Environmental perspectives of recycled concrete powder as cement replacement

Cement-based materials and their design are in the center of the effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Following this, a way how to replace cement in a concrete mixture is searched. In this study, we assessed the environmental perspectives of recycled concrete powder (RCP) as a cement replacement, which is produced as a by-product in the concrete recycling process. First, the reference mixture was prepared and new mixtures were designed with replacement ratios 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 % of RCP. Their mechanical properties were measured such as dry density, compressive strength, workability. Later, the environmental impacts of mixtures were assessed using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). For assessment, the considered declared unit was 1 m3 of a concrete mixture. Environmental impacts were characterized using the Environmental Footprint methodology. The results of mechanical properties measurement show that RCP is suitable as a cement replacement for a case of low replacement. Moreover, the results of environmental assessment confirm that utilization of RCP leads to a reduction of Climate Change impact and even impacts in other categories.