Production of non-traditional concrete based on steel slag as a way to reduce the environmental impacts

Abstract

Concrete is as a significant building material. Due to the fact that it is possible to incorporate by-products and industry waste into its structure, concrete represents an important sustainable material. Steel slag has a great potential for its reuse in concrete production. Despite that it is subject to volume changes over time, it can be used in concrete as a cement replacement or as a substitute for natural aggregates. The paper is focused at investigation the concretes with steel slag as a substitute of natural gravel aggregate of 4/8 mm and 8/16 mm fractions. In addition, a life cycle assessment within the system boundaries cradle-to-gate was performed. Results showed that some samples with slag have better mechanical parameters than samples with natural aggregate and significantly affect the utilization rate of non-renewable raw materials and reduce the overall negative environmental impacts of concrete up to 7 %.

Keywords

• concrete
• steel slag
• sustainability
• lca