Recent Case Histories of Carbon-Neutral Activity Using Ground Improvement Technology in Japan

Abstract

Global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions has led to record-breaking heat waves, torrential rains and droughts on a global scale in recent years. For this reason, people around the world are more keenly aware of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The construction industry is one of these sources of greenhouse gas emissions. A lot of ground improvement techniques have been developed and applied to improve the physical and mechanical properties of soil in order to achieve stability improvement, ground settlement control, reinforcement, liquefaction prevention, etc. These techniques use a lot of natural materials such as sand and crushed stone and industrial products such as cement. In order to reduce their environmental impact and to economize these techniques, many kinds of industrial waste and by-products have been beneficially used in many types of ground improvement techniques. In response to the growing awareness of carbon neutrality in recent years, it is necessary to further promote initiatives such as the beneficial use of the industrial materials that have been used so far and the development of new materials and construction methods to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It is expected that various biomass materials will be applied in ground improvement techniques to enhance “negative emission technology.” In this paper, recent developments and applications of certain sorts of environmentally friendly ground improvement techniques, soil densification techniques and soil stabilization techniques are briefly introduced. It is to be expected that these will be further developed and applied to contribute to the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.