DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES THROUGH WASTE VALORISATION AND CARBON CAPTURE

Abstract

The work presented in this thesis is a multi-faceted approach towards sustainable construction materials. The primary motivation is curtailing the CO2 emissions associated with concrete production by using locally generated wastes in form of biochar (product of pyrolysis of wood-waste) and marine clays (excavation wastes). Broadly categorizing, three strategies were investigated: 1) Use of biochar in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) as an internal curing agent, 2) low-grade waste marine clays as fillers and binders in UHPC and normal concrete, respectively and 3) Carbon capture in UHPC using GGBS and pressurized carbon curing. The wastes were characterized for their composition using XRD, XRF, SEM etc. to establish their suitability as an alternative construction material, while the concrete produced using them were examined for strength, hydration kinetics, phase composition, transport properties etc.