of 985 kg/m³ and a compressive strength of 3.9 Mpa, with 42.0% apparent porosity, was obtained. The materials effectively removed phosphorus from biologically treated wastewater: PA had an efficiency of up to 82.5%, the geopolymer with AEA had an efficiency of up to 88.4%, and GPA had an efficiency of up to 97%. The created GPA enhances the adsorbent’s sorption capacity, resulting in extremely high phosphorus uptake efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials for Greener Future)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Sustainable Building Materials for Greener Future

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI