Energy and CO₂ savings through recycling of aerated autoclaved concrete?

Recently, it has been observed that the recyclability of building materials is becoming an increasingly important parameter for their characterization. In order to be able to estimate recyclability, critical observations of the properties of the primary building material and the possible changes during use are sufficient in the first step. On this basis, concepts and technologies for recycling must be developed and tested. The use in the original product should be the first priority. If this is not possible or requires too much logistical and/or technological effort, other recycling routes must be examined. Among the properties of the primary building material with which an initial assessment of recyclability can be made, the chemical and mineralogical composition are of decisive interest. If the material is present as waste at the end of its service life, further parameters such as the crushability, the mechanical separability of connected materials and the phenotypic characteristics, on the basis of which the “wanted” material could be selected from construction waste mixtures, must be taken into account.