Different Approaches to Develop More Sustainable Concrete Alternatives

Abstract

As important as it is, sustainability related with the concrete material is more than reducing the amount of cement in concrete mixes. In effect, there can be other types of contributions to a sustainable development using this fundamental material. The purpose of this book chapter is to analyse some of these approaches, in particular, concrete durability, reducing the amount of required concrete (and then cement) through innovative structural design, and reducing the amount of aggregates used in the concrete material. More specifically, examples and results obtained in Chile with biological self-healing concrete, thinner concrete pavements and concrete with industrial and domestic waste as partial aggregate replacement are included in the chapter. Due to its importance, the geo-dependency of the concrete material is addressed as well.

A Review on the Incorporation of Diatomaceous Earth as a Geopolymer-Based Concrete Building Resource

“…The construction sector is essential to sustainable development since it contributes significantly to a country’s economy and its activities are critical to achieving the socio-economic development goals of providing housing, infrastructure, and employment [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Building and construction have been found to consume more than 40% of the world’s energy while emitting roughly the same amount of CO 2 [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] as a result of the widespread use of cement-based concrete [ 7 , 8 ], which has led to an estimated global production of around 25 billion tonnes per year [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. This eco-footprint is also expected to rise with the significant population growth anticipated by 2050 [ 3 ].…”

“…Figure 1 summarizes multiple strategies for creating more sustainable concrete alternatives that have been proposed by scholars [ 7 , 14 , 15 ] to try and reduce the unsustainability of concrete.…”