Title:
Alternative Binders to Portland Cement to Produce Sustainable "Special" Concretes: Feasibility and Open Issues
Author(s):
Luigi Coppola
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_S23_LuigiCoppola.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
4/2/2023
Abstract:
It is well known that the concrete industry is at a watershed towards sustainability, focused on reducing its environmental impact and improving the performances and the service life of concrete structures. One of the main causes of the huge environmental impact of mortars and concretes is portland cement, an energy-intensive binder characterized by strong greenhouse gases emissions and high natural raw materials consumptions. For this reason, several low-environmental impact alternative binders to portland cement have been proposed in recent years. However, it is clear that the massive volumes required by construction industry, together with technological limitations, inconsistency of properties and price issues, make the replacement of significant portions of portland cement in concrete production practically impossible. Nevertheless, alternative “green” binders may play a fundamental role in the formulation of special mortars and concretes due to their peculiar properties at fresh and hardened state. This paper presents different “special” applications of alternative binders (alkali activated materials, calcium sulphoaluminate clinker-based blends) such as expansive concretes for jointless slabs on ground, heat-insulating reinforced plasters for seismic and energy retrofitting of poor-quality masonry structures, cement-free renders for structural applications on existing buildings and pervious concretes made only with recycled raw materials.