Improving the environmental situation and obtaining cement composites with new properties for various operating conditions is possible with the use of secondary resources. The paper is devoted to the criteria for evaluating the impact of clinker-free cement on the environment. The methodological approach to the selection of a functional unit for comparative assessment of the ecological footprint of clinker-free cements is justified. The results of studying the properties determining the concrete durability in the aggressive environment of livestock farms and in transport construction are given. The results will contribute to the development of an ecological approach to the components selection for clinker-free cements and to the adoption of design decisions in construction, as well as to the expansion of the field of using clinker-free cements in transport and industrial construction.

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In this study, wet-ground carbide slag (i.e., WGCS) was utilized as an accelerator in calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA) for obtaining considerably faster setting processes for some special engineering processes such as plugging projects and rapid repair engineering. The WGCS–CSA system was designed, in which the replacement ratio of CSA by carbide slag was chosen as 4%, 8% and 12%. The setting time and compressive strength were measured, and the mechanism of the system hydration was studied in detail by means of calorimetry, XRD, thermogravimetry (TG) and SEM. The results showed that WGCS shortened the setting time of cement and significantly augmented the early strength. The addition of 8% of WGCS contributed to increasing the 2-h compressive strength from 4.2 MPa to 32.9 MPa. The decrease in the setting time and the increase in the initial strength were mainly attributed to the high initial pH value of the liquid phase and the high content of calcium ions in WGCS. Both these factors contributed to the ettringite formation and, at the same time, to the transformation of the morphology at a later time. Such results testify that WGCS can be used as an accelerator in the CSA system and also that it provides a novel approach to the reutilization of carbide slag.

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