Geopolymer concrete: the green alternative with suitable structural properties

Geopolymer concrete: the green alternative with suitable structural properties

Concrete is the most widely used building material around the world because of the availability of raw materials, the simplicity in preparation and the moulding into different shapes. One of the main ingredients in a normal concrete mixture is Portland cement. However recent literature reveals that cement industry accounts for approximately 5 % of the current man made carbon dioxide (CO2) emission worldwide. World cement demand and production are ever increasing with the expected growth is from approximately 2836 million tons in 2010 to between 3680 (low estimate) and 4380 million tons (high estimate) by 2050. Knowing that about 1.5 tons of raw materials are needed in the production of every ton of Portland cement concrete and about one ton of CO2 is released in to the environment during the production, developing alternative construction materials is required. This paper will review the utilization of geopolymer concrete as an alternative for Ordinary Portland Cement concrete. The use of new greener material instead of concrete requires two main characteristics: reduced environmental impact which is a main concern in the world and better structural performance. This paper aims at investigating these characteristics using the available literature.

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