Geopolymer Concrete - A Green Concrete

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is conventionally used as the primary binder to produce concrete throughout the world. The environmental issues associated with the production of OPC are well known and the production of cement emits the greenhouse gas CO 2 into atmosphere. The CO 2 emitted into atmosphere plays the lead role in Global warming and the production of one tonne of cement emits approximately one tonne of CO2 into atmosphere which is a worrying factor to human kind. Geopolymer concrete is an alternative to OPC concrete in which cement is totally eliminated from the concrete matrix and thus becomes Green concrete. On the other hand, the 100% replacement of cement by fly ash in Geopolymer concrete opens the gate for elimination of cement from concrete and thus helps to reduce the concern of global warming. This paper examines the compressive strength of 150mm size Geopolymer concrete cubes manufactured with Indian fly ash, and determines its durability aspect related to acid, chloride and sulfate attacks. The tests reveal the excellent properties of Geopolymer concrete and the applicability of Geopolymer concrete into structural applications which would certainly help reduce global warming.