Geopolymer Concrete as a Revolutionizing Technology for Low-Carbon Construction: A Conceptual and Policy-Oriented Review

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-747-7_11How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Geopolymer concrete; Circular economy; Life-cycle assessment

Abstract

Construction industry is a global economic driver promoting globalization and at the same time, one of the high carbon emitting industries in the world. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), the main binder in concrete, contributes to 78 per cent of world anthropogenic CO₂ emissions because it is an energy-consuming clinker fabrication and a calcination of limestone. In the fast urbanizing economies such as India, whereby the infrastructure projects are increasing the pace of concrete demand, reducing the environmental footprint of construction is a pressing policy concern. The geopolymer concrete (GPC) is a revolutionary low-carbon concrete which replaces the cement content. Geopolymer concrete is made with alkali-activated aluminosilicate binders of industrial by-products such as fly ash, silica fume, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), red mud etc. This is an overall conceptual and policy-focused analysis that defines the challenge of a carbon-intensive construction and defines a review-based approach to sustainable alternatives and makes GPC a viable solution. Comprising quality life-cycle analysis (LCA) studies, durability research, and sustainability literature, it emphasizes the emission reduction, resource efficiency, and long-term performance by GPC.

In addition to the materials, the paper incorporates GPC into global (UN SDGs) and national (Smart Cities Mission of India) systems, dealing with governance, regulation, and implementation. GPC is technically feasible, environmentally superior to OPC concrete, and policy-relevant to low-carbon, circular, climate-resilient infrastructure in both developing and developed economies.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Kshama Shukla
AU  - B. K. Singh
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/24
TI  - Geopolymer Concrete as a Revolutionizing Technology for Low-Carbon Construction: A Conceptual and Policy-Oriented Review
BT  - Proceedings of the International Seminar on Designing the Future (ISDF 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 231
EP  - 253
SN  - 3091-4442
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-747-7_11
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-747-7_11
ID  - Shukla2026
ER  -