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Published VersionCC BY-NC V3.0, Open Access
Journal article
Exploring mineral-organic interactions for eco-friendly concrete alternatives: A radical concept
RSC Sustainability, Vol.3, pp.2064-2078
2025
Abstract
Concrete is central to the civil construction industry worldwide, which is facing increasing governmental, social, and economic pressure to alleviate its considerable environmental impact. This impact centres around Portland cement, the main binder of concrete. The production of a single tonne of Portland cement generates 0.9 tonne of CO2 gas along with other negative environmental impacts. In the quest for alternate construction materials, there is much focus on artificial geopolymers which use aluminosilicate-based binders, the production of which does not liberate large amounts of CO2. However, due to the use of dangerous alkaline chemicals and high curing temperatures, industry is reluctant to implement artificial geopolymers despite their superior material properties. The research into replicating natural geopolymers appears to be in its infancy, possibly due to the underappreciated interaction between organic and mineral fractions. However, mineral–organic interactions are well researched, and the materials produced have considerably favourable properties. This work proposes the application of free radical chemistry to enhance and accelerate mineral–organic interactions to produce analogues of natural rock. The use of free radicals greatly reduces the energy requirements for reactions. They also efficiently degrade organic intermediates and promote mineral polymerisation. The benefits of these rock analogues lie not only in their material properties but also the potential re-use of waste building materials such as iron, aluminium, and glass. Therefore, the environmental impact of these materials will be substantially lower than that of concrete, with superior material properties. The implications of this study is a shift in conventional thinking away from current Portland cement-based construction materials to considering analogues of natural geopolymers.
Details
- Title
- Exploring mineral-organic interactions for eco-friendly concrete alternatives: A radical concept
- Authors
- Peter David Spencer - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringHejie Li - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringScott Hocknull - Queensland MuseumGareth Chalmers - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringTianfang Wang (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Bioinnovation
- Publication details
- RSC Sustainability, Vol.3, pp.2064-2078
- Publisher
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1039/D4SU00696H
- ISSN
- 2753-8125
- Data Availability
- No primary research results, software or code have been included and no new data were generated or analysed as part of this review.
- Grant note
- Peter Spencer thanks the support from Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (RTP2022).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991119282402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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