Towards increased adoption of furnace bottom ash as sustainable building materials: Characterization, standardization, and applications

The global demand for coal is projected to increase in the current decade despite concerns regarding climate change, which will lead to an increasing volume of coal waste products such as furnace bottom ash (FBA). The effective use of alternative building materials such as FBA is important to meet various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG12&13 for Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG9 for the promotion of sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation in infrastructure. This article aims to present a comprehensive review of the properties of FBA and its effect in cementitious composites in order to contribute to the development of relevant standards that frame, regulate, and encourage its usage as a sustainable and promising building material. The current article also provides an overview of the potential applications of FBA, as well as an extensive review of the crucial properties of FBA-based cementitious composites. It also covers the environmental benefits and cost feasibility related to using FBA as a sustainable building material. Finally, some obstacles to the recycling of FBA are highlighted, and gaps in the existing literature are identified, providing key directions for future research.