ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Construction Materials
This article is part of the Research TopicEco-Friendly Materials and Sustainable Technologies for Future InfrastructureView all 3 articles
Red Mud and Waste Glass as Low-Carbon Alkali Activators: Performance, Cost and Environmental Impact Assessment
Provisionally accepted
feng zhang1zhixin Wang2xipeng Wu2jiabing Guo2sai Liu3
Li Dongjun2*jianguo Hao4linlin wang4
Dawang Zhang5*tiantian yang5tiancheng Pan5- 1National Energy Group Guoyuan Electric Power Co., Ltd, beijing, China
- 2Shaanxi Deyuan Fugu Energy Co., Ltd, yulin, China
- 3Shaanxi Deyuan Fugu Energy Co., Ltd., Yulin, China
- 4China Coal Technology and Engineering Group Chongqing Research Institute, chongqing, China
- 5Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) present a compelling low-carbon alternative to traditional Portland cement. This study investigated the development and evaluation of low-carbon alkali activators (LC-AAs) derived from industrial by-products – specifically, red mud (RM) and waste glass powder (WGP) – dissolved in a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution, with the aim of substituting commercially available sodium silicate.The synergistic combination of RM and WGP modulates the key Si/Na (3.9–11.91) and Si/Al (1.13–1.49) ratios: RM provides abundant reactive Al to optimize the Si/Al ratio for dense gel formation, while WGP supplies soluble Si to adjust the Si/Na ratio and promote aluminosilicate polymerization, which constitutes the core novelty of this study. AAMs were synthesized utilizing fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as precursors, and their mechanical properties, microstructure, economic viability, and environmental footprint were comprehensively assessed. While a modest decrease in 28-day compressive strength was observed (from 32.58 MPa to 29.2 MPa), the incorporation of LC-AAs resulted in substantial reductions in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions (78%), and embodied energy (69.8%). Notably, the utilization of RM and WGP achieves a 32% cost reduction compared to commercial activators, which is a direct result of waste valorization without involving additional factors such as reduced energy consumption. These findings support the viability of employing RM and WGPas effective low-carbon activators, offering valuable perspectives for the advancement of sustainable construction practices.
Keywords: Alkali-activated materials, Cost and Environmental Impact Assessment, low-carbon alkali activators, Red mud, Waste glass powder
Received: 26 Nov 2025; Accepted: 29 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 zhang, Wang, Wu, Guo, Liu, Dongjun, Hao, wang, Zhang, yang and Pan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Li Dongjun
Dawang Zhang
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.