Strategies and solutions to green concrete construction material

Abstract

With escalating adverse effects, climate change is, presently, a critical global issue. The primary agent is the atmospheric high level of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Concrete significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Green building is, therefore, a professional responsibility. This analysis briefly proposes various possibilities for reverting to green concrete in construction, advising strategies and solutions implementable at the several life cycle phases of the construction material. Multi-faceted sustainable aspects would pertain to eco-friendly extraction and manufacturing processes, thermal energy-efficient layout, scrubbing of pollutants, and recyclability. In particular, the study sheds light on an important experimental possibility of symbiosing the inert building material with the biological realm: the Living Concrete. At Politecnico Di Milano – Department of Architecture, Built Environment & Construction Engineering, we, first, realized a symbiotic concrete tile with macro-algae Ulva lactuca; then, we developed the experiment to conceive a novel “living concrete” construction finish material designed to absorb/scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This material consists of concrete blocks with Chlorella vulgaris cultivated on their surface. C. vulgaris is common microalgae with photosynthetic activity. This new photosynthetic concrete finish material was further developed and realized at the University of Verona – Department of Biotechnology with the help of expert professors. Researching effective negative greenhouse gas emissions techniques (NGHGET) from the chemical, physical and/or biological realm presents a valid approach to address and solve climate change problem.