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Eco-Friendly Innovations in Concrete

Concrete production significantly contributes to global CO2 emissions, but the industry is making efforts to become more environmentally friendly through the use of recycled materials, reducing carbon footprints, and changing cement compositions. Innovations like bendable concrete offer enhanced durability and self-healing properties, making it a promising development for sustainable construction. These initiatives are essential for achieving carbon-neutral concrete by 2050 and promoting a more sustainable future.

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15 views3 pages

Eco-Friendly Innovations in Concrete

Concrete production significantly contributes to global CO2 emissions, but the industry is making efforts to become more environmentally friendly through the use of recycled materials, reducing carbon footprints, and changing cement compositions. Innovations like bendable concrete offer enhanced durability and self-healing properties, making it a promising development for sustainable construction. These initiatives are essential for achieving carbon-neutral concrete by 2050 and promoting a more sustainable future.

Uploaded by

Vivek
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Yes, concrete can be made more environmentally friendly. The production of cement, a

key ingredient in concrete, contributes to about 8% of global CO2 emissions (Naran et al., 2022).

However, the industry has been making strides towards making concrete more environmentally

friendly.

Use of Recycled Materials: Green concrete is a form of eco-friendly concrete that

utilizes waste or residual materials from different industries. This reduces the burden on natural

resources and increases dependency on recyclable materials. The use of waste or residual

materials from different industries, such as fly ash from coal-fired power plants or slag from steel

production (Naran et al., 2022). This not only reduces the burden on natural resources but also

helps manage industrial waste.

Reducing Carbon Footprint: The Global Cement and Concrete Association has

promised carbon-neutral concrete by 2050. This involves reducing the carbon used to fire the

kilns, which is already in progress. Almost all cement producers in Canada use some portion of

lower-carbon fuel, such as waste biomass.

Changing the Makeup of Cement: The industry is finding ways of changing the

makeup of cement so that it’s less carbon-intensive. Portland-limestone cement (PLC), for

example, is a blended cement that uses uncalcified limestone, which can reduce CO2 emissions

by 10 per cent (Naran et al., 2022).

As for concrete innovations, I would select Bendable Concrete. Bendable concrete, or

engineered cementitious composite (ECC), is a type of concrete with increased ductility, or

ability to undergo extreme deformation before cracking or breaking, when compared to

traditional concrete. This ability to tolerate tensile strain makes bendable concrete an exciting
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development in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure where concrete is subject to

harsh weather and extreme loads. Moreover, bendable concrete has self-healing capabilities, is

less prone to shrinkage and drying shrinkage, is resistant to cracking, and gives the surface an

expanded lifespan. This makes it a promising innovation for the future of concrete construction.

While concrete production does contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, there are

ongoing efforts and innovations aimed at making concrete more environmentally friendly. These

efforts are crucial in moving towards a more sustainable world (Fogel, 2016).
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References

Fogel, D. (2016). Strategic Sustainability: A natural environmental lens on organizations and

management. 1st Ed. ISBN 9781138916579. Publisher: Routledge. New York, NY.

Naran, J. M., Gonzalez, R. E. G., del Rey Castillo, E., Toma, C. L., Almesfer, N., van Vreden, P.,

& Saggi, O. (2022). Incorporating waste to develop environmentally-friendly concrete

mixes. Construction and Building Materials, 314, 125599.

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