What is it about?

Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world, but it consumes huge amounts of natural sand and cement, which harms the environment. In this study, we developed a new type of fine concrete that uses sea sand and industrial by-products to reduce environmental impact while still being strong and reliable. Instead of relying only on river sand, we replaced part of it with carefully cleaned and graded sand taken from the sea. We also reduced the amount of cement by adding waste powders from other industries, such as fly ash from power plants, silica fume from silicon production, and slag from steelmaking. Using statistical optimization, we found the best combination of these materials. The resulting concrete was very strong and showed acceptable durability when exposed to salt and sulfate attack, which are common in marine and coastal environments. Although some durability indicators were slightly worse than conventional concrete, the performance was still within a usable range. Overall, this new mixture can help save natural resources, cut CO₂ emissions from cement, and make better use of industrial waste, offering a promising option for more sustainable construction.

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Why is it important?

This work is timely because many coastal regions are facing shortages of natural river sand while also dealing with growing piles of industrial waste. Our study tackles both problems at once by showing how sea sand and common industrial by-products (fly ash, silica fume, and slag) can be combined to make a high-strength, fine concrete. Unlike most previous research, we focus specifically on fine-grained concrete with marine quartz sand and use a systematic optimization method to find a mix that is both strong and more sustainable. What makes this study unique is that we do not just test a few trial mixes; we build and validate statistical models that link material proportions to strength and durability. This gives engineers and researchers a practical “recipe-finding” tool they can adapt for other local materials and performance targets. If adopted in practice, the approach could help reduce the use of natural river sand and cut cement-related CO₂ emissions, while offering a realistic pathway to using marine sand and industrial waste in real construction projects, especially in coastal and marine environments.

Perspectives

From my personal perspective, this publication reflects my own concern about how heavily modern construction depends on natural sand and high cement content. I wanted to show that we can design concrete mixes that are not only strong and practical, but also make smarter use of local and waste materials such as marine sand and industrial by-products. I am especially encouraged that a carefully optimized mix with lower cement content can still reach high strength while pointing toward more sustainable practice in coastal regions. At the same time, I see this work as a starting point rather than an endpoint: the durability trade-offs remind me that there is still much to improve before such mixtures can be widely adopted. My hope is that this study will motivate more researchers and engineers to refine, adapt, and apply similar approaches to their own local materials and environmental challenges.

Van Minh Nguyen

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Experimental optimization of sustainable fine-grained concrete with marine quartz sand, fly ash, silica fume, and ground granulated blast slag, Frontiers of Structural and Civil Engineering, November 2025, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s11709-025-1241-0.
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