Concrete is the world’s most important construction material. However, an abundance of r
aw material such as rock, gravel, sand and water in the concrete reaches approximately 75-90% produced annually in North European countries (Concrete for the environment, 2003). Therefore, the quality of concrete does not reach a necessary compressive strength. It is a reason for new technologies which should be discovered. At the same time, the world is tackling global warning and resources problem. New concrete technologies are an environmentally friendly material and are – when correctly produced and used very durable as a consequence. Structures at the ends of their lives can be demolished and recycled as aggregate in new concrete or for road construction. Hence, there are some of these advanced concrete technologies to examine in this paper.
Development of a Sustainable Concrete Waste Recycling System - Application of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Produced by Aggregate Replacing Method (Yasuhiro Dosho) (Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, Volume 5.1 (2007): In this paper, the research showed the reuse of construction waste is highly essential from the viewpoint of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and effective recycling of construction resources. Therefore, a promotion of the reuse of construction waste is necessary to achieve three basic concepts: (1) assurance of safety and quality, (2) decrease of environmental impact, and (3) increase of cost effectiveness of construction. This paper outlines the development of a recycling system, application of recycled aggregate concrete produced by the aggregate replacing method, which is effective in reducing both cost and environmental impact from the viewpoint of LCA for concrete waste generated by the demolition of large-scale buildings. Result of this study showed that the adoption of the developed recycling system was confirmed to recycle concrete waste produced from the demolition buildings in a highly effective manner reducing both recycling cost and environmental impact.
Geopolymer concrete technology (Dr. Erez Allouche) (Sciencedaily, 2009): This research is led by an assistant professor of civil engineering at Louisiana Tech University and associate director of the Trenchless Technology Center. In this paper, the research outlines a comparison between old concrete (Portland cement concrete (PCC)) and new concrete based Inorganic polymer concrete (geopolymer) in pumping carbon dioxide (CO2) into our atmosphere. The research showed the geopolymer will contribute lower CO2 than the PCC do. In addition, geopolymer concrete (GPC) features greater corrosion resistance, substantially higher fire resistance (up to 2400° F), high compressive and tensile strengths, a rapid strength gain, and lower shrinkage in comparison to ordinary Portland cement.
Geopolymer Concrete