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Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Air, Climate Change and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2023) | Viewed by 9739

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yu Song

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Interests: sustainable, low-carbon, and functional concrete materials; artificial intelligence (AI); advanced characterization; computational modeling

Dr. Xu Chen

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Guest Editor

School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: cementitious materials’ processing-structure-property relationships; cement chemistry; sustainable materials; 3D printing; environmental remediation

Dr. Ratana Hay

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Guest Editor

Division of Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Interests: alternative binders for concrete, high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete; concrete durability; re-use & recycling of construction waste; CO₂ sequestration; energy-efficient buildings

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The cement and concrete industry is an essential element of the global economy and development aspirations. It provides indispensable construction materials for our modern buildings and infrastructure. Concrete materials satisfy a list of key expectations for an ideal building material—reliability, durability, and affordability. Concrete usage is therefore ranked at the top among all man-made materials.

However, the cement and concrete industry has long been a significant emitter of CO₂, and this trend is still growing. Moving towards net-zero CO₂ emissions for the production of concrete materials, researchers have been developing various solutions, such as diminishing the use of carbon-intensive constituents, increasing the material efficiency, implementing alternative binders, capturing CO₂ for construction applications, promoting value-added material recycling, and improving the service life.

Herein, we are establishing this Special Issue to gather the most recent findings on the relevant topics, which include but are not limited to studies related to 1) sustainable cement chemistry and production, 2) the design of low-carbon concrete materials, 3) decarbonization technologies related to the broader scope of cementitious materials, 4) material recycling to lower the cement usage, 5) life cycle analysis for cement and concrete, and 6) other efforts to reduce the carbon embodiment in the production, use, and recycling of cement and concrete materials.

Dr. Yu Song
Dr. Xu Chen
Dr. Ratana Hay
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

Keywords

cement
concrete
decarbonization
low-CO₂
sustainable
recycling
LCA

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilizing Fine Marine Sediment as a Partial Substitute for Sand in Self-Compacting Concrete Specially Designed for Application in Marine Environments

by Mahmoud Hayek, Tara Soleimani, Marie Salgues and Jean-Claude Souche

Sustainability 2024, 16(6), 2538; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062538 - 20 Mar 2024

Viewed by 718

Abstract

The disposal of marine sediments poses a significant economic and environmental challenge on a global scale. To address this issue and promote resource optimization within a circular-economy paradigm, this research investigates the viability of incorporating untreated fine marine sediments as a partial replacement for sand in self-compacting concrete (SCC) designed especially for application in marine environments (an exposure class of XS2 and a resistance class of C30/37 according to standard NF EN 206). The concretes mis-design incorporating 30% by weight of sediment as a sand substitute was initially designed with the modified Dreux–Gorisse method. The findings indicate that it is feasible to design an SCC suitable for marine environments, incorporating 30% sediment replacement content and without significantly compromising concrete properties, durability, or the estimated lifespan of the formulated concretes. The integration of marine sediment as a sand substitute into the SCC mix design reduces the amount of binder and limestone filler without compromising the paste volume. This results in a significant saving of natural sand resources and a reduction in CO₂ emissions for SCC made with marine sediment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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17 pages, 15730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilising Phosphogypsum and Biomass Fly Ash By-Products in Alkali-Activated Materials

by Chengjie Zhu, Jolanta Pranckevičienė, Ina Pundienė and Olga Kizinievič

Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1084; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031084 - 26 Jan 2024

Viewed by 906

Abstract

Significant environmental issues are raised by the phosphogypsum (PG) waste that is being produced. In Lithuania, about 1,500,000 tons of PG waste is generated yearly, and about 300 Mt is generated yearly worldwide. A by-product of burning wood biomass in thermal power plants is biomass fly ash (BFA). By 2035, compared to 2008 levels, industrial biomass incineration for combined heat and power and, as a consequence, BFA, is expected to triple. This study revealed the possibility of using these difficult-to-utilise waste products, such as BFA and PG, in efficient alkali-activated materials (AAM). As the alkaline activator solution (AAS), less alkaline Na₂CO₃ solution and Na₂SiO₃ solution were used. The study compared the physical–mechanical properties of BFA-PG specimens mixed with water and the AAS. After 28 days of curing, the compressive strength of the BFA-PG-based, water-mixed samples increased from 3.02 to 6.38 MPa when the PG content was increased from 0 to 30 wt.%. In contrast, the compressive strength of the BFA-PG-based samples with AAS increased from 8.03 to 16.67 MPa when the PG content was increased from 0 to 30 wt.%. According to XRD analysis, gypsum crystallisation increased when the PG content in the BFA-PG-based samples with water increased. The presence of AAS in the BFA-PG-based samples significantly reduced gypsum crystallisation, but increased the crystallisation of the new phases kottenheimite and sodium aluminium silicate hydrate, which, due to the sodium ions’ participation in the reactions, created denser reaction products and improved the mechanical properties. The outcome of this investigation aids in producing sustainable AAM and applying high volume of hardly usable waste materials, such as BFA and PG. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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25 pages, 5760 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Machine-Learning-Based Comprehensive Properties Prediction and Mixture Design Optimization of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete

by Chang Sun, Kai Wang, Qiong Liu, Pujin Wang and Feng Pan

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15338; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115338 - 26 Oct 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1349

Abstract

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is widely used in the field of large-span and ultra-high-rise buildings due to its advantages such as ultra-high strength and durability. However, the large amount of cementitious materials used results in the cost and carbon emission of UHPC being much higher than that of ordinary concrete, limiting the wide application of UHPC. Therefore, optimizing the design of the UHPC mix proportion to meet the basic properties of UHPC with low carbon and low cost at the same time will help to realize the wide application of UHPC in various application scenarios. In this study, the basic properties of UHPC, including the compressive strength, flexural strength, fluidity, and shrinkage properties, were predicted by machine-learning algorithms. It is found that the XGBoost algorithm outperforms others in predicting basic properties, with MAPE lower than 5% and R² higher than 0.9 in four output properties. To evaluate the comprehensive performance of UHPC, a further analysis was conducted to calculate the cost- and carbon-emissions-per-unit volume for 50,000 UHPC random mixes. Combined with the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model, the comprehensive performance of UHPC, including basic properties, cost-per-unit volume, and carbon-emissions-per-unit volume, was evaluated. This study proposes an optimized UHPC mix proportion, based on low-cost or low-carbon emission, oriented to comply with the excellent overall performance and obtain its corresponding various properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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16 pages, 3443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fiber-Reinforced Lightweight Calcium Aluminate Cement-Based Concrete: Effect of Exposure to Elevated Temperatures

by Özlem Salli Bideci, Hakan Yılmaz, Osman Gencel, Alper Bideci, Bekir Çomak, Mehrab Nodehi and Togay Ozbakkaloglu

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4722; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064722 - 07 Mar 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1465

Abstract

Calcium aluminate cements (CACs) are a group of rapid-hardening hydraulic binders with a higher aluminum composition and lower ecological footprint compared to their ordinary Portland cement (CEM) counterparts. CACs are commonly known to have higher thermo-durability properties but have previously been observed to experience a major strength loss over time when exposed to thermal and humidity conditions due to the chemical conversion of their natural hydrated products. To address this, in this study, silica fume is added to induce a different hydration phase path suggested by previous studies and utilized in conjunction with fiber-reinforced lightweight pumice to produce lightweight concrete. To closely evaluate the performance of the produced samples with CAC compared to CEM, two different types of cement (CEM and CAC) with different proportions of pumice and crushed stone aggregate at temperatures between 200 and 1000 °C were tested. In this context, sieve analysis, bulk density, flowability, compressive and flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity and weight loss of the different mixes were determined. The results of this study point to the better mechanical properties of CAC samples produced with pumice aggregates (compared to crushed stone) when samples are exposed to high temperatures. As a result, it is found that CACs perform better than CEM samples with lightweight pumice at elevated temperatures, showing the suitability of producing lightweight thermal-resistant CAC-based concretes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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22 pages, 10108 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Method to Predict Final Products of Red Mud-Slag-Based Alkali-Activated Materials Using Complete Phase Analysis of Precursors

by Reza Mirmoghtadaei, Lin Shen and Jonathan Hargraves

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3473; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043473 - 14 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1171

Abstract

This paper presents a new method for predicting the final products of red mud-slag-based alkali-activated materials (RM-AAMs) using comprehensive phase analysis. As the first step, a quantitative method by X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to analyze six different types of red mud and ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). Secondly, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was employed to determine the bulk elemental oxide contents of the precursors. A procedure combining XRD and XRF was then used to quantify both the crystalline and amorphous components of the precursors. In addition to investigating precursors, soluble silica from sodium silicate has been considered in calculating reactive silica. The research includes forty sets of alkali-activated samples using various activators with different concentrations. The XRD results of hardened paste samples revealed that the method could successfully predict the final products of RM-AAMs. By predicting the final products of the alkali-activation process, the optimization of raw material types and contents will be more efficient. For example, in the case of having C-S-H as the final product, adding substances with high reactive alumina would be unnecessary. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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20 pages, 8455 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance of Alkali-Activated Materials Using Precursors with High Impurity Contents

by Reza Mirmoghtadaei, Lin Shen, Ian Jehn and Baomin Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3319; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043319 - 10 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1426

Abstract

The presence of impurities, such as anhydrite (calcium sulfate) and unburnt carbon, in fly ash and other industrial wastes greatly limits the utilization of these materials in the construction industry. In addition, alkali-activated materials using precursors with high impurity contents should be closely monitored to ensure long-term durability. This study investigates the performance of alkali-activated materials using precursors with high impurity contents. Successful alkali-activated mixes have been developed and comprehensive tests have been conducted on the mechanical properties, volume stability, and durability. The research determined that a new mixing procedure could significantly enhance various properties of high-impurity alkali-activated materials (HI-AAMs). The study investigated both short- and long-term mechanical properties, as well as the durability of the specimens. The hardened samples exhibited reasonable 28-day compressive strength (38 MPa (5500 psi)), and rapid strength gain (28 MPa (4000 psi)), after 3 days. HI-AAMs also demonstrated acceptable long-term properties: drying shrinkage similar to that of normal concrete after four months; resistance to 5% sodium sulfate after 180 days of exposure; passing the ASTM 1260 ASR test, and smaller creep values compared to conventional concrete samples with similar compressive strengths. With similar or even superior performances to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), HI-AAMs could be a sustainable building material suitable for a host of structural and non-structural applications. Therefore, employment of the novel mixing procedure is recommended in fabricating AAMs with high impurity contents to optimize performance, cost, and environmental benefits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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Review

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27 pages, 2082 KiB

Open AccessReview

Strategies for OPC Paste Carbonation: Relationship between Microstructure, Performance and Net CO₂ Balance

by André Silva, Rita Nogueira and José Alexandre Bogas

Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010361 - 30 Dec 2023

Viewed by 2020

Abstract

Carbon capture storage and utilization is the main technology for reducing CO₂ emissions, accounting for 56% of the overall reduction required to achieve the carbon neutrality of concrete by 2050. Different strategies have been explored in cement-based materials towards this end, namely, in concrete. However, the impact on carbonated concrete differs depending on the moment at which cementitious material comes into contact with CO₂, either in terms of CO₂ uptake or in terms of its lifetime performance. This paper presents three leading strategies that rely on the direct carbonation of a cementitious binder to reduce the carbon footprint. For each strategy, the effect of the carbonation process on the kinetics and microstructure of cementitious paste, the estimation of its carbon capture capability and the application feasibility are discussed. Accelerated carbonation curing is one approach widely studied by academics. However, despite some CO₂ capture effectiveness, its industrial processing is still a long way off. A second strategy consists of incorporating CO₂ during the mixing process, which has been shown to speed up the hardening reactions of cement. However, this effect is of short term and may negatively affect its long-term performance. Finally, the carbonation of hydrated cement waste is shown to be a very promising strategy that enables the recycling of hydrated cement waste as a supplementary cementitious material which also has a potentially high CO₂ uptake. The integrated analysis of the three strategies highlights a wide variability in the reduction of CO₂ emissions from 1% to 37% in relation to current emissions, where the best result was achieved using carbonated waste (third strategy) in the production of a concrete subjected to carbonation curing (first strategy). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decarbonization in the Cement and Concrete Industry)

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