Korea Expressway Corporation Develops 'Low-Carbon Concrete Standard Mix'... Reduces Carbon Emissions by 50%

Reduced Cement Usage in Concrete Manufacturing Lowers Carbon Emissions
Deicing Agent Resistance Enhances Durability, Quadrupling Lifespan Compared to Standard Concrete

The central divider of Dapojun Bridge on the Busan Outer Ring Road, where ground granulated blast furnace slag powder has been applied.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Korea Expressway Corporation has succeeded in developing a standard mix of low-carbon concrete that can reduce carbon emissions by 50% compared to conventional concrete.

According to the Expressway Corporation on the 26th, the standard mix of low-carbon concrete was developed based on the results of trial construction on guardrails of 10 bridges, including Jinyeong IC Bridge 1 on the Busan Outer Ring Expressway, since 2016.

Low-carbon concrete is a product in which 50% of the cement contained in conventional concrete is replaced with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), an industrial by-product generated from the steel industry. GGBFS is slag produced in a blast furnace during steel manufacturing, consisting of impurities other than iron.

Verification results showed that it has a strength level similar to that of general concrete but is superior in durability aspects such as resistance to deicing salt damage.

In particular, corrosion caused by the penetration of deicing salt in winter can steadily increase road maintenance costs, but the low-carbon concrete developed this time has a dense internal structure that reduces the penetration rate of salt, confirming that its lifespan is about four times longer than that of general concrete.

Also, the price of GGBFS, the main raw material of low-carbon concrete, is about 70% of that of conventional cement, making it economically advantageous to manufacture concrete using GGBFS compared to conventional concrete.

In December last year, the Expressway Corporation incorporated the standard mix of low-carbon concrete into the ‘Quality Standards for Expressway Construction Materials’ to enable immediate application at construction sites. From this year, it plans to expand its application to expressway construction sites. Additionally, it plans to complete the development of special-purpose low-carbon concrete for long-span bridges by the end of this year.

If this low-carbon concrete becomes established as a universal construction material, its expanded application will be possible in large-scale concrete pouring works such as apartment construction, accelerating carbon reduction effects in the construction sector.

An official from the Expressway Corporation said, “If low-carbon concrete is applied to all expressway sites, it can reduce carbon emissions by about 420,000 tons annually due to cement replacement, which will be a proactive response to the 2030 national greenhouse gas reduction target.” He added, “We will continue to actively strive to reduce carbon emissions and build eco-friendly expressways through the development of new materials, low-carbon construction methods, and the expansion of recyclable construction materials.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.