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Biochar-Based Cement and Concrete for Sustainable Construction

  • 1st Edition - November 7, 2025
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: Daniel C.W. Tsang, Xiaohong Zhu
  • Language: English

In response to the urgent need for achieving carbon neutrality in the construction industry, with Biochar-Based Cement and Concrete for Sustainable Construction, an international… Read more

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Description

In response to the urgent need for achieving carbon neutrality in the construction industry, with Biochar-Based Cement and Concrete for Sustainable Construction, an international group of experts has set out to provide a timely, comprehensive overview of biochar-enhanced cementitious materials. Although the method is relatively new, extensive research has been conducted in recent years to systematically gather information proving biochar as an ideal medium for carbon sequestration when used as an engineered additive in cementitious materials, but also to strengthen concrete in many key dimensions via enhancements to hydration and integration into the hardened matrix.
The volume stands out as an invaluable resource that offers up-to-date guidance on eco-efficient construction materials’ manufacturing and practical application examples backed by considerations regarding their environmental soundness. At the same time, it stimulates research into future developments with relevance to interdisciplinary audiences both in academia and industry.

Key features

  • Focuses on biochar for construction, spotlighting its utilization as a promising investment to contribute to sustainable development
  • Covers macro and micro properties of biochar to demonstrate that not only can it serve as a filler but also as a functionalized additive
  • Illustrates state-of-the-art application achievements of biochar-based cementitious materials and concrete

Readership

Academics and researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students in civil engineering/infrastructure engineering/construction operations and management/building materials/environmental engineering and management/architecture/heritage conservation. Practitioners in materials science/civil, structural, and infrastructure engineering/construction, architects, cultural heritage managers and conservation scientists, environmental consultants, building waste management companies, eco-efficient construction materials manufacturers, public and private bodies engaged in decisions to achieve a carbon-neutral built environment.

Table of contents

Part I: Using biochar to achieve carbon-neutral construction with traditional building materials

1. Application of biochar in cementitious materials: Life cycle assessment and costing

2. Biochar-augmented carbon-negative concrete

3. Biochar-improved cement composites for carbon sequestration

4. Low-carbon 3D-printed concrete by using biochar as a carbon sequestrator

5. Finite element modelling of biochar composites

6. Effects of various biochars on the physical, mechanical, and microstructural characteristics of cement pastes and mortars: A review

7. Carbon capture ability of biochar-based cement composites

Part II: Functionalised biochar as the value-added additive in cementitious materials

8. Biochar-carried bacteria for self-healing concrete

9. Chloride diffusion of biochar–cement composites

10. Thermal insulation of biochar-cement composites

11. Biochar-based shrinkage reducer in conventional and new cement

12. Biochar as the rheological modifier in three-dimensional printed concrete

Part III: Biochar used in new cement or special concrete products

13. Durability concerns of biochar in low-carbon concrete

14. Biochar-modified alkali-activated slag

15. Biochar-amended alkali-activated slag for the stabilization of coral sand in coastal areas

16. Biochar-based concrete composites in permeable block applications

17. Biochar as a carbon sequestration material combined with sewage sludge incineration ash for lightweight concrete production

18. Modelling of biochar-based concrete for structural components

19. Opportunities and future perspectives for biochar-enhanced construction

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: November 7, 2025
  • Language: English

About the editors

DT

Daniel C.W. Tsang

Daniel C.W. Tsang is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Pao Yue-Kong Chair Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization of Zhejiang University in China. He was a Professor and MSc Programme Leader at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland in Australia and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University in the US, an IMETE Scholar at Ghent University in Belgium, and a postdoctoral fellow at Imperial College London in the UK. With over 20 years of R&D experience, he has published more than 600 articles in top-tier journals and has been recognized among Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists and Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers in the fields of Engineering and Environment & Ecology. His team is dedicated to developing green technologies for long-term decarbonization and promoting resource circularity and sustainable development. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of npj Materials Sustainability (Springer Nature), Chairman of the Hong Kong Waste Management Association (2023-2025), and Chairman of the Waste Management Subcommittee of the Advisory Council on the Environment (2023 & 2024) of the Hong Kong SAR Government.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

XZ

Xiaohong Zhu

Xiaohong Zhu is a Professor of Civil Engineering Materials at Beijing University of Technology. Over the years, he has conducted research at Chongqing University, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Leeds, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in low-carbon cement and concrete technology, as well as aged concrete. Dr. Zhu has collaborated with Prof. Ian G. Richardson at the University of Leeds on the analysis of historically significant aged cement samples, including Joseph Aspdin’s patent Portland cement (Wakefield, UK) and William Aspdin’s cement (Sheerness, UK). Additionally, he has worked with Prof. Paulo J. M. Monteiro at UC Berkeley on studies of Roman concrete and concrete from the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Istanbul, Turkey).

Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Technology, Chaoyang, Beijing, China

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