Project Description:

This proposed project aims to further advance the “greening” of pervious concrete pavement through the utilization of nanotechnology. Different from Phase I of this project, the Phase II will further incorporate three green technologies into the pervious concrete: (1) use seawater (in place of potable water) and sea sand (in place of river sand); (2) use slag and class F harvested fly ash (HFA, in place of class C high-quality fly ash); and (3) use carbon-negative biochar to partially replace the fly ash-based geopolymer binder.  Note that in the Phase I project, we leverage two WSU-patented technologies (US Patent 10647612 on geopolymer binder and a non-provisional patent on nano-engineered penetrating sealer) to develop a sustainable pervious concrete technology. Different from conventional pervious concrete, this technology will feature: 1) 100% replacement of cement by a cement-free geopolymer binder made possible by modifying waterglass-activated fly ash with less than 0.05 wt.% graphene oxide (a novel nanomaterial); 2) greatly improved durability of the pervious concrete pavement by customized design of initial water infiltration rate and treatment of hardened concrete by a nano-engineered waterproofing sealer.

US DOT Priorities:

The project advances the “Climate and Sustainability” strategic goal of US DOT, as it produces research that leads to more sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation systems.

Outputs:

By using seawater, sea sand, HFA, and biochar to produce "greener" pervious concrete, this project will likely produce patentable technology. The project will also produce publications, presentations, and technical reports that produce improved understanding of how to enable the use of such unconventional constituents in pervious concrete. This project will produce at least one paper for presentation at the TRB annual meeting (or equivalent) and at least one publication in peer-reviewed journal. The PI will deliver a presentation at the ERTC3 annual meeting and deliver one webinar on behalf of ERTC3 to the broader audience.

Outcomes/Impacts:

This project will produce knowledge and know-how to enable the production of a notably more sustainable pervious concrete mixture. This work is expected to produce substantial benefits for state departments of transportation (DOTs), county, city and/or tribal stakeholders where seawater, sea sand and harvested fly ash are readily available. Pervious concrete enables the use of space that is already part of the roadway system for stormwater runoff control, thus reducing the need for additional land. Reducing the amount of impervious surfaces may reduce or prevent the need for other stormwater management infrastructure (e.g., ponds, wetlands, and vegetated swales and filter strips), by decreasing the volume, flow rate and contaminant loading in stormwater runoff. Other potential benefits include: reducing heat-island effect and pavement noise; reducing hydroplaning, glaring or other safety hazards due to water on pavements; and minimizing impact to the local ecosystem. The expanded use of fly ash and other recycled materials in concrete will also be enabled. Application of results could contribute to globally significant environmental parameters including: improved water quality, reduced waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced natural resource extraction.

 
_{Figure 1. The benefits and influences of pervious concrete as a part of the transportation infrastructure on the environment}