After a decade of intensive research into the recycling of End-of-Life (EOL) concrete into high-grade new concrete, largely supported by funding from the European Commission, it appears that a circular economy for concrete is techno-economically feasible. A collection of advanced technologies, in particular smart demolition for clean mono-flows of EOL concrete, new attrition and classification processes for removing the fine, moist-, lights- and cement-rich fraction from coarser aggregates, sensor sorters for removing larger pieces of wood, plastics and metals from recycle aggregate, green thermal treatment for concentrating and purifying the EOL cement paste and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy tools for verifying the quality of input materials for the mortar facilities, have been put into place to make recycled concrete in some technical aspects even superior to concrete made from river gravel. And at competitive costs. Is this enough to make the transition to circular concrete into a success? Not necessarily. The integration of circular concrete into the routine of construction requires new procedures and agreements between stakeholders to avoid risks in producing an extremely cheap but at the same time strongly quality-guaranteed concrete commodity from a new and variable feedstock. It is argued that extremely tight quality checks should be installed in combination with a commitment of the entire chain to gently increase the fraction of recycled materials into new concrete as the EOL concrete flow grows as a consequence of phasing out buildings from the post-war boom.@en

The ever-increasing interest on sustainable raw materials has urged the quest for recycled materials that can be used as a partial or total replacement of fine fractions in the production of concrete. This paper demonstrates a modelling study of recycled concrete waste fines and the possibility of turning them into active constituents for the production of concrete. When construction demolition waste (CDW) fines with particle size 0 - 4mm are exposed to a hot environment, different reactions will occur, especially dehydration and phase changes. A one- dimensional (1D) transient model is developed to predict the conversion of the hydrated concrete fines into their dehydrated state, in which the key processes inside the particle and at the boundary layer outside the particle are properly addressed. The model predicts a final composition of the particle that resembles cement clinker, which means a high potential for reuse in manufacturing concrete. Finally, model results for the mass loss during conversion are experimentally validated using thermogravimetric study. @en

Production of waste materials, via industrial and human activities, creates big environmental and economic problems but also opportunities to recover valuable resources. EU28 currently generates 461 million tons per year of ever more complex Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) with average recycling rates of around 46%. There is still a significant loss of potential valuable minerals, metals and organic materials all over Europe. Considering the fact that public and private sectors have become aware of the urgency and importance of CDW recycling, the European Commission has taken initiatives towards sustainable treatment and recycling of CDW funding three tandem projects focusing on the development of an innovative and sustainable concrete recycling process. To that end, this article will firstly present the main achievements and ongoing activities for developing the innovative concrete recycling technology in the course of the EU C2CA, HISER and VEEP projects. In addition some figures related to the cost of each recycling unit process and the selling price of the recycled products are presented. @en