Evaluation of sustainable concrete produced with desalinated reject brine

With the intent of reducing the carbon footprint of concrete production, a study was carried out to determine the effect of using reject brine as the source of water and the use of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as a replacement for cement. Concrete samples having three different cement contents were prepared with normal tap water and reject brine. Results showed that the use of GGBS and reject brine improved the strength of concrete produced by 16.5%. Replacing 50% of the cement with GGBS and using reject brine as the source of water has a potential for reducing 176 kg CO2 and 1.7-3.4 kg of CO2 equivalents per one cubic meter of concrete, respectively. The use of the waste reject brine can potentially save USD 170-340 per cubic meter of concrete produced.