Comparative Analysis of Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional Concrete by Partially Replacing Cement by Fly Ash with the Inclusion of Carbon Nanotube

The construction of building uses a lot of natural resources as raw material for making of concrete, which uses a lot of energy and pollutes the environment on larger scale. This concrete making contributes significantly to environmental problems worldwide, mainly due to the high emissions involved in cement production. Using OpenLCA software and the Ecoinvent database, a life cycle assessment carried out to examine concrete environmental performance by partially replacing cement by fly ash and further inclusion of carbon nanotubes. In this study three M40-grade concrete mixtures were examined, M40CC, M40CFA, and M40CFACNT. The results demonstrate that partially using fly ash significantly mitigates environmental effects of cement production especially when it comes to GWP. The carbon footprint of M40CFA was 38% lower than that of M40CC. M40CFACNT gives better conventional concrete results. This research indicates that use of waste materials like fly ash can encourage the production of more environmentally friendly concrete solutions.