A Seminar Report

on
GREEN CONCRETE
 Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Environmental Goals ............................................................................................. 2

2. GENESIS ...................................................................................................................... 3

3. ADVANTAGES OF GREEN CONCRETE ................................................................... 7

4. METHODS TO PRODUCE GREEN CONCRETE........................................................ 8

4.1. Desirable properties in green concrete .................................................................... 8

4.2. Energy consumption during the production ............................................................ 8

4.2.1. Energy consumption in concrete mix design ................................................... 8

4.2.2. Energy consumption during cement and concrete production ....................... 10

4.3. Evaluation of inorganic wastes ............................................................................. 10

4.4. Different ways to produce Green concrete ............................................................ 11

5. RESULTS OF STUDIES BASED ON REPORTED LITERATURE ........................... 12

5.1. Green Concrete containing Marble sludge powder and Quarry rock dust .............. 12

5.1.1. Characterisation of waste ............................................................................. 12

5.1.2. Raw materials .............................................................................................. 13

5.1.3. Mix proportion of concrete: .......................................................................... 14

5.1.4. Results and Discussion ................................................................................. 15

5.1.5. Conclusions ................................................................................................. 16

5.2. Behaviour of different mixes to different environmental classes ........................... 17

5.3. Comparison between Conventional and Green Concrete ....................................... 19

6. LIMITATIONS OF GREEN CONCRETE .................................................................. 21

7. SCOPE IN INDIA ....................................................................................................... 22

8. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................... 24

REFERENCES: .................................................................................................................. 26

1. INTRODUCTION

Green concrete is a revolutionary topic in the history of concrete industry. This was
first invented in Denmark in the year 1998. Green concrete has nothing to do with
colour. It is a concept of thinking environment into concrete considering every aspect
from raw materials manufacture over mixture design to structural design, construction,
and service life. Green concrete is very often also cheap to produce, because, for
example, waste products are used as a partial substitute for cement, charges for the
disposal of waste are avoided, energy consumption in production is lower, and
durability is greater. Green concrete is a type of concrete which resembles the
conventional concrete but the production or usage of such concrete requires
minimum amount of energy and causes least harm to the environment.

The CO2 emission related to concrete production, inclusive of cement production, is

between 0.1 and 0.2 t per tonne of produced concrete. However, since the total
amount of concrete produced is so vast the absolute figures for the environmental
impact are quite significant, due to the large amounts of cement and concrete produced.
Since concrete is the second most consumed entity after water it accounts for around
5% of the world‘s total CO2 emission (Ernst Worrell, 2001). The solution to this
environmental problem is not to substitute concrete for other materials but to reduce
the environmental impact of concrete and cement. Pravin Kumar et al, 2003, used
quarry rock dust along with fly ash and micro silica and reported satisfactory properties.

The potential environmental benefit to society of being able to build with green concrete
is huge. It is realistic to assume that technology can be developed, which can halve the
CO2 emission related to concrete production. With the large consumption of concrete
this will potentially reduce the world‘s total CO2 emission by 1.5-2%. Concrete can
also be the solution to environmental problems other than those related to CO2
emission. It may be possible to use residual products from other industries in the
concrete production while still maintaining a high concrete quality. During the last few
decades society has become aware of the deposit problems connected with residual
products, and demands, restrictions and taxes have been imposed. And as it is known
that several residual products have properties suited for concrete production, there is a
large potential in investigating the possible use of these for concrete production. Well-
known residual products such as silica fume and fly ash may be mentioned.

The concrete industry realised at an early stage that it is a good idea to be in front with
regard to documenting the actual environmental aspects and working on improving the
environment, rather than being forced to deal with environmental aspects due to
demands from authorities, customers and economic effects such as imposed taxes.
Furthermore, some companies in concrete industry have recognised that reductions in
production costs often go hand in hand with reductions in environmental impacts. Thus,
environmental aspects are not only interesting from an ideological point of view, but
also from an economic aspect.

1.1. Environmental Goals

Green Concrete is expected to fulfil the following environmental obligations:

• Reduction of CO2 emissions by 21 %. This is in accordance with the Kyoto

Protocol of 1997.
• Increase the use of inorganic residual products from industries other than the
concrete industry by approx. 20%.
 • Reduce the use of fossil fuels by increasing the use of waste derived fuels in the
cement industry.
• The recycling capacity of the green concrete must not be less compared to
existing concrete types.
• The production and the use of green concrete must not deteriorate the working
environment.
• The structures do not impose much harm to the environment during their service
life.

2. GENESIS

Considering the time elapsed since the commencement of the use of concrete, green
concrete is very young a material. It was invented in 1998 in Denmark.

The increasing awareness and activity to conserve the environment and the realisation
that concrete production too releases a considerable amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
were strong initiatives to catalyse the genesis of Green Concrete.

In 1997, the Kyoto Conference took place, in which several countries, after
deliberating over the then environmental conditions laid down several guidelines which
would be the directive principles to the participating countries on their environment
related practices. The guidelines – Kyoto Protocol, as they are called, needed the
countries to cut down their CO2 emissions to a certain degree as assigned. The given
goal has to be achieved by the year 2012. Since then several countries started to focus
on several available options but Denmark focused on cement and concrete production
because approximately 2% of Denmark‘s total CO2 emission stems from cement and
concrete production.

Realising the necessity of such a technology and the prospects associated the Danish
government soon released a proposal. The proposal is in accordance with the
International and European Conventions and Protocol, with the nationally agreed goals
that comply with these. An important aspect is Denmark‘s obligation to reduce the CO2-
emission as previously mentioned. The proposal covers the following environmental
aspects: Greenhouse effect, depletion of the ozone layer, photochemical oxidation,
eutrophication, acidification, materials harmful to the environment and health,
water and resources. The above mentioned priorities were included in a large Danish
projects about cleaner technologies in the life cycle of concrete products. Furthermore,
priorities have been made for the other participating countries, i.e. Greece, Italy, and
The Netherlands, and for Europe and the International World. Although there are
differences in the political environmental priorities, all agree that five environmental
impacts given highest priority are:
• CO2
• Energy
• Water
• Waste
• Pollutants
These, coupled with the cost reduction benefits allured the concrete producers to
incorporate green concrete into their paradigm.

Cement and concrete may have an important role to play in enabling the developed
countries to fulfil their obligation to reduce the total CO2 emission by 21 % compared
to the 1990-level before 2012, as agreed at the Kyoto conference. This is because the
volume of concrete consumption is large. Approx. 1 m3 of concrete per capita are
produced annually globally. The CO2 emission related to concrete production, inclusive
of cement production, is between 0.1-0.2 tons per ton produced concrete. This
corresponds to a total quantity of CO2 emission of 0.6 - 1.2 m tons per year.
Approximately 5% of world‘s total CO2 emission stems from cement and concrete
production.
The potential environmental benefit to society of being able to build with green concrete
is huge. It is realistic to assume that technology can be developed which can halve the
CO2 emission related to concrete production. With the large consumption of concrete
this will potentially reduce Denmark’s total CO2 emission by 0.5 % (Glavind, 2000).
The somewhat soft demands in the form of environmental obligations result in rather
 specific technical requirements for the industry - including the concrete industry. These
technical requirements include among others new concrete mix designs, new raw
materials, and new knowledge (practical experience and technical models) about the
properties of the new raw materials and concrete mix designs.

Due to growing interest in sustainable development engineers and architects were

motivated more than ever before to choose concrete that is more sustainable. However
this is not as straight forward as selecting an energy star rated appliance or a vehicle
providing high gas mileage. On what ―measurement‖ basis can engineers and
architects compare materials and choose one that is more sustainable or specify a
material in such a way as to minimize environmental impact?
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) seems to offer a solution. LCA considers materials over
the course of their entire life cycle including material extraction, manufacturing,
construction, operations, and finally reuse/recycling. LCA takes into account a full
range of environmental impact indicators—including embodied energy, air and water
pollution (including greenhouse gases), potable water consumption, solid waste and
recycled content just to name a few. Building rating systems such as LEED and Green
Globes are in various stages of incorporating LCA so that they can help engineers and
architects select materials based on their environmental performance or specify
materials in such a way as to minimize environmental impact.

Every 1 ton of cement produced leads to about 0.9 tons of CO2 emissions and a typical
cubic yard (0.7643 m3) of concrete contains about 10% by weight of cement. There
have been a number of articles written about reducing the CO2 emissions from concrete
primarily through the use of lower amounts of cement and higher amounts of
supplementary cementitious material (SCM) such as fly ash and slag. Table 1 has
been developed based on data presented by Marceau et al, 2002.

Table 1 Total CO2 emissions for 1 cubic yard (yd3)+ of concrete for different strength classes
and mixture proportions5
Ready Total Breakdown of CO2 emissions for 1 yd3, %
Mix Id CO2 (0.76455 m3)
 Strength Mixture emission
Plant
Class Proportions* lb/yd3 Cement SCM Aggregate Transport
Operations
psi(kgf/cm2) lb/yd3(kg/m3) (kg/m3)
564/0/0
1 5000(351) 528 (313) 96.8% 0% 0.6% 0.6% 2.0%
(335/0/0)
470/0/0 442
2 4000(281) 96.3% 0% 0.7% 0.7% 2.3%
(279/0/0) (262)
376/0/0 355
3 3000(210) 95.7% 0% 0.9% 0.8% 2.6%
(223/0/0) (211)
301/75/0 288
4 3000(210) 94.6% 0% 1.1% 1.0% 3.2%
(179/44/0) (171)
282/94/0 270
5 3000(210) 94.3% 0% 1.2% 1.1% 3.4%
(167/56/0) (160)
244/0/132 239
6 3000(210) 92.4% 1.2% 1.4% 1.2% 3.9%
(145/0/78) (142)
188/0/188 189
7 3000(210) 89.8% 2.1% 1.7% 1.6% 4.9%
(111/0/111) (112)
*564/0/0 signifies that the mixture contains 564 lb/yd3 cement, 0 lb/yd3 fly ash, 0 lb/yd3 slag
cement
#Transport costs is for material shipped to ready mix plant
+1 yd3 = 0.76455 m3
Source: Marceau et al, 2002
The following observations can be made:
• Since a cubic yard of concrete weighs about 2 tons, CO2 emissions from 1
ton of concrete varies between 0.05 to 0.13 tons.
• Approximately 95% of all CO2 emissions from a cubic yard of concrete are
from cement manufacturing and so it is no wonder that much attention is
paid to using greater amounts of SCM hence use green concrete.

3. ADVANTAGES OF GREEN CONCRETE

Green concrete has manifold advantages over the conventional concrete. Since it uses
the recycled aggregates and materials, it reduces the extra load in landfills and mitigates
the wastage of aggregates. Thus, the net CO2 emissions are reduced. The reuse of
materials also contributes intensively to economy. Since the waste materials like
aggregates from a nearby area and fly ash from a nearby power plant are not much
expensive and also transport costs are minimal.
Green concrete can be considered elemental to sustainable development since it is eco-
friendly itself. Green concrete is being widely used in green building practices. It also
helps the green buildings achieve LEED and Golden Globe certifications. Use of fly
ash in the concrete also increases its workability and many other properties like
durability to an appreciable extent. One of the practices to manufacture green concrete
involves reduction of amount cement in the mix, this practice helps in reducing the
consumption of cement overall. The use waste materials also solve the problem of
disposing the excessive amount industrial wastes.

There are several other advantages related to green concrete and can be summarized as
below:
a) Reduced CO2 emissions.
b) Low production costs as wastes directly substitute the cement.
c) Saves energy, emissions and waste water.
d) Helps in recycling industry wastes.
e) Reduces the consumption of cement overall.
f) Better workability.
g) Sustainable development.
h) Greater strength and durability than normal concrete.
i) Compressive strength and Flexural behaviour is fairly equal to that of the
conventional concrete.
j) Green concrete might solve some of the societies‘problems with the use of
inorganic, residual products which should otherwise be deposited.

4. METHODS TO PRODUCE GREEN CONCRETE

4.1. Desirable properties in green concrete
Today, it is already possible to produce and cast very green concrete. Even a super
green type of concrete without cement but with, for example, 300 kg of fly ash instead
can be produced and cast without any changes in the production equipment. But this
concrete will not develop strength, and it will of course not be durable. Therefore, the
concrete must include aspects of performance like:
a) Mechanical properties (strength, shrinkage, creep, static behaviour etc.)
 b) Fire resistance (heat transfer, etc.)
c) Workmanship (workability, strength development, curing, etc.)
d) Durability (corrosion protection, frost, new deterioration mechanisms, etc.)
e) Environmental impact (how green is the new concrete?).
Meeting these requirements is not an easy task, and all must be reached at the same
time if constructors are to be tempted to prescribe green concrete. A constructor would
not normally prescribe green concrete if the performance is lower than normal, for
example, a reduced service life. The new technology will therefore need to develop
concretes with all properties as near normal as possible.

4.2. Energy consumption during the production

4.2.1. Energy consumption in concrete mix design
The type and amount of cement has a major influence on the environmental properties
of a concrete. An example of this is shown in Figure 2, where the energy consumption
in mega joules per kilogram of a concrete edge beam through all its life cycle phases is
illustrated. The energy consumption of cement production make up more than
90% of the total energy consumption of all constituent materials and approximately
one-third of the total life cycle energy consumption. By selecting a cement type with
reduced environmental impact, and by minimizing the amount of cement, the
environmental properties of the concrete are drastically changed. This must, however,
be done while still taking account of the technical requirements of the concrete for the
type and amount of cement. One method of minimizing the cement content in a concrete
mix is by using packing calculations to determine the optimum composition of the
aggregate. A high level of aggregate packing reduces the cavities between the
aggregates, and thereby the need for cement paste. This results in better concrete
properties.
Figure 2 Edge beam: total energy consumption through all the life cycle phases
Source: Obla, K. H., 2009

Another way of minimising the cement content in a concrete is to substitute parts of

the cement with other pozzolanic materials. It is common to produce concrete with
fly ash and/or micro silica. Both of these materials are residual products (from
production of electricity and production of silicon, respectively) and both have a
pozzolanic effect. Thus, a material with large environmental impact, i.e. the cement, is
substituted with materials with reduced environmental impacts. Although there is no
guideline given by the BIS on the addition of above components, the Danish Standards
have laid down certain restrictions as given in Table 2.

Table 2 Requirements for the contents of fly ash and microsilica according to the Danish
concrete materials standard (%)
Mild Moderate Average Extra average
Environmental Environmental Environmental Environmental
Class Class Class Class
Max content
F+M from X 35 25 25
C+F+M (%)
Max content
M from X 10 10 10
C+F+M (%)
C: cement; F: fly ash; M: micro silica
Sources: ConcreteMaterials, DS 481 1998 [in Danish].
4.2.2. Energy consumption during cement and concrete production
It is also possible to reduce the environmental impact of concrete by reducing the
environmental impact of cement and concrete production. As regards concrete
production, experience with the reduction of primarily water consumption, energy
consumption and waste production is available. Even though the contribution of
concrete production to the environmental profile of concrete is minor, it does
contribute, and is important environmentally and economically to the single concrete
producer. By selecting a cement type with reduced environmental impacts and by
minimising the amount of cement the concrete‘s environmental properties are
drastically changed. This must, however, be done whilst still taking account of the
technical requirements of the concrete for the type and amount of cement.
Denmark‘s cement manufacturer, Aalborg Portland, prioritises development of cements
with reduced environmental impacts.

4.3. Evaluation of inorganic wastes

The materials, which have been judged as useable for concrete production and selected
for further development, are shown in Figure 1. The judgement was based on an
evaluation concerning both concrete technology and environmental aspects. Inorganic
residual products from the concrete industry (e.g. stone dust and concrete slurry) and
products which pose a huge waste problem to society and which are in political focus
(e.g. combustion ash from water-purifying plants, smoke waste from waste combustion
and fly ash from sugar production) have been given highest priority.

Stone dust. Stone dust is a residual product from the crushing of aggregates. It is an
inert material with a particle size between that of cement and sand particles. Stone dust
is expected to substitute part of the sand.

Concrete slurry. Concrete slurry is a residual product from concrete production, i.e.
washing mixers and other equipment. The concrete slurry is can be either a dry or wet
substance, and can be recycled either as a dry powder or with water. In the case of
recycling of the dry material, it is necessary to process it to powder. The concrete slurry
can have some pozzolanic effect, and might therefore be used as a substitute for part of
the cement or for other types of pozzolanic materials such as fly ash.
Combustion ash from water-purifying plants. This type of combustion ash has the
same particle size and shape as fly ash particles. The content of heavy metals in the
slurry is expected to be approximately at the same level as for fly ash. The slurry can
also have some pozzolanic effect.

Smoke waste from waste combustion. This smoke waste can have some pozzolanic
effect. The content of heavy metals is significantly higher than that of ordinary fly ash.
Furthermore, the content of chlorides, fluorides and sulphates can result in negative
effects in connection with reinforcement corrosion, retardation and possible thaumasite
reactions. Further processing will be necessary before its use in concrete.

4.4. Different ways to produce Green concrete

1. To increase the use of conventional residual products:
To minimise the clinker content, i.e. by replacing cement with fly ash, micro
silica in larger amounts than are allowed today
2. By developing new green cements and binding materials, i.e. by increasing
the use of alternative raw materials and alternative fuels, and by
developing/improving cement with low energy consumption
3. Concrete with inorganic residual products :(stone dust, crushed concrete as
aggregate in quantities and for areas that are not allowed today) and cement
stabilised foundation with waste incinerator slag, low quality fly ash or other
inorganic residual products. Firstly, an information-screening of potential
inorganic residual products is carried out. The products are described
by origin, amounts, particle size and geometry, chemical composition and
possible environmental impacts.

A pictorial representation of the methods is shown as below,

 •sewage sludge.
incineration ash
residual •stone dust, concrete
products frm
other
slurry
industries •combustion ash from
water purifying plants

Conventional concrete, conventional

conventional cement, fly
cement, fly •large qty of fly ash
ash, micro
silica

cement with
reduced •mineralised cement
environmental •limestone addition
impact

Fig. 1 A chart depicting the methods to develop green concrete

5. RESULTS OF STUDIES BASED ON REPORTED LITERATURE

5.1. Green Concrete containing Marble sludge powder and Quarry rock dust
(Hameed, 2009)

In 2009, M. Shahul Hameed and A. S. S. Sekar, conducted a study on green concrete

replacing the conventional materials, except cement, with marble sludge powder and
quarry rock dust.

5.1.1. Characterisation of waste

The physical characteristics of the waste are furnished in Table-3. The fineness
modulus of marble sludge powder and quarry rock dust is comparable to that of fine
sand of 2.2 to 2.6. The coefficient of uniformity for fine sand is generally should be less
than 6. Similarly the coefficient of gradation should be between 1 and 3 for fine sand.
Table 3 Physical characteristics of marble sludge powder, quarry rock dust and river sand.
Bulk Coefficient Coefficient
Moisture Fineness Effective
Sample Density of of
Content (%) modulus size (mm)
Code (kg/m3) uniformity gradation
Wet Dry
Marble
sludge 23.35 1.59 1118 2.04 0.17 1.58 1.37
powder
Quarry
24.25 2.10 1750 2.35 0.22 4.50 2.20
rock dust
Sand 25.00 2.50 1430 2.20 0.20 6.00 2.00
Sources: Hameed and Sekar, 2009
Table 4 Chemical characteristics of marble sludge powder, quarry rock dust, river sand and
Portland cement.
Sample Fe O MnO Na O MgO K O Al O CaO SiO Test
2 2 2 2 2
% % % method
%
3%
% 3%
%
Wt. Wt. Wt.
Wt.
Wt. Wt. Wt. Wt.
Marble 11.99 0.08 2.08 8.74 2.33 4.45 1.58 64.86 IS:
sludge 40321968
powder

Quarry rock 1.22 0.07 3.0 0.33 5.34 13.63 1.28 75.25
dust

River Sand 1.75 0.03 1.37 00.77 1.23 10.52 3.21 80.78
Portland 0.55 0.85 0.85 2.15 0.85 5.50 63.50 21.50
cement

Source: Hameed and Sekar, 2009

5.1.2. Raw materials

Cement: Ordinary Portland Cement (43 Grade) with 28 percent normal consistency
2 with specific surface 3300 cm /g
conforming to IS: 8112-1989 was used.

Marble Sludge Powder: Marble sludge powder was obtained in wet form directly
taken from deposits of marble factories. It was observed that the marble sludge powder
had a high specific surface area; this could mean that is addition should confer more
cohesiveness to mortars and concrete. Specific gravity of the marble sludge powder is
2.212.
 100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
8.616 6.112 4.351 3.106 2.218 1.597 1.184 0.845 0.604 0.176
Particle Size X10-3 mm

Figure 3. Hydrometer Analysis for marble sludge powder

Source: Hameed and Sekar, 2009

Quarry rock dust: The specific gravity of the quarry rock dust is 2.677. Moisture
content and bulk density of waste are less than the sand properties.

Fine aggregate: Medium size sand with a modulus of fineness = 2.20; Specific gravity
2.677, normal grading with the silt content 0.8%.

Coarse aggregate: Crushed stone with a size of 5-20 mm and normal continuous
grading was used. The content of flaky and elongated particles is <3%, the crushing
index ≤6% and the specific gravity 2.738.

Water: The qualities of water samples are uniform and potable.

Super plasticizer: A superplasticizer based on refined lingo Sulphonates, ‗Roff

Superplast 320‘ was used to get and preserve the designed workability.

5.1.3. Mix proportion of concrete:

For durability studies the Indian standard mix proportion (by weight) use in the mixes
of conventional concrete and green concrete were fixed as (Cement: River
sand/marble sludge + stone dust: coarse agg) 1:1.81:2.04, 1:1.73:2.04 after several
trials. Based on properties of raw materials, two different mix proportions were taken.
Mix A is the controlled concrete using river sand and Mix B is the green concrete using
industrial waste (50% quarry rock dust and 50% marble sludge powder) as fine
aggregate. The water/cement ratio for both two mixes was 0.55% by weight. Water
reducing admixture was used to improve the workability and its dose was fixed as 250
ml/50kg of cement.

5.1.4. Results and Discussion

Workability:
Table 5 Workability comparisons
V-funnel time in
Mix Slump in mm Slump flow in mm
sec
Mix A 210 420 23
Mix B 255 657 14
Source: Hameed and Sekar, 2009
Compressive and Split tensile strength:
The 150 mm size concrete cubes, concrete cylinder of size 150 mm diameter and 300
mm height were used as test specimens to determine the compressive strength and split
tensile strength respectively. The results of standard cubes and cylinders are compiled:
Table 6 Avg. Compressive and Split tensile strength of concrete
Average Compressive Strength 2
2
Mix Split Tensile Strength in N/mm
in N/mm
3 Days 7 days 28 days 3 days 7 days 28 days
Mix A 15.45 18.33 36.85 2.40 2.60 4.62
Mix B 13.54 19.52 40.35 2.15 2.98 5.02
Source: Hameed and Sekar, 2009

Durability and Resistance to Sulphate attack

Table 7 Percentage of weight loss
Percentage of weight loss
% of water 28 days 90 days 150 days
absorption Na SO Na SO Na SO
Mix 2 4 2 4 2 4
after 28 H SO H SO H SO
and and and
days 2 4 2 4 2 4
MgSO MgSO MgSO
4 4 4
Mix A 2.85 1.65 2.10 2.20 2.65 2.95 3.15
Mix B 3.74 1.15 0.80 1.95 1.10 2.10 1.80
Source: Hameed and Sekar, 2009
The resistance to sulphate attack was studied by storage of standard prism specimens
were immersed in standard condition for 28 and 90 days and 150 days in testing baths
(containing 7.5 percent MgSO4 and 7.5 percent Na2SO4 by weight of water). From the
above table it can be deduced that the durability of Green concrete under sulphate is
higher to that of conventional concrete. This is due to that the active SiO2 in marble
powder and quarry rock dust can react with the Ca (OH)2 in concrete to form secondary
calcium silicate hydrate and make it chemically stable and structurally dense, the
impermeability of concrete is enhanced as well. In addition, the marble powder can
reduce the content of calcium aluminates in cementitious material, leading to increase
of sulphate resistance of concrete.

5.1.5. Conclusions
All the experimental data shows that the addition of the industrial wastes improves the
physical and mechanical properties. These results are of great importance because this
kind of innovative concrete requires large amounts of fine particles. Due to its high
fineness of the marble sludge powder it provided to be very effective in assuring very
good cohesiveness of concrete. From the above study, it is concluded that the quarry
rock dust and marble sludge powder may be used as a replacement material for fine
aggregate.
• The chemical compositions of quarry rock dust and marble sludge powder are
comparable with that of cement.
• The replacement of fine aggregate with 50% marble sludge powder and 50%
Quarry rock dust (Green concrete) gives an excellent result in strength aspect
and quality aspect. The results showed that the M4 mix induced higher
compressive strength, higher splitting tensile strength. Increase the marble
sludge powder content by more than 50% improves the workability but affects
the compressive and split tensile strength of concrete.
• Green concrete induced higher workability and it satisfy the self compacting
concrete performance which is the slump flow is 657mm without affecting the
strength of concrete. Slump flow increases with the increase of marble sludge
powder content. V-funnel time decreases with the increase of marble sludge
powder content
• Test results show that these industrial wastes are capable of improving hardened
concrete performance.
• Green concrete enhancing fresh concrete behaviour and can be used in
architectural concrete mixtures containing white cement.
 • The water absorption of green concrete is slightly higher than conventional
concrete.
• The durability of green concrete under sulphate is higher to that of conventional
concrete. From the results after 90-day immersion, the mortar specimens with
green concrete in 7.5% sulphate solution have similar effect with those
immersed for 28 days, but for those in 7.5% magnesium sulphate, the influence
of addition on anti corrosion factor is not obvious.
The combined use of quarry rock dust and marble sludge powder exhibited excellent
performance due to efficient micro filling ability and pozzolanic activity. Therefore,
the results of this study provide a strong recommendation for the use of quarry rock
dust and marble sludge powder as fine aggregate in concrete manufacturing.

5.2. Behaviour of different mixes to different environmental classes

In another study to analyse the behaviour of different compositions in various
environmental classes was conducted at The Danish Centre for Resource Saving
Concrete Structures. In this test several different mixes were prepared and exposed to
different environmental conditions. The control parameters for the mixes were a
slump of approximately 100 mm and, for the aggressive environment, an air
content of 5.5%. The different green concrete mixes and their respective
environmental conditions are tabulated as below:

Table 8 Passive environmental class

Control PV1 PV2 PV3 PV4
Cement Content(kg) 148 120 101 85 61
Content of Fly Ash (%) 24 50 50 60 70
Content of Micro Silica (%) 6 - 6 6 6
CO2 reduction - 18 31 41 57
Water/Cement 0.71 0.78 0.80 0.70 0.74

Table 9 Aggressive environmental class

Control AV1 AV2 AV3 AV4 AV5
Cement Content(kg) 309 274 272 219 190 189
Content of Fly Ash (%) 9 9 18 30 40 40
Content of Micro Silica (%) 5 5 5 5 5 5
CO2 reduction - 33 33 46 54 54
Water/Cement 0.37 0.421 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42
Source: Glavind and Munch-Petersen, 2000
Tables 7 and 8 show concrete mixes tested with high-volume fly ash for the passive and
aggressive environmental classes. In the passive environmental class the fly ash content
was increased from 24 to 70%, resulting in a reduction of CO2 emission from 18 to
57%. In the aggressive environmental class the fly ash content was increased from 9 to
40% resulting in a reduction of CO2 emission from 33 to 54%. AV5 is a modified
version of AV4 with increased air content.

Strength development is shown in Figures 4 and 5. The figures show that PV4, which
has a fly ash content of 70%, has strength that is far too low: it appears that the fly ash
content must not exceed approximately 60%. Even so, the strength development is still
too slow. As regards the concrete in the aggressive environmental class, the strength
development is similar for all concrete types. However, preliminary testing indicates
that the high-volume fly ash concrete might have problems with frost resistance.

35

30

25

20 Control
PV1
15
PV2
10 PV3
PV4
5

0
48 168 672 1344

Time (h)

Figure 4. Strength development for high volume fly ash concrete in the passive environmental class.

Source: Glavind, 2000

Passive: Dry atmosphere with no risk of corrosion.

Aggressive: Moist atmosphere, with significant alkaline and/or chloride influence on
the concrete surface or where there is risk of water saturation combined with frost.
 Time (h)

Figure 5. Strength development for high volume fly ash concrete in the active environmental class

Source: Glavind, 2000

5.3. Comparison between Conventional and Green Concrete

After enough development of Green concrete, the question arose about its relevance
before conventional concrete. Lesser environmental impact was one thing but other
properties like durability and resistance to fire etcetera were suspected and under heavy
scrutiny. Several tests thus carried out clearly showed that green concrete was not a bad
bargain indeed.

An environmental screening has been performed for a column presenting the different
design principles as described in Table 7 (green concrete columns defined as A, B, C).
For comparison, the same environmental screening has been performed for a reference
column (traditional concrete column defined as R), which is similar to column A,
except that the green concrete type being substituted by a traditional concrete suitable
for aggressive environment. The objective of the screening is to identify significant
resource consumption and environmental loads of traditional concrete/design
compared to green concrete/design occurring during the entire service life, this
includes the environmentally viewed most critical maintenance/repair stage. The
performed lifecycle screenings quantify material usage (consumption of concrete) as
well as CO2 emissions generated at the involved stages during the lifecycle of the
columns.
Table 10. A Comparison between Conventional and Green Concrete

Source: http:// www.madisonvelocity.blogspot.com

The environmental parameters related to the working environment have not been
included. The results of the environmental screening for the 3 green concrete columns
(A, B, C) and the traditional concrete column (R) is presented in Table 3 with
regard to the CO2-emission and in Table 4 with regard to the consumption of
concrete.

Table 11. Comparison of coloumns and respective CO2 emissions

Column R Column A Column B Column C
Traditional
Increased Stainless steel Stainless steel
design +
Design solution concrete cover + reinforcement + cladding + green
traditional
green concrete green concrete concrete
concrete
Kg CO2 per year 300 200 86 80
Source: http:// www.madisonvelocity.blogspot.com

Table 12. Sources of CO2 emission for four types of columns

Design solution Column R Column A Column B Column C
Concrete: 5102 5733 5102 5102
construction (Kg)
Concrete: 1533 2442 0 0
maintenance
(Kg)
Total kg concrete 6635 8175 5102 5102
Source: http:// www.madisonvelocity.blogspot.com

9000

8000

7000

6000

5000 Concrete: Maintenance

4000 Concrete Construction

3000

2000

1000

0
Column R Column A Column B Column C

Figure 7: Chart depicting the concrete consumptions of the columns

Source: http:// www.madisonvelocity.blogspot.com

This comparison demonstrates that column B (stainless steel reinforcement) and

column C (stainless steel cladding) present the most environmental-friendly design
solutions both with regard to the CO2 emissions and the consumption of concrete. An
even more environmental-friendly solution is if the selected concrete at column C
would be substituted by a more environmental-friendly (greener) concrete type
provided that the steel cladding assures the long-term protection of the reinforced
concrete.

6. LIMITATIONS OF GREEN CONCRETE

Although green concrete seems very promising when it comes to an environment

friendly sustainable development, the cardinal concern is its durability. Refutations are
being constantly raised regarding the service life of structures made with green
concrete. Further the split tension of green concrete has been found much less than that
of conventional concrete. Another challenge before green concrete is that of a market.
Until the properties of green concrete are at par with the conventional concrete, green
concrete is unlikely to find many customers.

Several researchers have argued that green concrete can be made durable by using
stainless steel reinforcements, but the predicament is that by using stainless steel
concrete the cost of the construction increases considerably. Even after this, green
concrete is not as durable as the conventional concrete.

The limitations of using green concrete can be summarised as below:

a) By using stainless steel, cost of reinforcement increases.

b) Structures constructed with green concrete have comparatively less life
than structures with conventional concrete.
c) Split tension of green concrete is less than that of conventional concrete.
d) Not as durable as conventional concrete.

Given these limitations coupled with the urgent need of reduction in green house gas
emissions, has sparked off a number of researches across the globe to make green
concrete more durable and bring it up to the mark with conventional concrete.

7. SCOPE IN INDIA

Green concrete is a revolutionary topic in the history of concrete industry. Concrete is

an indispensible entity for a developing country like India which desperately needs a
continuously expanding infrastructure. India is the second largest producer of
cement in the world. Further India would be facing an exponential growth in the
concrete demand by 2011 (Schumacher, 1999).
Table 13 Projected Cement Demand
Cement Demand (Mt/annum)

Year GDPtotal GDPindustry GDPconstruction GDPaverage

2001 103.0 107.6 106.2 105.6
2006 139.5 148.7 150.8 146.3
2011 186.9 204.2 210.4 200.5
Source: Shumacher (1999)
Being produced in voluminous quantities in India, the concrete industry has a
considerable part in the net CO2 emissions from the country. The net CO2 emissions
from the construction agency are greater than any other industry.
Operation of
Operation of business
building, 10.20% facilities, 9.90%

Construction
work, 1.30%

Transportation for
construction, 5.00
%
Other
Industries, 62.70%
Production of
materials for
construction, 10.9
0%

Figure 8. Energy consumption of construction and building in India

Source: Carbon di oxide Information Analysis Centre

In order to act in a responsible manner towards a sustainable development of the nation,

Green concrete is the need of the hour. India being a developing country produces
concrete in gargantuan quantities which result in huge volumes of CO2 being emitted
into the atmosphere each year. The total energy consumption (a rough estimate of the
net CO2 emissions) during the manufacture of cement in India is tabulated as below:

Table 14 Fuel Consumption in the Indian Cement Industry 1991-1993

Fuel Units 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94
Electricity GWh 4800.52 6420.97 6754.60
Coal Mt 10.8 11.7 11.1
Petroleum
Mt 0.293 0.296 0.291
Products
Total Cement
Mt 53.6 54.1 58.0
Production
Source: TERI (1996)
The above statistics, though old, can be used as a guideline since the technological
advancements have been scarce. As not much has been done and not much can be done
to reduce these consumptions, the only alternative left is that of a green concrete, which
will reduce the net CO2 emissions in the whole life cycle of concrete.
Thus we can deduce that, for a greener future, India needs to adopt Green concrete into
practise as soon as possible. The other advantageous factor is its economy. As green
concrete is made with concrete wastes and recycled aggregates, which are cheaper than
conventional substitutes, and also with most of the industries facing problems with their
waste disposal, put it out of the question to discard it.

Another type of green concrete, pervious concrete, is also a precious entity when it
comes to storm water management and rain water harvesting. Using pervious concrete
we can easily tame the run-off and harness it for future uses in relatively dry areas,
which would have otherwise drained away. With the alarmingly increasing cases of
droughts each year pervious concrete would prove to be a utilitarian tool. (Wikipedia)

The above facts clearly state a wide and promising scope of Green Concrete in the near
future.

8. CONCLUSIONS

The overview of the present state of affairs regarding concrete types with reduced
environmental impact has shown that there is considerable knowledge and experience
on the subject. The Danish and European environmental policies have motivated the
concrete industry to react, and will probably also motivate further development of the
production and use of concrete with reduced environmental impact. The somewhat
vague environmental requirements that exist have resulted in a need for more specific
technical requirements, and the most important goal is to develop the technology
necessary to produce and use resource saving concrete structures, i.e. green concrete.
This applies to structure design, specification, manufacturing, performance, operation,
and maintenance.

In 1994 cement industry consumed 6.6 EJ of primary energy, corresponding with 2%

of world energy consumption. Worldwide 1126 Mt CO2 or 5% of the CO2 production
originates from cement production. The carbon intensity of cement making amounts to
0.81 kg CO2/kg cement. In India, North America, and China the carbon intensity is
about 10% higher than on average. Specific carbon emissions range from 0.36 kg to
1.09 kg CO2/kg cement mainly depending on type of process, clinker/cement ratio and
fuel used.

The potential environmental benefit to society of being able to build with green concrete
is huge. It is realistic to assume that the technology can be developed, which can halve
the CO2 emission related to concrete production, and with the large energy consumption
of concrete and the following large emission of CO2 this will mean a potential reduction
of total CO2 emission by 2% (Obla 2009).

Seventeen different energy efficiency improvement options are identified. The

improvement ranges from a small percentage to more than 25% per option, depending
on the reference case (i.e type of process, fuel used) and local situation. The use of
waste instead of fossil fuel may reduce CO2 emissions by 0.1 to 0.5 kg/kg cement
(varying from 20 to 40%). An end-of-pipe technology to reduce carbon emissions may
be CO2 removal. Probably the main technique is combustion under oxygen while
recycling CO2 (Hendriks, 2004). However, considerably research is required to all
unknown aspects of this technique.

It is important to keep a holistic cradle to cradle perspective when it comes to the use
of a material. Based on a research Gajda et al. concluded that occupant energy use
accounts for 99% of life cycle energy use of a single family home. Less than 1% of the
life cycle energy used in that home was due to manufacturing cement and producing
concrete. The global cement industry accounts for approximately 5% of global CO 2
emissions. So whatever way one looks at it focusing on just the production of concrete
accounts for a very small percent of overall CO 2 emissions. This is not to say that
progress should not be made in reducing the CO2 emissions from concrete as produced.
However one should keep in mind that whatever CO2 emission reductions that are
possible will still account for at best a 2% global CO2 reduction (assuming a challenging
21% reduction in global CO2 emissions from cement manufacture from now on).
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1. Au Youn Thean Seng http://www.madisonvelocity.blogspot.com/ 2.

Carbon di oxide Information Analysis Centre, http://cdiac.ornl.gov/
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Cycle Inventory of Single Family Housing‖, SN2582a, Portland Cement
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