Evaluation of the Efficiency of Limestone Powder in Concrete and the Effects on the Environment
Date
2018-02
Authors
Kim, Yoo Jae
Van Leeuwen, Ryno
Cho, Bum-Yean
Sriraman, Vedaraman
Torres, Anthony
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Abstract
The major environmental impact of concrete comes from the CO2 emissions, produced during the cement manufacturing process. The main goal of this research project is to evaluate the efficiency of limestone powder as a partial cement replacement, in order to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This study utilizes limestone powders, with different particle sizes, to replace a portion of Portland cement using various ratios. Due to the dilution effect when partially replacing cement, there is a reduction in the concrete’s physical properties. To assess the dilution effect, a modification to Féret’s equation is used to calculate an efficiency factor for the limestone powder when compared to cement. To measure the environmental impact, a life cycle assessment is conducted on concrete made with limestone powder combined with cement. This allows for an evaluation of the various cement/limestone powder ratios that will maximize the environmental benefit, with minimal reduction in concrete strength. Additional microstructural analysis using petrographic examination was completed to provide a visual understanding of the distribution of the limestone particles within the cement paste. The results indicate that the efficiency of limestone powder in partially replacing cement can be achieved by particle packing and particle distribution in the concrete and the benefits of emission reductions exceed the loss in compressive strength when higher levels of limestone powder is used to replace cement.
Description
Keywords
limestone powder, fineness, efficiency factor, life cycle assessment, particle size, cement replacement, Engineering Technology
Citation
Kim, Y. J., van Leeuwen, R., Cho, B. Y., Sriraman, V., & Torres, A. (2018). Evaluation of the efficiency of limestone powder in concrete and the effects on the environment. Sustainability, 10(2): 550.
Rights
Rights Holder
© 2018 The Authors.
Rights License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.