Supplementary Cementitious Materials in Building Blocks—Diagnosing Opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa

Raine Isaksson (), Max Rosvall, Arezou Babaahmadi, Apollo Buregyeya, Amrita Hazarika, Joseph Mwiti Marangu, Kolawole Olonade, Swaminathan Ramanathan, Anthony Rucukye and Luca Valentini
Additional contact information
Raine Isaksson: Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden
Max Rosvall: Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden
Arezou Babaahmadi: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Apollo Buregyeya: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda
Amrita Hazarika: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Joseph Mwiti Marangu: Department of Physical Sciences, Meru University of Science & Technology, Meru 972-60200, Kenya
Kolawole Olonade: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos 101017, Nigeria
Swaminathan Ramanathan: Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden
Anthony Rucukye: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda
Luca Valentini: Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-27

Abstract: Sustainable building should at least be affordable and carbon neutral. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a region struggling with housing affordability. Residential buildings are often constructed using block-based materials. These are increasingly produced using ordinary Portland cement (PC), which has a high carbon footprint. Using alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) for block production might reduce the footprint and price. The purpose is to assess the level of information for SCM use in blocks in SSA and to use this information for Diagnosing the improvement potential as part of an Opportunity Study. Results from the scoping review show that aggregated information on SCMs and the quantities available is limited. Diagnosing the theoretical improvement potential in using cassava peel ash, rice husk ash, corn cob ash, volcanic ash and calcined clays, indicates that SCMs could represent a yearly value of approximately USD 400 million, which could be transferred from buying cement to local production. The use of SCMs could save 1.7 million tonnes of CO 2 per year and create some 50,000 jobs. About 5% of the PC used for block production could be substituted, indicating that, in addition to using SCMs, other solutions are needed to secure production of sustainable blocks.

Keywords: sustainable housing; supplementary cementitious material; sustainability opportunity study; diagnosing potential; alternative binders; block production; sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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