Sustainable Concrete: A Review

Abstract

The demand for cement and concrete is highly increasing due to urbanization and increase in the world’s population. Portland cement production releases substantial amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere, which is causing the climate change. Furthermore, cement and concrete industries consume a large amount of energy and natural resources. Therefore, it is important to develop new methods to overcome the challenges created by these products. The purpose of this paper is to make a review of opportunities for achieving sustainable cement and concrete industry. Using supplementary cementitious materials as partial replacement of cement, is one of the main opportunities to reduce the amount of cement usage in concrete. The paper also reviews other factors that can increase sustainability of cement and concrete industry, which include utilizing recycled aggregates and other recycled materials, optimize concrete mix design, structural optimization, replacement of fossil fuels, carbon capture and storage, increasing durability of concrete, extending the service life of existing infrastructures, water management, implementing regulations as well as other opportunities such as carbonation, alternative binders, energy storage and energy harvesting. These solutions can play an important role in producing more sustainable concrete and thus, reducing GHG emissions, conserving natural resources, decreasing wastes and conserving energy.