Climate Change Impact Assessment of Geopolymer Mortars

Abstract

The awareness of environmental protection, with the conservation of resources and the efficient use of industrial waste, has attracted the attention in recent decades as both the overexploitation of natural resources and the disposal of industrial waste have a negative impact on the environment and sustainability [1]. Under such circumstances, replacing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with industrial waste has been shown as a sustainable and practical way to reduce the use of natural resources, as well as landfill waste and pollution [2]. The discussion of this issue is part of a path, which sees as its starting point the design of a hydraulic pipeline prototype (Figure 1) made of geopolymer mortar instead of conventional concrete pipes. The environmental sustainability of geopolymer mortars was demonstrated through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Analysis results indicate that the use of eco-friendly materials contributes to minimizing the environmental impact of new technologies for engineering sector.