Environmental Efficiency Aspects of Basalt Fibers Reinforcement in Concrete Mixtures

Modern building materials must fulfill not only functional performance criteria but also reduce the environmental impact accompanied by their production. Within the past decades, fiber-reinforced materials have been found to be promising and durable materials that can be utilized in various fields. Among a wide range of reinforcement types, basalt fibers have been introduced as an alternative to broadly used steel fibers. As informed by the available literature, benefits linked with less energy-intensive production indicate a very good potential application of this material in terms of functional properties and, at the same time, a reduction in environmental burden. However, only a very limited amount of information is available on the actual impact of using basalt fibers in terms of environmental impact. In order to fill this gap, the present study describes, using Life Cycle Assessment, the environmental impacts associated with the production of basalt fibers. In order provide a more reliable and coherent overview, an analysis combining functional and environmental indicators was performed. The presented results reveal that the use of basalt reinforcement provides a significantly lower environmental intensity per strength unit, especially in the case of compressive and flexural strength.