Paving the Way: Carbon Sequestration in Concrete to Mitigate Environmental Impact

Concrete, the most extensively used manmade material worldwide, contributes an estimated 8 percent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With annual volume running 30 gigatonnes, concrete consumption is over 3.5 tonnes of per person. The majority of the GHG emissions (88.5 percent) emanate from production of portland cement, the essential ingredient in concrete. Carbon sequestration in concrete presents a promising avenue…

Read More

SUBSTITUTE NEARLY HALF RCA FOR STONE IN PCC PAVEMENTS

Replacement of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) for natural coarse aggregate by up to 45 percent by volume had no significant effects on any of the concrete properties studied, indicating high-quality RCA can be used as a replacement for a portion of the coarse natural aggregates in new portland cement concrete pavements. That’s what Haifang Wen, Ph.D., P.E., Washington State University; David I. McLean, Ph.D., P.E., Colorado State University; and, Kim Willoughby, Washington State DOT, report in their 2015 TRB paper, Evaluation of Recycled Concrete as Aggregates in New Concrete Pavements.

Read More