Green Concrete for Greener Buildings
Green concrete uses less energy in its production and produces less carbon dioxide as compared to other types of concrete.
Conrad Isiongo
With the current high-frequency waves of climate change affecting the world in various ways, such as through global warming different strategies have been put into practice to overcome its sharp jaws.
The construction industry has revolutionized the use of normal concrete such as reinforced cement concrete, plain cement concrete, ready mix concrete, lightweight concrete, fibre reinforced concrete and has re-invented green concrete. This is typically made from concrete wastes which include manufactured sand, recycled demolition waste aggregate, recycled concrete aggregate, blast furnace slag, glass aggregate and fly ash.
Green concrete is environmentally friendly making it to be termed as eco concrete as it uses less energy in its production and produces less carbon dioxide as compared to its predecessors concretes. Green concretes is a lasting solution to the hazardous nature of global warming which is caused by much emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Concrete is on the frontline of carbon emission as it emits up to ten per cent of the average carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.
On the other side green concrete with its natural non-renewable waste product ingredients becomes a remedy as it results in up to 80 percent lower emissions of carbon dioxide. It is beneficial and recommended to use green concrete because it is optimized and mixed in a manner that enables easier handling and also easier finishing thus faster workability.
When it comes to hot temperature and heat of hydration, green concrete is significantly lower than normal concrete which results in a lower temperature rise, a major merit for green concrete. Furthermore, it reduces the amount of waste materials that are deposited in landfills as it is recycled making it less expensive and much affordable. Also, green concrete has good thermal conductivity and is resistant to fire as it can resist temperatures of up to 2400 degrees and when used there is less occurrence of shrinkage and creeps.
Green concrete can be used in the construction of high-rise building foundations because of its long-term strength and durability. Under construction of pavements, it is opted for as it reduces carbon footprint. Its long life span cutting on additional expenses and extra renovation costs makes it preferred for building bridges, dams and water treatment plants which are of prime significance when it comes to flood control and water supply.
Underground long tunnels which are constructed for purposes of transportation can be set up using green concrete which will help save on the use of large amounts of concrete. wind turbine foundations can be established via green concrete making them stable and able to generate energy and with the construction of modern roads, it is also applicable as it gains strength faster and shrinkage is lower.
In efforts to conserve our environment and keep it more carbon neutral from a wide range of climate crisis, it is convenient to construct our buildings in an eco-friendly manner by adopting the use of green concrete which has a wide range of benefits with only a few demerits like higher cost than regular cement concrete. Due to much use of aggregate, it also requires more labour and time to mix. Green concrete applications will construct natural and sustainable buildings for not only homes but also commercial projects.
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