A Review of the Utilization of GGBFS for Sustainable Concrete Production: Impacts on Performance and Environmental Benefits

KURBETCİ Ş., SAYIL M. C.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES INDIA SECTION A-PHYSICAL SCIENCES, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Özet

Blast furnace slag (BFS) is a byproduct of iron production industry. It shows excellent binding properties when cooled down in a rapid manner and ground finely. The resulting product, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) is often used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for concrete production. It also has great potential to promote sustainability in the construction industry. In this study, the most recent studies where GGBFS is incorporated in new generation sustainable cement and concrete to produce products with enhanced fresh, hardened and durability properties, whilst minimizing their environmental impacts were comprehensively reviewed. Considering the existing gaps in literature and challenges encountered in practice, future recommendations were provided. Findings in the literature reveal that, when GGBFS is used in right amounts and along with other components that have good synergistic effects with it, it has potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption under appropriate replacement levels and favorable processing and supply conditions. While doing so, it might help to maintain the performance of the design or even to improve them. Future work should focus on improving the weak aspects of each special type of cement or concrete design, while optimizing cost so that these can be produced on an industrial scale.