GREEN MATERIALS IN CONCRETE AND CONSTRUCTION

      WHAT IS GREEN MATERIAL IN CONCRETE?

Green material in concrete is made with concrete wastes which are eco-friendly so called as Green concrete. Green concrete is made of new raw materials - namely fly ash, recycled concrete aggregates and aluminium can fibres. Fly ash is a waste product from coal power plants and is commonly disposed of in ponds and sent to landfills.

In 2009, the Malaysian government launched the green building index (GBI) to encourage the construction of buildings using green technology, and introduced incentives for owners to obtain the GBI certificate for new or existing buildings. There have also been efforts to reduce air pollution and concrete has an important role to play because a significant amount of the world's carbon emissions stems from cement and concrete production. Therefore, it is important to develop green concrete that can be used in buildings and structures.

       WHY USE OF GREEN CONCRETE

1.    To Decrease the Demand for Conventional Material:

As discussed above the construction industry growth is to fast in recent year and consumption of concrete is also increased to a large extent. Because of this and limited source of mining leading to a shortage of conventional construction material like cement, aggregate. Therefore, to reduce the demand for regular construction material the green concrete is a better alternative.

 

2.     To Reduce Co2 Emission:

In conventional concrete, we use a material whose production process involves the emission of a large amount of co2 in the environment. Whereas green concrete uses waste eco-friendly material which emits too low co2 in the environment.

3.     To Recycle and Reuse the Materials:

As construction of any structure involve a huge amount of materials and also it produces a large amount of construction waste also. This waste never utilized for any other work. So, the green concrete has the idea to recycle and reuse this waste material for making concrete.

        ADVANTAGES OF GREEN CONCRETE

            1.       There is no need to change the manufacturing process 

2.       It is made from waste and recycled materials like fly ash, GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, artificial aggregates, etc. in the concrete.

3.       It decreases CO2 emission and helps in reducing the environmental pollution.

4.       It has good thermal and acid resistance.

5.       It solves the problem of recycling and disposal space required for industry waste material as it is made from residue waste material.

6.       It solves the problem of recycling and disposal space required for industry waste material as it is made from residue waste material.

7.       Green concrete compressive and split tensile strength is better with some materials compared to conventional concrete.

8.       It contributes to reducing the consumption of cement overall.

9.       It is economical compared to conventional concrete.

10.     It offers better workability than conventional concrete.

SAMPLE MATERIAL USE IN GREEN CONCRETE

CONCLUSION 

When it comes to building structures, developers and contractors have the advantage of choosing from a variety of materials to use. Generally, the decision on material choice depends on several factors including cost and performance for specific applications.

Due to growing interest in sustainable development and various incentives provided by the Government of Malaysia, the key players in the construction industry are motivated more than ever before to use materials that are sustainable or in such a way that their environmental impact is minimal.

Hence green concrete can be choosing to consume less energy and becomes economical. Uses of green concrete will not only reduce the emission of CO2 in environment and environmental impact but also economical to produce.

Moreover, green concrete designed for strength and performance during service-life of buildings or structures. It also contributes to GBI score,
has lower cement/carbon footprint per unit of concrete produced and
has potential for commercialization by providing developers and contractors with an alternative concrete that is environmental-friendly, in line with the National Green Technology Policy.