Low-Carbon and Fundamental Properties of Eco-Efficient Mortar with Recycled Powders

Using recycled powders from solid waste is accepted as an effective strategy to realize the sustainable development of the construction industry. In our study, the cement was substituted by two kinds of recycled powders, i.e., spontaneous combustion gangue powder (SCGP) and recycled concrete powder (RCP), with a certain replacement ratio of 30%. The experimental variables were mainly the type of replacement powder (e.g., SCGP, RCP, and SCGP + RCP) and the grinding time of RCP (e.g., 25 min, 50 min, and 75 min). The fundamental properties, including mechanical properties, long-term properties, and carbon emission, were analyzed for all the mortar mixtures. Experimental results indicate that incorporation of RCP contributes to enhancing the toughness and dry shrinkage resistance of eco-efficient mortar, while SCGP positively affects the compressive strength and chloride resistance. The grinding process improves the activity of RCP to a certain extent, while a long grinding time leads to fusion and aggregation between powders. Investigation on CO2 emission demonstrates that carbon emission from cement production accounts for the largest proportion, 80~95%, in the total emission from mortar production. Combined with the AHP model, eco-efficient mortar containing 15% RCP ground for 50 min and 15% SCGP displays optimal fundamental properties.

Evaluation of Eco-Efficient Concretes Produced with Fly Ash and Uncarbonated Recycled Aggregates

The fabrication of conventional concrete, as well as remains from demolition, has a high environmental impact. This paper assessed the eco-efficiency of concrete made with uncarbonated recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) and fly ash (FA). Two concrete series were produced with an effective water/cement ratio of 0.50 (Series 1) and 0.40 (Series 2). In both series, concretes were produced using 0% and 50% of RCA with 0%, 25% and 50% FA. After analysing the compressive strength, and carbonation and chloride resistance of those concretes, their eco-efficiency based on the binder intensity and CO2-eq intensity was assessed. We found that the use of 50% uncarbonated RCA improved the properties of concretes produced with FA with respect to using natural aggregates. The concrete made of 25% FA plus RCA was considered the most eco-efficient based on the tests of compressive, carbonation and chloride properties with the values of 4.1 kg CO2 m−3 MPa−1, 76.3 kg CO2 m−3 mm−1 year0.5 and 0.079 kg CO2 m−3 C−1, respectively. The uncarbonated RCA improved carbonation resistance, and FA improved chloride resistance. It can be concluded that the use of 50% un-carbonated RCA combined with FA considerably enhanced the properties of hardened concrete and their eco-efficiency with respect to concretes produced with natural aggregates.

Chloride Migration in Graphene Oxide Concrete

This paper presents experimental work on the chloride penetration resistance of concrete, incorporating 0%, 2% and 3% Graphene Oxide (GO) by weight of cement. Nine 100mm diameter and 200mm high concrete cylinders were cast in the Materials Laboratory at the University of Plymouth. The cylinders were cut into 50mm thick disks and rapid chloride migration tests were carried out. After the tests, the penetration depth of the disks were measured and chloride migration coefficients were determined. It was found that compared with the control samples, the addition of 2% and 3% GO reduced the migration coefficient of concrete by about 11% and 17% respectively at 28 days after casting. This suggests that the inclusion of GO into a cementitious mix does have a noticeable effect on the increase of chloride resistance and hence the longevity of concrete.

Effect of Ammonia-Soda Residue on the Strength and Chloride-Resistance Performance of Steel Slag-Granulated Blast Furnace Slag-Based Concrete after Immersion in Artificial Seawater

Ammonia-soda residue (ASR) is the main solid waste generated from soda manufacturing and is hard to reuse due to its complex chemical composition. This study investigated the influence of ASR content on the strength and chloride-resistance capacity of concrete based on basic oxygen furnace slag and ground blast furnace slag. The hydration and chloride resistance mechanisms were analysed by comparing the hydrate products and pore structural changes. The results showed that adding ASR had the greatest impact on early strength. ASR-introduced chloride ions may participate in the hydration process to generate Friedel’s salt and decrease ettringite. The optimum pore distribution appeared when the ASR-to-desulphurisation gypsum ratio was 2:3 because of the introduction of nucleation sites and the decrease of C–S–H gels. The two chloride resistance-capacity measurements were affected differently by the ASR content. The apparent chloride diffusion coefficient was mainly affected by the percentage of pores that were larger than 10 nm. However, electric flux increased when ASR increased due to the influence of introduced chloride. The crystallisation pressure of Friedel’s salt decreases the strength of concrete with ASR content after high-concentration artificial-seawater immersion. The significant chloride-resistance property provided an alternative use for the concrete containing ASR.