Editorial
Sustainable Building Materials and Technologies 2020
Nadezda Stevulova , 1 Kestutys Baltakys , 2 Adriana Estokova , 1 Vojtech Vaclavik , 3
and Sanja Dimter 4
1 Technical University of Kosice, Kosice, Slovakia
2 Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania
3 VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
4 Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Correspondence should be addressed to Nadezda Stevulova; nadezda.stevulova@tuke.sk
Received 5 January 2022; Accepted 5 January 2022; Published 25 January 2022
Copyright © 2022 Nadezda Stevulova et al. "is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Construction material production has a great impact on the
depletion of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions
caused by fossil fuel combustion, thus affecting global cli-
mate change and ozone depletion. On the other hand,
building materials are largely determining the energy con-
sumption in buildings and having environmental impacts.
"e goal for sustainable future in building material pro-
duction is development of new environmentally friendly
materials and constructions for sustainable buildings se-
curing long-term environmental, economic, and social
viability.
"erefore, the main aim of this Special Issue was to
provide a platform for publishing the latest knowledge about
application of sustainability as one of the most important
topics in development of sustainable building materials and
technologies. Although call for papers included a wide range
of potential topics, the Special Issue Sustainable Building
Materials and Technologies 2020 contains only 7 papers
addressed to advances in application of supplementary ce-
mentitious materials as alternative binder components in
concrete. "e utilization of industrial waste, by-products,
and vegetal fibres incorporated into cement mortar/concrete
for hydration process, strength development, and durability
improvement of high performance concrete is analysed in
detail in some papers bringing innovative integrated solu-
tions to key building materials.
"e authors W. J. Cho et al. summarize recent research
results about the potential utilization of ferronickel slag
(FNS) as a supplementary cementitious material. "e
investigation of the effects of FNS use on mortar and
concrete properties showed that replacement of cement by
FNS resulted in the increase in setting times and workability
by delaying the hydration process, in the formation of a
more dense pore structure compared with cement mix, in an
increase in compressive strength at the long-term curing
ages, and in improvement of resistance to chloride pene-
tration and sulfate attack due to the secondary hydration
reactions creating C-S-H gel and hydrotalcite.
"e behavior of calcined magnesium-based mineral
powder as a potential alternative resource for the production
of magnesium-based binder was investigated by G. Sugila
Devi and K. Sudalaimani. Paste made of powdered thermally
treated (1200° C) mineral mixture consisting of natural
magnesite and steatite in a ratio of 3 : 1 with water and with
and without addition of sodium tripolyphosphate salt was
tested for its microscopic structural development, consis-
tency, initial setting time, final setting time, and heat of
hydration. As shown in the results, adding phosphate salt led
to formation of hydration products such as magnesium
hydroxide and struvite and to an increase in setting time and
compressive strength.
"e utilization of four waste materials such as fly ash,
circulating fluidized bed combustion ash, and slag as mineral
admixtures in different amounts (up to 30 wt.%) and 9 wt.%
addition of silica fume into high-performance concrete
(HPC) and their influence on the mechanical properties and
durability of HPC were evaluated by Z. Cheng et al. Vari-
ation of mineral admixtures in concrete samples led to the
Hindawi
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Volume 2022, Article ID 9797342, 2 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9797342
Sustainable Building Materials and Technologies 2020
Nadezda Stevulova , 1 Kestutys Baltakys , 2 Adriana Estokova , 1 Vojtech Vaclavik , 3
and Sanja Dimter 4
1 Technical University of Kosice, Kosice, Slovakia
2 Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania
3 VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
4 Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Correspondence should be addressed to Nadezda Stevulova; nadezda.stevulova@tuke.sk
Received 5 January 2022; Accepted 5 January 2022; Published 25 January 2022
Copyright © 2022 Nadezda Stevulova et al. "is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Construction material production has a great impact on the
depletion of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions
caused by fossil fuel combustion, thus affecting global cli-
mate change and ozone depletion. On the other hand,
building materials are largely determining the energy con-
sumption in buildings and having environmental impacts.
"e goal for sustainable future in building material pro-
duction is development of new environmentally friendly
materials and constructions for sustainable buildings se-
curing long-term environmental, economic, and social
viability.
"erefore, the main aim of this Special Issue was to
provide a platform for publishing the latest knowledge about
application of sustainability as one of the most important
topics in development of sustainable building materials and
technologies. Although call for papers included a wide range
of potential topics, the Special Issue Sustainable Building
Materials and Technologies 2020 contains only 7 papers
addressed to advances in application of supplementary ce-
mentitious materials as alternative binder components in
concrete. "e utilization of industrial waste, by-products,
and vegetal fibres incorporated into cement mortar/concrete
for hydration process, strength development, and durability
improvement of high performance concrete is analysed in
detail in some papers bringing innovative integrated solu-
tions to key building materials.
"e authors W. J. Cho et al. summarize recent research
results about the potential utilization of ferronickel slag
(FNS) as a supplementary cementitious material. "e
investigation of the effects of FNS use on mortar and
concrete properties showed that replacement of cement by
FNS resulted in the increase in setting times and workability
by delaying the hydration process, in the formation of a
more dense pore structure compared with cement mix, in an
increase in compressive strength at the long-term curing
ages, and in improvement of resistance to chloride pene-
tration and sulfate attack due to the secondary hydration
reactions creating C-S-H gel and hydrotalcite.
"e behavior of calcined magnesium-based mineral
powder as a potential alternative resource for the production
of magnesium-based binder was investigated by G. Sugila
Devi and K. Sudalaimani. Paste made of powdered thermally
treated (1200° C) mineral mixture consisting of natural
magnesite and steatite in a ratio of 3 : 1 with water and with
and without addition of sodium tripolyphosphate salt was
tested for its microscopic structural development, consis-
tency, initial setting time, final setting time, and heat of
hydration. As shown in the results, adding phosphate salt led
to formation of hydration products such as magnesium
hydroxide and struvite and to an increase in setting time and
compressive strength.
"e utilization of four waste materials such as fly ash,
circulating fluidized bed combustion ash, and slag as mineral
admixtures in different amounts (up to 30 wt.%) and 9 wt.%
addition of silica fume into high-performance concrete
(HPC) and their influence on the mechanical properties and
durability of HPC were evaluated by Z. Cheng et al. Vari-
ation of mineral admixtures in concrete samples led to the
Hindawi
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Volume 2022, Article ID 9797342, 2 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9797342
achievement of compressive strength values higher than
60 MPa after 28 days of hardening depending on the waste
kind. Among all three admixtures, HPC with circulating
fluidized bed combustion ash had the best frost resistance.
"e effects of replacing fine aggregates with different
contents of coal bottom ash (up to 100%) on the strength
properties of high-strength concrete (>60 MPa) at curing
ages of 28 and 56 days were investigated by In-H. Yang et al.
"e samples reached the level of high-strength concrete, and
coal bottom ash could be utilized for fabrication of high-
strength concrete as a partial or total substitution for fine
aggregates. Equations for predicting the strength values of
coal bottom ash concrete by using the ultrasonic pulse
velocity were suggested.
H. Danso investigated the influence of incorporation of
plantain pseudostem fibre (up to 1 wt.% of sand) and 10 wt.%
cement replacement by lime on the physical and mechanical
properties of cement mortars. An optimal fibre content of
0.25 wt.% is recommended for construction application.
E. Abu Zeiton with co-authors focused on the param-
eters affecting the properties of the generated hemihydrate
and dihydrate after the 1st reaction cycle of hydration-de-
hydration process. "eir major finding consisted of revealing
the differences in the properties such as the particle size,
specific surface area, surface morphology, and number of
defects between the formed hemihydrate after the first
hydration-dehydration compared to the unrecycled hemi-
hydrate. "e grinding process after the first hydration step
and the calcination process responsible for increasing the
number of defects on the crystal surface led to a change in
setting time, microstructure, and compressive strength of
the recycled hemihydrate.
T. Tofeti Lima and K. Yong Ann paid attention to re-
covering the concrete structures under chloride-induced
corrosion by an efficient nondestructive treatment by three
different electrolytes (tap water, calcium hydroxide, and
lithium borate) applied temporarily to structures. Lithium
borate was identified as the most efficient electrolyte for
extracting chlorides, while calcium hydroxide had better
performance on restoring the passive state after corrosion,
healing the structure at another level, filling up possible
cracks. "e positive affect was also found due to a possible
electrodeposition of the electrolyte ions on the cement
matrix.
Conflicts of Interest
"e Guest Editors declare that they have no conflicts of
interest regarding the publication of this Special Issue.
Nadezda Stevulova
Kestutys Baltakys
Adriana Estokova
Vojtech Vaclavik
Sanja Dimter
2 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
60 MPa after 28 days of hardening depending on the waste
kind. Among all three admixtures, HPC with circulating
fluidized bed combustion ash had the best frost resistance.
"e effects of replacing fine aggregates with different
contents of coal bottom ash (up to 100%) on the strength
properties of high-strength concrete (>60 MPa) at curing
ages of 28 and 56 days were investigated by In-H. Yang et al.
"e samples reached the level of high-strength concrete, and
coal bottom ash could be utilized for fabrication of high-
strength concrete as a partial or total substitution for fine
aggregates. Equations for predicting the strength values of
coal bottom ash concrete by using the ultrasonic pulse
velocity were suggested.
H. Danso investigated the influence of incorporation of
plantain pseudostem fibre (up to 1 wt.% of sand) and 10 wt.%
cement replacement by lime on the physical and mechanical
properties of cement mortars. An optimal fibre content of
0.25 wt.% is recommended for construction application.
E. Abu Zeiton with co-authors focused on the param-
eters affecting the properties of the generated hemihydrate
and dihydrate after the 1st reaction cycle of hydration-de-
hydration process. "eir major finding consisted of revealing
the differences in the properties such as the particle size,
specific surface area, surface morphology, and number of
defects between the formed hemihydrate after the first
hydration-dehydration compared to the unrecycled hemi-
hydrate. "e grinding process after the first hydration step
and the calcination process responsible for increasing the
number of defects on the crystal surface led to a change in
setting time, microstructure, and compressive strength of
the recycled hemihydrate.
T. Tofeti Lima and K. Yong Ann paid attention to re-
covering the concrete structures under chloride-induced
corrosion by an efficient nondestructive treatment by three
different electrolytes (tap water, calcium hydroxide, and
lithium borate) applied temporarily to structures. Lithium
borate was identified as the most efficient electrolyte for
extracting chlorides, while calcium hydroxide had better
performance on restoring the passive state after corrosion,
healing the structure at another level, filling up possible
cracks. "e positive affect was also found due to a possible
electrodeposition of the electrolyte ions on the cement
matrix.
Conflicts of Interest
"e Guest Editors declare that they have no conflicts of
interest regarding the publication of this Special Issue.
Nadezda Stevulova
Kestutys Baltakys
Adriana Estokova
Vojtech Vaclavik
Sanja Dimter
2 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering