Sustainable concrete
By: Lizzy Trueblood, Aura Arciniega, Daisy Gomez, and Dante Jackson
Department: Civil Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Timothy D’Orazio
Concrete is utilized when building structures (e.g., buildings, roads, bridges, etc.) and is actually the second most consumed product in the world. Because of its widespread use, the production of concrete accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions which is only 1% less than the emissions caused by the agricultural industry [1]. Specifically, these emissions are caused by the production of cement, an ingredient to making concrete. If we can find other materials to partially, if not completely, replace cement and other aggregates in the concrete making process, we will be able to produce concrete much more sustainably and yield lower greenhouse gas emissions. Our project will consist of proposing different materials to replace the cement and/or aggregates in our concrete mixtures. We will then be performing several tests on each mixture to compare their properties to the properties of conventional “Portland cement” concrete.