HIGH PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABLE MORTARS

Cement production is an energy-intensive process, responsible for a significant amount of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Mixtures with so-called supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) like pozzolanic materials (pulverized fly ash or natural pozzolanas), latent hydraulic products like ground granulated blast furnace slag and even inert materials like limestone are therefore used. Such a clinker replacement with SCM may be able to overcome partially the problem of energy consumption, however, the resulting binder often lacks in performance compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). This paper presents two high performance mortars in which part of the cement was replaced by a suitable combination of SCM to create a sustainable mortar without compromising the performance. Characteristics, mechanical and physical properties are discussed. Additionally, the environmental performance is analyzed through a simplified life cycle assessment (LCA).