In the real estate & infrastructure sector, it is essential that environmentally friendly materials should be used to protect the environment. The world is constantly facing environmental issues such as global warming and other environmental challenges like climate change and natural calamities. Etc.
One of the best solutions for eco-friendly construction is green concrete as this material improves the strength of the concrete and reduces carbon footprint. Thus, learning about this material is essential as it can help in gaining better construction results.
Understanding Green Concrete:
Green concrete is commonly referred to as eco-friendly concrete. This type of concrete is manufactured using waste or residual material like foundry sand and plastic as its components. The eco-friendly concrete retains lower environmental impact compared to the traditional form of concrete.
The materials which are used in green concrete are different from the traditional category of concrete in the case of manufacturing. The traditional category of concrete consists of a mixture of cement, sand, aggregate, gravel & water.
The global carbon footprint generated from concrete is 8% of the total pollution. Thus, the use of eco-friendly construction materials can bring a much-needed change in the protection of the environment from hazardous waste.
When it comes to green cement, they use the industrial by-products like fly ash, Micro Silica from coal power plants, blast furnace slag and silicon dioxide as a replacement. The cementitious material that may be dumped into the garbage can be used in eco-friendly concrete and also contributes to improved mechanical properties.
The use of industrial waste material and reducing the need for virgin raw materials, the green structures require lower surface maintenance and a longer life cycle which helps contribute to avoiding climate change.
The Environmental Impact of Green Concrete in Comparison to Traditional Concrete:
Cement concrete is amongst the materials that are required in the highest proportion of carbon emission compared to any other construction material.
The cement kilns are amongst the major materials which cause pollution. The extraction of resources required for concrete is among the major contributors to pollution and biodiversity gets affected.
As compared to traditional concrete, green concrete is better and more sustainable. This material decreases the need for new resources and also helps in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by including waste or even by-product materials in its composition.
The use of fly ash in cement concrete reduces landfill waste and reduces the emission of carbon dioxide as the process of making fly ash requires less energy than cement. The CO2 emission in traditional concrete is 0.83 per ton higher than green concrete, while the use of fly ash, Admixtures, recycled aggregates & natural blenders produce almost negligible pollution.
The use of eco-friendly materials helps in protecting the environment by reducing waste and maximizing resource efficiency. This material provides a promising solution as compared to traditional concrete production.
The Multifaceted Benefits of Green Concrete:
Eco-friendly concrete has multiple advantages beyond the protection of the environment, which offers an attractive option for sustainable solution in construction material.
- Environmental Benefits: By the use of waste material in construction and reducing the use of materials which lead to high carbon footprint the eco-friendly concrete reduces the carbon-di-oxide emission during production. Its potential to include recycled aggregates can help in a major reduction of waste.
- Economic Benefits: Eco-friendly concrete is slightly more expensive as compared to traditional concrete. However, the durability and longevity are much higher than the traditional concrete. The maintenance and repair costs are much lower, which can help to save money in the long run.
- Practical Benefits: The eco-friendly concrete has better sustainability and provides better performance. This material provides superior workability, durability, and resistance to damaging effects like corrosion and fire. Due to this there is better safety and reduces the need for repair and maintenance.
Green concrete is better for environment, beneficial for economy & useful for the sustainable environment. With lots of benefits, it is making a way towards the use of sustainable material to be used in construction for a better result.
The Future of Green Concrete:
There is a very high potential for environmentally friendly concrete. As and how the technology gets improved customers can expect more sustainable, efficient, and high-performing concrete structures.
Utilization of environmentally friendly material leads towards IGBC [Indian green building council] certification which is an accepted green building certification. With the reduction in the impact of carbon emissions, it offers a responsible choice for real estate developers.
Commitment to Green Concrete:
The product of eco-friendly concrete can provide sustainable quality with superior strength and durability with minimal impact on environment. The material is manufactured from recyclable material, reducing waste and creating sustainable environment.
Silica fume is a byproduct of fly ash that can be added to the cement to improve its quality. It also helps in avoiding corrosion and is amongst the best-recommended products.
The product is known as Fumecrete 90 of Sakshi Chem Sciences. It gives higher flexibility, bonding, and better compressive strength to the concrete.
Conclusion:
Thus, eco-friendly concrete which contains the mixture of recycled material is very much beneficial to protect the environment, reduce emissions. It also helps in gaining better strength to the concrete to build better quality structures.
The cost of this material is slightly higher than the traditional concrete but in long run it is more beneficial to protect from high repairs cost. Thus, the use of eco-friendly concrete is more beneficial and is considered as a modern technology product as it was discovered just few years ago in the year 2010 in United Kingdom and is fast gaining popularity in the real estate sector globally.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Who invented green concrete?
Green concrete was invented in London, UK in the year 2010 by the scientist Nikolaos Vlasopoulos. This material helps in replacing Portland cement with magnesium oxide material that absorbs carbon dioxide.
- What is the principle of green concrete?
Green concrete is based on the idea of taking environmental issues into account at every stage in its life, starting from raw material production and ending with structural design, building works as well as maintenance.
- What is green or eco-friendly concrete made up of?
The materials used in eco-friendly concrete are fly ash, Silica fume, recycled concrete aggregates, and Aluminium fibers.
- Is green concrete expensive?
Green concrete maybe sometimes be more expensive than traditional concrete. The long-term durability and lower repair cost help in saving costs in the long term as better quality structures can be built with the help of eco-friendly materials.
- Is green concrete waterproof and fire-resistant?
Green concrete builds faster strength than traditional concrete. It can resist high temperatures which can help in protection from fire. The resistance to corrosion makes it durable and more sustainable in an environment affected by pollution.
- How long does green concrete last?
Low carbon mix concrete has a smoother texture and more uniform appearance. It has less voids and is more durable and has reduced permeability. The green concrete can last 30 years longer than the traditional concrete.
- What are the limitations of green concrete?
Green concrete requires more labor and time to mix which may lead to more time consuming processes for large scale infrastructure projects. In the concrete more aggregates are required inside the mixture and the ordinary Portland cement is required of higher quality due to which the overall cost of construction may increase.
- Is it possible to walk on green concrete?
It is possible to walk on concrete after 24 hours as it takes 28 days for the concrete to cure and dry completely. Extremely heavy goods should be avoided to be put on the green concrete floor.
- Is green cement good?
Green cement has resistance to sulphate attack, gains early strength of concrete, resilience, durability, resistance to cracks and low chloride permeability which makes it an ideal product to be used than the traditional cement concrete. The resistance to corrosion is less as compared to ordinary Portland cement.
- What is the temperature to green concrete?
Commonly the green cement concrete temperature is maintained at 10 degrees to 32 degree Celsius so that optimal curing and setting is obtained.