Breakthrough Construction Materials A Practical Guide to Circular Economy Implementation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63995/KFZV4805Keywords:
Circular Economy, Sustainable Construction Materials, Resource Efficiency, Low-Carbon Building, Material Reuse and Recycling, Green Construction PracticesAbstract
The construction industry is one of the largest consumers of raw materials and a significant contributor to global waste, demanding urgent adoption of sustainable practices. This paper explores breakthrough construction materials that enable the practical implementation of circular economy principles in the built environment. Emphasis is placed on innovative materials derived from recycled, renewable, and bio-based resources, alongside advanced composites and low-carbon alternatives to conventional cement and steel. The study highlights design strategies that promote material reuse, recyclability, and life-cycle efficiency, offering insights into how closed-loop systems can be integrated into construction processes. Case studies demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of circular approaches, reducing waste, carbon emissions, and resource dependency. By presenting both technological innovations and practical guidelines, this research provides industry professionals, policymakers, and academics with actionable pathways toward sustainable construction, aligning the sector with global climate goals and resource efficiency targets.
Downloads
References
[1] Monalisa Behera, SK Bhattacharyya, AK Minocha, R Deoliya, and S Maiti. “Recycled aggregate from C&D waste & its use in concrete–A breakthrough towards sustainability in construction sector: A review”. In: Construction and building materials 68 (2014), pp. 501–516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.07.003
[2] Catalin Popescu, Hiranya Dissanayake, Egla Mansi, and Adrian Stancu. “Eco Breakthroughs: Sustainable Materials Transforming the Future of Our Planet”. In: Sustainability 16.23 (2024), p. 10790. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310790
[3] GO Bamigboye, I Davies, C Nwanko, T Michaels, G Adeyemi, and O Ozuor. “Innovation in construction materials-a review”. In: IOP conference series: materials science and engineering. Vol. 640. 1. IOP Publishing. 2019, p. 012070. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/640/1/012070
[4] Johanna Lehne and Felix Preston. “Making concrete change: Innovation in low-carbon cement and concrete”. In: Chatham House Report 13 (2018).
[5] JE Oti, JM Kinuthia, and JJEG Bai. “Engineering properties of unfired clay masonry bricks”. In: Engineering Geology 107.3-4 (2009), pp. 130–139. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2009.05.002
[6] Ronald Mascitelli. “From experience: harnessing tacit knowledge to achieve breakthrough innovation”. In: Journal of Product Innovation Management: an International Publication of the Product Development & Management Association 17.3 (2000), pp. 179–193. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5885.1730179
[7] William Coetzee, Reiner Khumalo, Brendan Le Roux, and Ebrahim Van Wyk. “Sickle Cell Disease: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment”. In: Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) 3.1 (2022), pp. 275–286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63995/KRPR3602
[8] Norzaireen Mohd Azmee and Nasir Shafiq. “Ultra-high performance concrete: From fundamental to applications”. In: Case Studies in Construction Materials 9 (2018), e00197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2018.e00197
[9] Qirui Wu, Jinfeng Liu, Xiaohong Wang, Lingyan Feng, Jinbo Wu, Xiaoli Zhu, Weijia Wen, and Xiuqing Gong. “Organ-on-a-chip: recent breakthroughs and future prospects”. In: Biomedical engineering online 19.1 (2020), p. 9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12938-020-0752-0
[10] William G Holliday, Larry D Yore, and Donna E Alvermann. “The reading–science learning–writing connection: Breakthroughs, barriers, and promises”. In: Journal of research in science teaching 31.9 (1994), pp. 877–893. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660310905
[11] Bill Gates. How to avoid a climate disaster: the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need. Vintage, 2021.
[12] Patricia D Stokes. Creativity from constraints: The psychology of breakthrough. Springer Publishing Company, 2005.
[13] Jay W Forrester. “Industrial dynamics: a major breakthrough for decision makers”. In: The Roots of Logistics. Springer, 2012, pp. 141–172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27922-5_13
[14] Linnea Daniel, Sondre Robin, and Matthew Aleksander. “Future Facts: Unveiling Mental Health Issues in the Digital Age”. In: Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) 3.2 (2022), pp. 354–365. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63995/THDO7793
[15] Katsuhiko Ariga, Jonathan P Hill, Michael V Lee, Ajayan Vinu, Richard Charvet, and Somobrata Acharya. “Challenges and breakthroughs in recent research on self-assembly”. In: Science and technology of advanced materials (2008). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1468-6996/9/1/014109
[16] Mei Yang and Zhen Zhou. “Recent breakthroughs in supercapacitors boosted by nitrogen-rich porous carbon materials”. In: Advanced science 4.8 (2017), p. 1600408. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201600408
[17] Joseph Davidovits. “years of successes and failures in geopolymer applications. Market trends and potential breakthroughs”. In: Geopolymer 2002 conference. Vol. 28. Geopolymer institute Saint-Quentin, France; Melbourne, Australia. 2002, p. 29.
[18] Ye Tao, Kai Yuan, Ting Chen, Peng Xu, Huanhuan Li, Runfeng Chen, Chao Zheng, Lei Zhang, and Wei Huang. “Thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials towards the breakthrough of organoelectronics”. In: Advanced materials 26.47 (2014), pp. 7931–7958. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201402532
[19] Heiner Roetz. Confucian ethics of the axial age: A reconstruction under the aspect of the breakthrough toward postconventional thinking. State University of New York Press, 1993.
[20] Ken Jowitt. Revolutionary breakthroughs and national development: the case of Romania, 1944-1965. Univ of California Press, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.2430458
[21] Youssef Yaisien, Yahya Fayek, and Haytham Sharawi. “Climate Change and its Profound Effects on Marine Climate”. In: Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) 4.2 (2023), pp. 432–444. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63995/ENUD2808
[22] Thomas Brock. “Young adults and higher education: Barriers and breakthroughs to success”. In: The future of children (2010), pp. 109–132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0040
[23] Wenzhong Zhu, Peter JM Bartos, and A Porro. “Application of nanotechnology in construction: Summary of a State-of-the-art Report”. In: Materials and structures 37.9 (2004), pp. 649–658. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02483294
[24] Seyed Hamidreza Ghaffar, Matthew Burman, and Nuhu Braimah. “Pathways to circular construction: An integrated management of construction and demolition waste for resource recovery”. In: Journal of cleaner production 244 (2020), p. 118710. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118710
[25] Yongfei Zeng, Ruqiang Zou, and Yanli Zhao. “Covalent organic frameworks for CO2 capture”. In: Advanced Materials 28.15 (2016), pp. 2855–2873. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201505004
[26] Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, and Simone Ahuja. Jugaad innovation: Think frugal, be flexible, generate breakthrough growth. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
[27] E Sarah Slaughter. “Models of construction innovation”. In: Journal of Construction Engineering and management 124.3 (1998), pp. 226–231. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1998)124:3(226)
[28] Natalia Garavano, Francisca Sadosky, and Facundo Bulgheroni. “Protein Structure Prediction Tools and Computational Approaches”. In: Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) 4.2 (2023), pp. 498–509. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63995/MWCU4408
[29] Gautam Ahuja and Curba Morris Lampert. “Entrepreneurship in the large corporation: A longitudinal study of how established firms create breakthrough inventions”. In: Strategic management journal 22.6-7 (2001), pp. 521–543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.176
[30] Melissa A Schilling and Elad Green. “Recombinant search and breakthrough idea generation: An analysis of high impact papers in the social sciences”. In: Research Policy 40.10 (2011), pp. 1321–1331. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2011.06.009
[31] Jesper Sand Damtoft, Jacques Lukasik, Duncan Herfort, Danielle Sorrentino, and Ellis Martin Gartner. “Sustainable development and climate change initiatives”. In: Cement and concrete research 38.2 (2008), pp. 115–127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2007.09.008
[32] James L Heskett. Service breakthroughs. Simon and Schuster, 1990.
[33] Manuela Horvat, Valentina Novak, Frederik Antunovic, and Dario Blazevic. “Reflecting on the Mutation Rate Variability in Plant Genomes: An In-depth Analysis”. In: Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) 5.1 (2024), pp. 556–567. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63995/TZCK7098
[34] Douglas Holt and Douglas Cameron. Cultural strategy: Using innovative ideologies to build breakthrough brands. Oxford University Press, 2010.
[35] Sabbie A Miller, Arpad Horvath, and Paulo JM Monteiro. “Readily implementable techniques can cut annual CO2 emissions from the production of concrete by over 20%”. In: Environmental Research Letters 11.7 (2016), p. 074029. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/7/074029
[36] Larry Keeley, Helen Walters, Ryan Pikkel, and Brian Quinn. Ten types of innovation: The discipline of building breakthroughs. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
[37] Arnon Bentur. “Cementitious materials—nine millennia and a new century: past, present, and future”. In: Journal of materials in civil engineering 14.1 (2002), pp. 2–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2002)14:1(2)
[38] Liam Connor, Rebecca Kelly, Saoirse Murphy, Eoghan McCarthy, and Edward Murray. “Analysis of AutoML Tools in the World of Automated Deep Learning”. In: Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR) 5.1 (2024), pp. 541–555. DOI: https://doi.org/10.63995/FXPC8243
[39] Rui-Biao Lin, Shengchang Xiang, Wei Zhou, and Banglin Chen. “Microporous metal-organic framework materials for gas separation”. In: Chem 6.2 (2020), pp. 337–363. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2019.10.012
[40] Zhen-Feng Huang, Lun Pan, Ji-Jun Zou, Xiangwen Zhang, and Li Wang. “Nanostructured bismuth vanadate-based materials for solar-energy-driven water oxidation: a review on recent progress”. In: Nanoscale 6.23 (2014), pp. 14044–14063. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C4NR05245E
[41] Hamidi Abdul Aziz, Mohd Suffian Yusoff, Mohd Nordin Adlan, Nurul Hidayah Adnan, and Salina Alias. “Physico-chemical removal of iron from semi-aerobic landfill leachate by limestone filter”. In: Waste management 24.4 (2004), pp. 353–358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2003.10.006
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© The Author(s). Published by Fusion of Multidisciplinary Research, An International Journal (FMR), Netherlands.
This 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 author(s) and source are credited.