What is green concrete technology?

Please note that information in this article was based on trends from 2018, and may now be outdated. 

There are three ways for a concrete to be named green concrete. One or more of these conditions need to apply:

• Using waste material as at least one of the components
• Having life cycle sustainability and high-performance
• Not causing environmental destruction

Is Concrete Eco-Friendly?

Let’s first talk about the traditional concrete. Is it eco-friendly? Why do we even need a new type of concrete? There are some good sides and the bad sides of concrete in terms of green efforts. Unfortunately, the downsides are bad enough for a new green technology to be created.

Issues with cement – Around 10% of all CO2 emissions come from producing traditional cement. This happens when the limestones and clays are mixed. They need to be crushed together, and that creates very high temperatures, which are needed to form cement.

Cement is an important component of concrete, and every concreter will tell you that you cannot make a good concrete slab if this ratio is not good. While green cement is still not that widely used in commercial use, you need to limit your projects to traditional concrete.

For example, if you need to choose from bitumen, asphalt and concrete for your driveway, find a concreting professional to pave a concrete driveway for you.

Concrete contributes to surface runoff – This happens because it is created for hard surfaces. This can cause floods, soil erosion, water pollution and many other harmful effects.

Concrete dust pollutes air – During the demolitions of buildings, the fine dust that spreads all over the surroundings of such construction sites is polluting the air. It is fine and can hurt respiratory organs.

The good sides of concrete also exist. Concrete is an excellent material to build dams that prevent from ecologically disastrous floods. Some types of concrete are used in traffic to reduce the urban heat islands.

Can Concrete Be Recycled?

Yes. Concrete can be recycled. It is first crushed into smaller chunks of concrete, and after that, it is further reduced by the cone crushers. This material needs to be examined in order to see how much of it is usable. Then it is distributed to be recycled in pavement construction, other construction works and production of new concrete slabs.

How does this help? This is important because, in concreting and different construction works, there is a lot of waste concrete produced and disposed of. It means that there is an increased number of landfills that are packed with excess concrete. While being an environmental issue, this is also an economic issue since creating landfills is expensive.

Another excellent benefit of concrete recycling is the reduced need for gravel mining. This reduces the carbon footprint because no heavy machinery is needed for mining, but also air pollution that comes from mining. There are fewer patches of barren land when there is no gravel mining.

What Is Green Concrete Made Of?

There are several technologies that offer solutions when it comes to replacing unsustainable concrete.

Probably the most interesting one for Australia is the replacement of harmful chemicals with fly ash. This is good news for Australia because there is a big supply of fly ash here. Some say that there is a stock that is enough for the next 20 years. Fly ash is a byproduct of coal, and it is used to replace the cement.

Another efficient cement replacement comes in the form of slag. This is the byproduct of steel manufacture. These powdery substances can replace cement and, in that way, reduce the carbon emissions needed for cement production.

Some experts also suggest the use of pozzolans. These are silica materials that also have properties that are recommended for forming high-quality concrete slabs.

Perhaps the most amazing form of green concrete is carbon-negative concrete. This type of futuristic mixture is a concrete that actually reduces the carbon footprint. This type of carbon-damaging concrete has been introduced in Australia, and it brings a lot of benefits.

Why Should We Use Green Concrete?

There are several amazing benefits of green concreting in Australia and around the world.

The first and the most obvious one is the reduction of carbon footprint. If there is no need to create cement in a traditional way, there is no need to create concrete under such devastatingly high temperatures that have horrible CO2 emissions.

Landfills are reduced because other options, such as fly ash and slag, are actually byproducts of their own industries, and if not used, they would simply be thrown away. Reusing them and upcycling them is the best possible scenario.

Green concrete is durable. When green concrete slabs are created, they reach their full strength faster. Such concreting work is more resistant to fire and corrosion. This means that the buildings made of it can last longer. This, furthermore, promises less construction and repair work that generates air-polluting dust.

Is Green Concrete Coming to Australia Soon?

It is already here. There are several Australian companies that already work with green concrete, and they already offer their products to the public. Do you think there will soon be many concreters who will agree to work with such concrete?

The truth is, it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you have a new driveway or a new pavement that needs fixing, you can try to get quotes from different contractors to get the best deal. It doesn’t hurt to ask them if they would be willing to use green concrete. Some of them probably already use these new technologies.

However, if more people express their interest in green concrete, the concreters will do their best to keep up with the times and embrace the new, more environmentally friendly technology.

For now, if you don’t have access to green cement, do your best to use the traditional cement in the best possible way. This means you should collect all the excess concrete that gets produced while concreting at your house. Try to recycle that concrete and avoid waste.

Another way to avoid waste is to get a professional concreter to do your work. They will be more precise, cleaner and more efficient. This can also save you from wasting money. Get several quotes from Service Seeking concreters and get the best deal.