Environmental assessment of green concrete containing natural zeolite on the global warming index in marine environments

The main air pollutant in the concrete industry is cement responsible for approximately 6% of man-made CO2 emissions. Due to growing concerns for global warming, reducing the consumption of traditional Portland cement and improving mechanical properties of concrete composites have become two important sustainable development issues in recent decades. Zeolite, a type of natural pozzolanic material, has been used as an alternative to improve the durability of concrete. In this study, environmental impact of concrete containing zeolite and conventional one on the global warming potential are assessed by applying life-cycle assessment method. The calculations indicated that replacing 10%, 20% and 30% of cement with zeolite amounted to a 60.3%, 69.7% and 64.3% global warming potential reduction, respectively, which proves the effectiveness of zeolite in making highly environmentally friendly concrete. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.