Use of Wastes in Construction Industries as an Energy Saving Approach

In the modern society, demands and consumption of energy in different modes (electrical, thermal, fuel, etc.) are rising gradually for growing population, technological advancement, industrialization, transportation, construction and so on. Besides, natural resources are reducing and cost of energies is increasing day by day. Consequently, our awareness is concentrated to the sustainable development by: saving energy, using renewable energy, using alternative sources of fossil fuels, utilizing more waste materials etc. In this paper, a critical review and energy saving strategy by consumption of waste materials (slag, fly ash, rice husk ash, palm oil fuel ash, ash from timber) as a supplement of cement and/or ingredient of concrete have been presented. The technical and financial benefits of supplementary use of waste materials in cement and concrete have also been cited here. Based on the published documents, it can be concluded that effective utilization of these wastes as a supplement of cement or constituent of concrete will be a constructive and valuable way of saving energy as well as sustainable construction. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of University of Electronic Science and technology of China (UESTC).