Industrial waste products based concrete: environmental impact assessment

Abstract

Improving the environmental situation and obtaining hydration hardening composites with new properties for various operating conditions is possible with the use of secondary resources. The work is dedicated to the criteria study for assessing the hydration hardening binders impact on the environment. The methodological approach to the choice of a functional unit for a carbon footprint comparative assessment of cement is substantiated in the work. The study results of the properties that determine the concrete durability in transport construction and the aggressive environment of livestock farms are presented. Concrete based on Portland cement has the least resistance in the aggressive environment of livestock complexes, the cross-breaking strength of which is almost twice after 150 days of curing. Marginally better resistance coefficient indicators in an aggressive environment have binder compositions based on portland blast furnace slag cement and technogenic raw materials. At the same time, if the process of degradation and decrease in the strength properties of the binder samples on Portland cement is progressive until they are completely destroyed, then in the binder samples on modified technogenic raw materials, the strength characteristics stabilize with time, which indicates the decaying nature of the corrosion process. The investigated slag-alkaline concrete satisfies the requirements for paving concrete and concretes for under-rail structures, since compressive strength and frost resistance were 70 MPa and F600 for granulated blast-furnace slag with a basicity modulus of 0.8; 78 MPa and F700 for granulated blast-furnace slag with alkali-lime index 0.9. These concretes had comparable characteristics to concrete on Portland cement CEM 52.5, for which the values were 60 MPa and F600. The presented results contribute to the development of an ecological approach to making design decisions in construction.