Using Natural Pozzolans to Partially Replace Cement in Pervious Concretes: A Sustainable Alternative?

Ignacio Oviedo, Mauricio Pradena (), Óscar Link and José T. Balbo
Additional contact information
Ignacio Oviedo: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Concepción, Edmundo Larenas 219, Casilla 160-C Correo3, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Mauricio Pradena: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Concepción, Edmundo Larenas 219, Casilla 160-C Correo3, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Óscar Link: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Concepción, Edmundo Larenas 219, Casilla 160-C Correo3, Concepción 4030000, Chile
José T. Balbo: Escola Politécnica, Departamento de Engenharia de Transportes, Universidade de São Paulo, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo 05508-010, SP, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials all around the globe. Associated with urban expansion, concrete pavements increase the impermeable surfaces that affect the hydrological cycle and generate urban heat islands. Cement is one of the main components of concrete, and its production is one of the main sources of worldwide CO 2 emissions. Pervious concrete with partial cement replacement represents a more sustainable alternative. In this paper, the use of natural pozzolans zeolite and pumicite, as partial cement replacement materials in pervious concrete mixtures, is analyzed. The mechanical and hydraulic properties of pervious concretes using different percentages of pumicite and zeolite to replace cement (0% to 20%) were evaluated by a series of tests on compressive strength, flexural strength, permeability, porosity, and a microanalysis by SEM for the samples. Additionally, experiments with a plasticizer additive were conducted. The results show that mixtures with 0.35 W/C ratio present better mechanical and hydraulic properties; pumicite shows a better performance than zeolite, with the better properties achieved at 10% cement replacement; and the addition of plasticizer increased the final strengths. It is recommended to partially replace cement by adding 10% pumicite and to consider using 0.7% of plasticizer.

Keywords: compressive strength; flexural strength; natural pozzolans; permeability; pervious concretes; plasticizer; porosity; pumicite; zeolite (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/21/14122/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/21/14122/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:21:p:14122-:d:957125

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().