Background

Cement production is a highly energy-intensive process contributing to approximately 7% of the total industrial energy consumption and generation of 6 to 8% of greenhouse emissions worldwide. Currently, cement is made from finely ground particles and materials, such as fly ash (a byproduct of coal mining), slag, and silica fume. As coal use is declining, so are its inputs to traditional concrete supply. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are often used to replace Portland cement in concrete mixtures partially, but factors like strength of the concrete, visual defects, and other barriers must be studied for each proposed SCM.

Extensive research and commercialization is ongoing worldwide to identify sustainable materials that can be used as SCMs in the concrete industry. To