CAN CONCRETE BE GREEN IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA?

CAN CONCRETE BE GREEN IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA?

DŽIDIĆ, Sanin

Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on May 17, 2000. The Kyoto Protocol was signed and ratified by the governments of 192 states and territories in the world. The Kyoto Protocol was ratified by Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 22, 2007, after completion of ratification procedures of all government levels. The First National Report of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance to the UNFCCC was issued in 2009 and the Second National Report of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance to the UNFCCC was adopted by B&H Council of Ministers in July 2013. The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to environment what caused many to focus on CO2 emissions as the most critical environment impact indicator. Concrete is by far the most widely used construction material worldwide. One of its major components is Portland cement as a binder. Total production of cement in Bosnia and Herzegovina is about 850,000 tons in 2012, while fresh concrete production and concrete products amount approximately to 1,300,000 tons in 2012. Taking in consideration that production of every ton of cement yields to approximately 0.9 tons of CO2 and every cubic meter of concrete contains about ten percent by weight of cement, significant quantity of CO2 is produced by cement industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is estimation in 2001, that cement industry emissions of CO2 represented around 4 percent of total CO2 emissions by energy and industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, substituting significant amounts of cement in concrete mixture with industrial by-products such as silica fume, fly ash and blast furnace slag also leads to minimization of cement consumption, even producing more durable concrete. This paper discuss possibilities in decreasing CO2 emissions in cement and concrete industry, as well as necessity of following directions of green and sustainable building in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Key Words: CO2 emission, cement, concrete, green buildings

Article
PeerReviewed

ISSN 978-9958-834-36-3

International Burch University

2014-05-15

2493