A sustainable solution for the global construction industry can be partial substitution of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) sourced from industrial end-of-life (EOL) products that contain calcareous, siliceous and aluminous materials. Candidate EOL materials include fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), natural pozzolanic materials like sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), palm oil fuel ash (POFA), rice husk ash (RHA), mine tailings, marble dust, construction and demolition debris (CDD). Studies have revealed these materials to be cementitious and/or pozzolanic in nature. Their use as SCMs would decrease the amount of cement used in the production of concrete, decreasing carbon emissions associated with cement production. In addition to cement substitution, EOL products as SCMs have also served as coarse and also fine aggregates in the production of eco-friendly concretes.

Pronounced tectonic and paleogeographic changes were detected in the Alpine–Pannonian region during the Miocene at the interface between the Alps, the Dinarides, and the Pannonian Basin. To understand the major tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatic changes during this period, geochemical and mineralogical investigations were carried out on the fine-grained clastic sedimentary rocks in the Tunjice Hills. The paleoweathering indicates a cold and/or arid to a warm and humid period. The paleoclimate and the regional climatic conditions correspond well with the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. The mineral composition shows an abundance of quartz and calcite. Quartz is associated with detrital origin from volcanic and metamorphic rocks of the Eastern and Southern Alps and with authigenic processes in sediments. Calcite is related to authigenic origin formed in shallow marine environments and to detrital provenance from the Southern Alps. Not all discriminant functions based on major oxides provided adequate results in determining the tectonic setting. The source rocks were subjected to oceanic island arc and collision. Moreover, sedimentation was influenced by both active and passive margin settings. The former is related to the Alpine collision, which continued from the Cenozoic onward, and the latter is connected to the processes associated with the formation of the Pannonian Basin System, which began in the late Early Miocene.

The main objective of the study was to produce alternative binder materials, obtained with low cost, low energy consumption, and low CO₂ production, by regenerating end-of-life (EOL) materials from mineral deposits, to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The materials analyzed were ash and slag from the Turceni thermal power plant deposit, Romania. These were initially examined for morphology, mineralogical composition, elemental composition, degree of crystallinity, and heating behavior, to determine their ability to be used as a potential source of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) and to establish the activation and transformation temperature in the SCM. The in-situ pozzolanic behavior of commercial cement, as well as cement mixtures with different percentages of ash addition, were further observed. The mechanical resistance, water absorption, sorptivity capacity, resistance to alkali reactions (ASR), corrosion resistance, and resistance to reaction with sulfates were evaluated in this study using low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy.

This study investigated the sources of carbon and nitrogen in a small, silicate-dominated catchment (Oplotnica River, Pohorje, Slovenia) with two creeks, Lukanjski and Javorski, from 2012 to 2014. Additionally, carbon and nitrogen cycling in soil profiles was studied at Javorski Creek. Isotopic analyses of river water, particulates, and sediments provided a more holistic view of the sources of carbon and nitrogen, weathering contributions, and the evasion or sequestration of CO ₂ in the atmosphere within the catchments. The weathering of rocks, such as granodiorite and quartz diorite, influences water geochemistry. The Oplotnica River and its tributaries were characterized by the ion composition: Na ⁺ > Ca ²⁺ > Mg ²⁺ > K ⁺ and HCO ₃ ⁻ > SO ₄ ²⁻ > Cl ⁻ > NO ₃ ⁻ . Partial pressure of CO ₂ concentrations in river and creeks ranged from 1.1 to 13.4 times that of atmospheric pressure, representing a source of CO ₂ to the atmosphere. The carbon isotope value of dissolved inorganic carbon ( δ ¹³ C _DIC ) ranged from − 9.8 to − 1.4‰ in river, while in the creeks, it ranged from − 26.1 to − 4.7‰, reflecting the degradation of organic matter and exchange with the atmosphere. The intensity of bicarbonate weathering for the Oplotnica River at its gauging station was 10.4 mmol/(l⋅km ² ⋅s), characteristic of silicate watersheds. The isotopic composition of carbon ( δ ¹³ C) and nitrogen ( δ ¹⁵ N) in river sediments reflects values typical of soil and temperate (C3) plants. This study is significant on both local and global levels, as it addresses the contribution of weathering rates and the release of CO ₂ to the atmosphere from small silicate watersheds.