Recycled Aggregate Concrete and Sustainable Building Materials
Summary
Concrete production is a major contributor to global carbon emissions and resource depletion, driven chiefly by cement manufacture and quarrying of natural aggregates. Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) addresses these challenges by substituting demolition waste—crushed concrete and masonry—for virgin coarse aggregates, thus closing material loops within a circular economy. While RAC often exhibits lower density, reduced workability and modest declines in strength compared with conventional mixtures, tailored mix designs and supplementary cementitious materials can restore or even enhance performance. Sustainable building materials extend beyond recycled aggregates to include industrial by-products such as fly ash, silica fume and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), which partially replace cement and refine the microstructure of the cementitious matrix. Geopolymer binders, produced by alkali activation of aluminosilicate sources, offer further decarbonisation by eliminating Portland cement altogether. Advances in non-destructive evaluation, durability assessment and treatment of recycled aggregates have underpinned the viability of RAC in structural applications, water-retaining elements and precast units. Increasingly, regulatory frameworks and life-cycle analyses are recognising the environmental and economic benefits of these approaches, positioning RAC and low-carbon binders as pivotal components of responsible construction worldwide.
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Recycled Aggregate Concrete and Sustainable Building Materials publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in recycled aggregate concrete and sustainable building materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Recycled aggregate (RA): Crushed construction and demolition waste used in place of natural coarse aggregate.
Supplementary cementitious material (SCM): Industrial by-product (e.g. fly ash, silica fume, GGBS) that replaces a portion of Portland cement to improve performance and reduce carbon footprint.
Geopolymer concrete: A binder system formed by alkali activation of aluminosilicate materials, offering a low-carbon alternative to traditional cement.
Leaching: The release of soluble substances from concrete into the environment, assessed to ensure pollutant mobility remains below regulatory limits.
Durability: The ability of a concrete to withstand environmental stressors—including chemical attack, freeze-thaw cycles and abrasion—over its service life.
References
- Leaching performance of concrete eco-blocks: Towards zero-waste in precast concrete plants. Journal of Environmental Management (2023).
- The enhancement of engineering characteristics in recycled aggregates concrete combined effect of fly ash, silica fume and PP fiber. Alexandria Engineering Journal (2024).
- Geopolymer concrete incorporating recycled aggregates: A comprehensive review. Cleaner Materials (2022).
- Mechanical Properties and Durability of Geopolymer Recycled Aggregate Concrete: A Review. Polymers (2023).
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