Project description
Recycled aggregate concrete for low environmental impact
Concrete is made up of cement, water and aggregates, which account for up to 70 % of its volume. Using recycled aggregates can help recycle energy and reduce waste. However, despite research proving its feasibility, its utilisation in concrete production remains low. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CIRCLE project will create an international network dedicated to upscaling recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). It will improve knowledge of bio-based self-healing and carbonation of RAC, enhancing high-performance RAC, optimising the quality of recycled aggregates and assessing RAC applications through life cycle assessment. It will evaluate the environmental, economic and social benefits of RAC, promoting sustainability and a circular economy.
Objective
Concrete is the world’s second most-used material in construction, after water. It comprises three main ingredients: cement, water and aggregates. The latter constitute 60-70% of concrete’s total volume, representing a heavy environmental burden. Presently, the use of recycled aggregates (RA) in concrete production (reusing their embodied energy and decreasing waste dumping) is still marginal, even though its feasibility has been demonstrated at the research level. The overarching goal of the CIRCLE project is to form an international network of 10 organisations working to tackle the challenges in upscaling recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). The CIRCLE team includes interdisciplinary researchers renowned in this area, which will integrate their expertise towards the project’s overarching goal, following a carefully planned flowchart of activities: enhancing existing knowledge on bio-based self-healing and carbonation of RAC; fostering high-performance RAC; optimizing the quality of RA and RAC, and evaluating the potential of RAC through multi-criteria life cycle assessment; and assessing RAC in full-scale real applications. The intercontinental 342 PM planned in secondments within CIRCLE will be the vehicle for joint research, training and networking, which will benefit the institutions’ staff at all levels of seniority, as well as PhD students. CIRCLE spans European and Asian countries with a massive need for concrete infrastructure development. Given the overwhelming dominance of concrete worldwide as a structural material, the potential environmental, economic and social positive impacts of upscaling RAC are priceless. This has been perceived by authorities and stakeholders and there are ongoing initial efforts in some of the consortium countries to regulate this possibility, which makes CIRCLE very timely in terms of guidelines contribution. Promoting RAC through CIRCLE will foster sustainability and a circular economy, aligned with European and UN policies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-SE - HORIZON TMA MSCA Staff Exchanges
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-SE-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1049 001 Lisboa
Portugal
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