Strength and Sustainability in Concrete: The Dual Role of Fly Ash and Accelerators in Reducing Environmental Impacts
Received: 4 February 2025 | Revised: 24 February 2025 | Accepted: 27 February 2025 | Online: 4 June 2025
Corresponding author: Miswar Tumpu
Abstract
The increasing demand for sustainable construction materials has driven researchers to explore environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional concrete. This study aims to investigate the dual role of fly ash and chemical accelerators in enhancing both the strength and sustainability of concrete. The research focuses on optimizing the compressive strength of concrete by replacing 50% of cement with fly ash and incorporating various dosages of superplasticizers and accelerators. Compressive strength tests were performed after 18 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, and 28 days to assess early and long-term strength performance. Additionally, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to assess the environmental impact of using fly ash in concrete production. The results show that all concrete variants achieved high early strength, with compressive strength values ranging from 32 MPa to 68 MPa within 24 hours, meeting the criteria for high early strength concrete. LCA analysis indicates that fly ash utilization significantly reduces the carbon footprint of concrete by reducing cement consumption. This research recommends the adoption of fly ash-based concrete with appropriate chemical additives as a sustainable solution to reduce environmental impacts in the construction industry while maintaining the required structural performance.
Keywords:
strength, fly ash, accelerators, environmental impactDownloads
References
A. A. Amiruddin, M. Tumpu, P. R. Rangan, R. Irmawaty, B. Bakri, and Mansyur, "A Potential Pozzolanic Material consisting of Rice Straw Ash and Fly Ash for Geopolymer Mortar Production-based Cementitious System," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 18189–18198, Dec. 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.8703
S. Lantang, M. F. Samawi, and M. Tumpu, "Development of Green Concrete for Mining Roads using Incineration Residue Ash," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 22142–22146, Apr. 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.10270
R. M. Ashwini, M. Potharaju, V. Srinivas, S. Kanaka Durga, G. V. Rathnamala, and A. Paudel, "Compressive and Flexural Strength of Concrete with Different Nanomaterials: A Critical Review," Journal of Nanomaterials, vol. 2023, pp. 1–15, Jan. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/1004597
R. Garg et al., "Mechanical strength and durability analysis of mortars prepared with fly ash and nano-metakaolin," Case Studies in Construction Materials, vol. 18, Jul. 2023, Art. no. e01796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e01796
D. Granell, "The Real-world Impact of Concrete Admixtures on Sustainability," For Construction Pros, Jan. 25, 2021. https://www.forconstructionpros.com/concrete/equipment-products/concrete-materials/article/21220675/gcp-the-realworld-impact-of-concrete-admixtures-on-sustainability.
"Real-world impact of admixtures on sustainability | GCP Applied Technologies." https://th.gcpat.com/en-gb/about/news/blog/real-world-impact-admixtures-sustainability.
"3 Ways to Lower the CO2 Footprint of Buildings Using Concrete Admixtures." https://informaconnect.com/3-ways-to-lower-the-co2-footprint-of-buildings-using-concrete-admixtures/.
M. Hillsdon, "Heavy lift required to solve cement’s carbon conundrum," Reuters, Jun. 24, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/
decarbonizing-industries/heavy-lift-required-solve-cements-carbon-conundrum-2024-06-24/.
"Energetically modified cement," Wikipedia. Mar. 10, 2025, [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Energetically_
modified_cement&oldid=1279819355.
B. M. Ramesh et al., "Valorization of incinerator bottom ash for the production of resource-efficient eco-friendly concrete: Performance and toxicological characterization," Architecture, Structures and Construction, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 65–78, Nov. 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44150-021-00006-9
J. Cui, Z. He, and X. Cai, "Mechanical properties and key intrinsic factors of sprayed ultra-high performance concrete (SUHPC) with alkali-free accelerator," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 349, Sep. 2022, Art. no. 128788. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.128788
Y. Wang, Y. Shao, M. D. Matovic, and J. K. Whalen, "Recycling of switchgrass combustion ash in cement: Characteristics and pozzolanic activity with chemical accelerators," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 73, pp. 472–478, Dec. 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.09.114
Y. Su, B. Luo, Z. Luo, H. Huang, J. Li, and D. Wang, "Effect of Accelerators on the Workability, Strength, and Microstructure of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete," Materials, vol. 15, no. 1, Dec. 2021, Art. no. 159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010159
J. Chen, J. Jia, and M. Zhu, "The Effects of Hardening Accelerator on Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of Fly-Ash Cement-Based Materials Using Response Surface Methodology." SSRN, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4685740
S. Mohd. Arif, R. Garg, R. Garg, and S. Dhiman, "Enhancing Concrete Performance: The Role and Impacts of Additives in Construction," in Advances in Construction Management, vol. 601, A. Kashyap, R. Goyal, R. Y. M. Li, G. Mahesh, and M. D. Deepak, Eds. Springer Nature Singapore, 2025, pp. 134–147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4902-0_12
M. Raghav, T. Park, H. M. Yang, S. Y. Lee, S. Karthick, and H. S. Lee, "Review of the Effects of Supplementary Cementitious Materials and Chemical Additives on the Physical, Mechanical and Durability Properties of Hydraulic Concrete," Materials, vol. 14, no. 23, Nov. 2021, Art. no. 7270. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14237270
H. Faghihmaleki and H. Nazari, "Laboratory study of metakaolin and microsilica effect on the performance of high-strength concrete containing Forta fibers," Advances in Bridge Engineering, vol. 4, no. 1, Jun. 2023, Art. no. 11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43251-023-00091-4
C09 Committee, "Specification for Coal Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined Natural Pozzolan for Use in Concrete." ASTM International.
"Persyaratan Beton Struktural untuk Bangunan Gedung," Badan Standardisasi Nasional (BSN), Jakarta, Indonesia, SNI 2847:2019, 2019.
C09 Committee, "Specification for Chemical Admixtures for Concrete." ASTM International.
C. Herath, C. Gunasekara, D. W. Law, and S. Setunge, "Long term mechanical performance of nano-engineered high volume fly ash concrete," Journal of Building Engineering, vol. 43, Nov. 2021, Art. no. 103168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103168
J. Yang et al., "Green reaction-type nucleation seed accelerator prepared from coal fly ash ground in water environment," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 306, Nov. 2021, Art. no. 124840. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.124840
N. Abdelmelek and E. Lubloy, "Flexural strength of silica fume, fly ash, and metakaolin of hardened cement paste after exposure to elevated temperatures," Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, vol. 147, no. 13, pp. 7159–7169, Jul. 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-021-11035-3
R. Garg, R. Garg, and N. O. Eddy, "Influence of pozzolans on properties of cementitious materials: A review," Advances in nano research, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 423–436, Oct. 2021.
S. P. Muñoz-Pérez, Y. M. Gonzales-Pérez, and T. E. Pardo-Muñoz, "The use of Nanomaterials in the construction sector: A literary review," DYNA, vol. 89, no. 221, pp. 101–109, May 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v89n221.100210
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Yohans Sunarno, Miswar Tumpu, Carter Kandou, Don R. G. Kabo, Herman Tumengkol, Parea Rusan Rangan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
