Several European associations of the concrete industry (BIBM, ERMCO, UEPG, EUROFER, and CEMBUREAU EFCA), in collaboration with the Dutch envi­ronmental consultant INTRON BV studied the possibility of minimizing the environmental impacts of concrete elements. One of the objectives of this study, was to develop the tool EcoConcrete, in order to evaluate the environmental impact associated […]

Eco-labels were created to favor the choice of products with enhanced environ­mental performance and provide a guarantee for a certain environmental perfor­mance certified by an independent entity. Since they are quite simple and their meaning is unambiguous these labels have obvious advantages when compared to LCA. Although the advantages of eco-labels are clear, it is […]

The LCA ‘‘includes the complete life cycle of the product, process or activity, i. e., the extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation and distribution, use, maintenance, recycling, reuse and final disposal’’ (Setac 1993). The application of LCA has been regulated internationally since 1996 under ISO14040, ISO14041, ISO14042 and ISO14043. Some of the biggest […]

11.1 General As already stated in Chap. 1, eco-efficient construction and building materials present less environmental impact than common materials. However, it is difficult to say if for instance concrete is more environmentally friendly than steel. Because it is truth that the former is responsible for some CO2 emissions (0.8 tonnes emitted per tonne produced), […]

One of the most important applications of materials with photocatalytical prop­erties concerns the destruction of fungi and bacteria. Indoor fungi and bacteria proliferation are one of the main causes responsible for construction materials degradation and also for health problems (Zyska 2001; Santucci et al. 2007; Wiszniewska et al. 2009; Bolashikov and Melikov 2009) because fungi […]

The subject of air pollutants such as VOCs released from building materials have already been addressed in. Chap. 2. In the last years several investigations have been carried out in order to use photocatalysis to reduce air pollution. The reaction Table 10.1 Patent for paving tile comprising an hydraulic binder and photocatalyst particles (Cassar and […]

Although self-cleaning properties of photocatalysts materials are known since the 60s (Fujishima and Honda 1972), only recently they start to be used in a wide — scale (Fujishima et al. 1999). Cassar and Pepe (1997) patented a concrete block with self-clening ability (Table 10.1). The first application of self-cleaning concrete took place in the church […]

The most known application of nanomaterials in the construction industry relates to the photocatalytic capacity of semiconductor materials. Several semiconductors materials, such as TiO2, ZnO, Fe2O3, WO3 and CdSe, possess photocatalytic capacity (Makowski and Wardas 2001). However, TiO2 is the most used of all because of its low toxicity and stability (Djebbar and Sehili, 1998). […]

Nanoparticles have a high-surface area to volume ratio providing high-chemical reactivity. They act as nucleation centers, contributing to the development of the hydration of Portland cement. Most investigations use nanosilica while some already used nano-Fe2O3. The production of nanoparticles can be obtained either through a high-milling energy (Sobolev and Ferrada-Gutierrez 2005) or by chemical synthesis […]

10.2.1 Investigation of Portland Cement Hydration Products Concrete is the most used construction material on Planet Earth and presents a higher permeability that allows water and other aggressive elements to enter, leading to carbonation and chloride ion attack, resulting in steel corrosion problems. Therefore, the nanoscale study of the hydration products (C-S-H, calcium hydroxide, ettringite, […]