Use of Ceramic Waste Powder as a Partial Cement Replacement in Concrete—A Review of Microstructure and Durability Properties

Cement is one of the concrete materials associated with the highest environmental concerns. Its production is energy-intensive and releases a significant amount of CO₂, contributing to climate change and environmental degradation. The concrete industry actively seeks sustainable alternatives to traditional Portland cement to address these challenges. The expectation is to develop low-carbon cement with waste materials as part of the cement constituents. Using ceramic waste powder (CWP) as a partial replacement for cement is a promising approach to achieving sustainable concrete. This addresses both environmental concerns and resource conservation. Incorporating CWP into cement constituents also possesses the potential to improve concrete microstructure, mechanical, structural, and durability properties. This paper reviews the microstructure and durability properties of concrete mixtures containing CWP as partial cement replacement. Ceramic waste powder originates from different products such as tableware, cookware, pottery, electric insulators, tiles, and sanitary wares. This study focuses on concrete made of cement containing ceramic waste tiles and sanitary waste powder. The results highlight CWP’s promising ability as an alternative cement material. However, the available literature lacks enough evidence to conclusively classify its role as an inert filler or supplementary cementitious material, mainly due to uncertainty surrounding its pozzolanic reactivity.