Global cement market generates a large amount of greenhouse gases, driving a great interest in developing low-carbon construction materials for climate goals. Although free lime (f-CaO) and low hydration activity limit the applications in construction materials, steel slag, as an alkaline solid waste, is widely regarded as a sustainable alternative to cement. Here, we propose an in-situ calcium phase design strategy of steel slag and develop a high-performance cementitious material through pre-hydration. The pre-hydration effectively reduces the risk of the f-CaO expansion and prevents the occurrence of micro cracks. With the addition of fly ash and alkaline activator, a high elastic modulus Na-rich gel is generated and improves the material's compressive strength by 133.7%. Carbon footprint analysis indicates that the global-warming potential of the high-performance cementitious material (232–265 kg CO2-eq ton−1) is only about 34-40% of that of cement, helping to reduce about 2.2–3.0 Gt CO2-eq from the global cement market. Interestingly, additional energy compensation (heat or microwave) is proven to expeditiously enhance the mechanical properties of the cementitious material and shorten production cycles without bringing excessive CO2 emissions. This work inspires the strategic utilization of alkaline solid waste in a simple way. The Cement market drives massive GHG emissions, spurring low-carbon material innovation. Here, authors propose a prehydration strategy to convert steel slag into high-performance cementitious material. Crucially, its carbon footprint is just 34–40% of cement's, offering a positive climate solution.
He et al. (2025) studied this question.