Current Sustainable Trends of Using Waste Materials in Concrete—A Decade Review

Abstract

Concrete is the most used construction material in the world. Consequently, the mass extraction of virgin materials required for concrete production causes major environmental impacts. With a focus on promoting sustainability, numerous research studies on incorporating waste materials to replace virgin substances in concrete were undertaken. Despite this vast volume of published literature, systematic research studies on these sustainable concrete mixes that inform various stakeholders on current research trends, future research directions, and marketability options products are seldom conducted. This paper presents a decade review on sustainable concrete with a focus on virgin materials being replaced with waste materials. It aims to inform researchers of current research trends and gaps in the research area of waste material use in concrete. The review also identifies key parameters that restrict the marketability of these sustainable concrete products. The three-step research methodology involves a bibliometric assessment, a key review of selected waste materials, and an interview with a panel of experts focusing on impediments towards the transition of sustainable concrete products into the industry market. Bibliometric assessment was based on 1465 research publications in which five key materials (plastic, glass, fly ash, slag) and construction and demolition waste were selected for the review. The interview was conducted with ten industry experts to discuss the industry limitations in the commercial establishment of materials. The review of existing knowledge and the findings on sustainable concrete presented in this paper provide directions for both research academics and industry stakeholders to systematically focus on sustainable concrete products that are market-ready.

Compressive Strength Characteristics of Concrete Modified With Treated High-Density Polyethylene

“…Interestingly, the global construction industry consumes an estimated 20 billion tons of concrete every year and this large annual production of concrete consequently leads to an equally large estimated consumption of component materials of about 15 billion tons of aggregates and 4.2 billion tons of cement (Tosic et al, 2017). Taking into account the huge volume of concrete produced annually, the concrete industry is unquestionably one of the ideal mediums for the economic and safe use of millions of post-consumer waste plastics (Sandanayake et al, 2020).…”

Inflows and Outflows from Material Stocks of Buildings and Networks and their Space-Differentiated Drivers: The Case Study of the Paris Region

“…Therefore, developing concrete up-cycling in concrete appears like a consistent way to improve recycling. Sandanayake and colleagues [77] as well as the French national research project [78] showed that it is feasible, under certain conditions, in terms of techniques, costs, and regulation. However, reuse and recycling of C&D waste in the Paris region face strong constraints [13].…”

Durability Investigation of Sulfur and Traditional Concrete within Aggressive Environments

“…The first attempt to use alternative material to cement was in 1920, which suggested sulfur as a concrete compound binder [1][2][3].…”

“…SC has revealed high resistance against harsh environments like acid and salt environments compared to traditional cement. Additionally, SC has several useful characteristics than traditional cement, such as compressive, tensile, and flexural strength, and exhibits low absorption and permeability for water [3], [7]- [9].…”