Sustainability and the quest for a more robust construction material cannot be divorced from each other. While Portland cement has revolutionized the construction sector, its environmental toll, particularly in greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, cannot be ignored. Addressing this dilemma requires embracing alternatives like geopolymer cement/geopolymer binder (GPC/GPB). Over the last few decades, considerable strides have been achieved in advancing GPC as a sustainable construction material, including its utilization in pavement construction. Despite these advances, gaps still exist in GPC optimal potential in pavement construction, as most studies have concentrated on specific attributes rather than on a comprehensive evaluation. To bridge this gap, this review adopts a novel, holistic approach by integrating environmental impacts with performance metrics. To set the stage, this review first delves into the geopolymer concept from a chemistry perspective, providing an essential broad overview for exploring GPC’s innovations and implications in pavement applications. The findings reveal that GPC not only significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption compared to Portland cement but also enhances pavement performance. Further, GPC concrete pavement exhibits superior mechanical, durability, and thermal properties to ensure its long-term performance in pavement applications. However, challenges to GPC utilization as a pavement material include the variability of raw materials, the need for suitable hardeners, the lack of standardized codes and procedures, cost competitiveness, and limited field data. Despite these challenges, the process of geopolymerization presents GPC as a sustainable material for pavement construction, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 9, 11, and 12.

The dominant factors in Microbial Influenced Corrosion (MIC) are hard to determine because normally several individual species and their metabolites are involved, and, moreover, different metabolites may cause opposing effects. To address this problem, the effects of individual metabolites from different species should be elucidated when at the same time other metabolites are held constant. In this study, the role is investigated of simulated organic acid metabolites, namely, acetic and L–ascorbic acids, on corrosion of geo-energy pipelines (carbon steel) in a simulated Sulfate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) environment. The SRB environment is simulated using a calcium alginate biofilm, abiotic sulfide, CO₂, and NaCl brine. The electrochemical results show that both simulated organic acid metabolites accelerate corrosion in a simulated SRB environment. The results are further supported by electrochemical weight losses, kinetic corrosion activation parameters, multiple linear regression, ICP-OES, pH, and XRD. However, a comparison of electrochemical results with those published in the literature for a simulated SRB environment without acetic or L-ascorbic acid under similar experimental conditions shows that the presence of acetic in this study results in lower corrosion current densities while in presence of L-ascorbic acid results into higher corrosion current densities. This implies that acetic and L-ascorbic acids inhibit and accelerate corrosion, respectively. In addition, the results highlight that H₂S is a key role of corrosion in the presence of organic acid. The results of this study are important new and novel information on the role of acetic and L-ascorbic acids in corrosion of geo-energy pipelines in the SRB environment.

Growing concerns about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and adverse climate changes primarily stemming from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in traditional Portland cement (OPC) used in civil engineering construction, have prompted a shift toward eco-friendly alternatives like geopolymer cement (GPC). Over the last few decades, significant advancements have been made in developing environmentally sustainable pavement construction materials such as GPC to mitigate global CO2 emissions. The success of geopolymer cement (GPC) as an eco-friendly alternative to OPC has garnered attention for its potential to lower carbon emissions and enhance durability. This is attributed to the sustainable production method of GPC, where industrial cementitious waste materials (such as fly ash (FA), metakaolin (MK), mine tailings (MT), slag, etc.) are combined with an eco-friendly alkaline activator and water through the geopolymerization process. Numerous studies on geopolymer concrete indicate that, like OPC, GPC exhibits comparable mechanical properties, including strength, fire resistance, chemical resistance, and durability. This review explores the properties and applications of GPC as a sustainable material in pavement construction, exploring key studies and advancements in geopolymer technology, particularly its suitability for pavement applications. The assessment covers the mechanical properties, long-term performance, and environmental impact of geopolymer-based pavements, providing a comprehensive overview to inform policymakers, engineers, and researchers about the viability of geopolymer-based materials as a sustainable solution for modern pavement construction.