A Review on The Impact of Industrial by-products ‎as Cementitious ‎Materials on the behavior of ‎concrete

Abstract

The paper gives a systematic literature review about the use of industrial by-products, fly ‎ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), silica fume, and waste glass powder as ‎supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in concrete. Which identifies, screens, and critically ‎synthesizes over 50 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2025. The paper provides a ‎thorough analysis and discussion of the chemical and physical properties, pozzolanic and hydraulic ‎activities and effects on fresh and hardened concrete, workability, setting time, strength ‎development, and long-term durability. Moreover, it discusses the environmental and financial ‎effects, including CO₂ emissions, landfill waste diversion, cost efficiency, and conservation of ‎resources. The findings indicate that fly ash (15-30% replacement) strengthens in the long term and ‎provides sulfate resistance; silica fume (5-10%) strengthens early age strength and impermeability; ‎GGBFS (30-50%) makes it stronger in adverse environments; and waste glass powder reduces ‎alkali-silica reactivity and encourages waste application. Altogether, the analyzed literature suggests ‎that SCMs have the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions from cement production by up to 50 percent ‎and contribute to a circular economy.‎