Sample Literature Review On Types AND Applications Of Concrete

Although concrete is considered to be a sustainable material that is generally eco-friendly and can be regarded as a green one, it is necessary to look at its constituents and their effect on the environment. One of the most detrimental parts of the concrete that is a heavy CO2 emitter is cement, which is currently most frequently used for the material preparation. Still, today already there is a lot of information available on more eco-friendly constituents of concrete that result in the same firmness, but bring less harm to the environment.
In the article by Berry, Cross and Stephens (2009), there is analyzed the use of fly ash as an alternative to cement, as it is physically and chemically very similar to the Portland cement. This material is a byproduct of coal combustion at coal-fired power plants and annually there is produced over 70 million tons of it (Habert, De Lacaillerie and Roussel, 2011). There are certain variations in the quality of this material used in concrete, which depend on the type of coal burnt. Often it is used as a partial substitute of cement in the concrete mixture.
In the paper by Meyer (2008), there is also considered the use of fly ash, but is added ground granulated blast furnace slag. It is also a byproduct of industrial processes. However, there are also added different substitutes used as aggregates. Among them there are post-consumer glass, recycled concrete aggregate , scrap tires, plastics and other elements.
Another article by Caijun, Jiménezb and Palomo (2011) state that the future cement production should be oriented towards alkaline activated cement. The authors of the article define five kids of alkaline cement. Thus, there is presented a more eco-friendly material to the Portland cement commonly used for concrete production.

Reference List

Berry, M., Cross, D. and Stephens, J., 2009. Changing the environment: an alternative “Green” concrete produced without Portland cement. Proceedings from the world of coal ash (WOCA), pp.04-07.
Habert, G., De Lacaillerie, J. D. E. and Roussel, N., 2011. An environmental evaluation of geopolymer based concrete production: reviewing current research trends. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(11), pp.1229-1238.
Meyer, C., 2009. The greening of the concrete industry. Cement and Concrete Composites, 31(8), pp.601-605.
Shi, C., Jiménez, A. F. and Palomo, A., 2011. New cements for the 21st century: the pursuit of an alternative to Portland cement. Cement and Concrete Research, 41(7), pp.750-763.