Concrete production and potential water related impacts

Abstract

Water is the most used substance in the world, followed by concrete. Everyday water scarcity is more common due to concentrated population growth, and climate change will make this situation worse. Concrete demand is approximately 30 billion tonnes per year fulfilling humans’ need for more and better housing and infrastructure for a growing and wealthier population. Since there is no other material in enough quantities to fulfil this demand, concrete needs to be produced in the most sustainable way possible, minimizing environmental loads such as water related impacts. The water footprint is a tool that allows measuring water use over a products’ life and estimating the potential environmental impacts due to this water use. The aim of this paper is to identify potential water impacts due to concrete production. An extensive study on water related impacts in concrete production from cradle to gate was performed. There are many water related aspects and impacts divided in water quantity such as water consumption and water quality such as acidification, eutrophication and ecotoxicity. The results are interesting for the research community as well as to the cement and concrete industries and a contribution to sustainable construction since the study of water related impacts of concrete is fundamental to executing actions for improved water efficiency and quality.