Geopolymer Concrete—Advancements, Challenges and Future Prospects

The major crisis facing today’s world is scarcity of resources and global warming. The most widely used infrastructure development material is cement concrete. The production of cement concrete is highly energy and resource intensive and it emits a lot of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) can address the above issues effectively. In geopolymer concrete, alkali-activated aluminosilicate is used as binding material and the source material used is any industrial wastes which are rich in alumina and silica. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the manufacture of ambient-cured GPC from various industrial waste. Properties such as mechanical, microstructural and durability were reviewed. A discussion about geopolymerisation process, mix design, different source materials, properties affecting performance of GPC, curing conditions and the effect of elevated temperature on GPC was also carried out. Recent developments like alternate binders and nanotechnology in the field of GPC were also considered. It is reported that ambient-cured GPC possess comparable mechanical properties compared to normal concrete. Alkaline to binder ratio, molarity of solution, curing conditions, workability, etc., play a major role in the development of mechanical properties. Overall, this state-of-the-art paper provides a comprehensive overview of geopolymer concrete, highlighting its advantages, challenges and future prospects.