Life cycle assessment of sustainable concrete by utilizing groundnut husk ash in concrete

Abstract

The present paper aims to develop sustainable concrete to reduce the impact of concrete on environment using groundnut husk ash. In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of concrete is evaluated in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), and Eutrophication Potential (EP) which indicates the impact of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other gases emission on environment during manufacturing of concrete. Six types of concrete cubes i.e CM, G-2.5, G-5, G-7.5, G-10, G-12.5, and G-15 designed concrete are manufactured by replacing cement with GHA by mass at different replacement levels (0%,2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 15%).Cubes were tested for compressive strength after 7 and 28 days. Results indicated that upto 12.5% replacement of cement with groundnut husk ash (GHA) by mass, the compressive strength of GHA was more than the characteristic strength of M20 grade concrete. LCA of control mix and GHA concrete was done from cradle – to – gate boundaries. In control mix concrete, cement has the highest environmental impact about 80%, 73% and 54% of total impact for GWP, AP and EP respectively Results indicated that by utilizing GHA, reduction of 10%, 9.1%, and 7.2% in GWP, AP, and EP impact values occurs respectively. Therefore, it is concluded that the use of groundnut husk ash in concrete will lessen the impact of carbon dioxide and other green house gases (GHG) on environment and adds to the sustainability aspect by utilizing waste.