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Low-Carbon Cementitious Materials: History
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Contributor: Eng Editorial Office

Low-carbon cementitious materials are a family of cementitious binders and constituents formulated or selected to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions expressed as CO₂-equivalent associated with cement and concrete production, relative to a specified conventional baseline, while providing the binding performance required for their intended applications [1]. Emission reductions can be achieved primarily by lowering the Portland-clinker fraction through partial replacement with supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, silica fume, metakaolin, and calcined clay, or by using alternative binder chemistries, including alkali-activated binders, calcium sulfoaluminate cements, belite-rich cements, and magnesium-based cements, which may require lower calcination temperatures or reduce reliance on limestone calcination [2]. Because conventional Portland cement production generates greenhouse-gas emissions from both the calcination of calcium carbonate and fuel combustion during clinker production, the low-carbon performance of a cementitious material is generally assessed by comparing greenhouse-gas emissions with those of an appropriate baseline, using a defined system boundary and functional unit [3][4][5]. Such comparisons should also consider equivalent performance requirements, including strength, durability, and expected service life, to ensure that emission reductions are evaluated on a functionally comparable basis. Low-carbon cementitious materials therefore do not correspond to a single composition, clinker-substitution level, or strength class, and conventional blended cements may also be considered low-carbon when they demonstrate a meaningful reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions relative to an appropriate reference system.

  • low‑carbon cementitious material
  • low‑carbon binder
  • embodied carbon
  • supplementary cementitious material

References

  1. Ellis Gartner; Industrially interesting approaches to “low-CO2” cements. Cem. Concr. Res. 2004, 34, 1489-1498, 10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.01.021.
  2. Karen L. Scrivener; Vanderley M. John; Ellis M. Gartner; Eco-efficient cements: Potential economically viable solutions for a low-CO2 cement-based materials industry. Cem. Concr. Res. 2018, 114, 2-26, 10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.03.015.
  3. J.S. Damtoft; J. Lukasik; D. Herfort; D. Sorrentino; E.M. Gartner; Sustainable development and climate change initiatives. Cem. Concr. Res. 2008, 38, 115-127, 10.1016/j.cemconres.2007.09.008.
  4. Josefine A. Olsson; Sabbie A. Miller; Joshua D. Kneifel; A review of current practice for life cycle assessment of cement and concrete. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2024, 206, 107619, 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107619.
  5. Glenda Terán-Cuadrado; Furqan Tahir; Anissa Nurdiawati; Mohammed A. Almarshoud; Sami G. Al-Ghamdi; Current and potential materials for the low-carbon cement production: Life cycle assessment perspective. J. Build. Eng. 2024, 96, 110528, 10.1016/j.jobe.2024.110528.
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