sustainability
GFRP Reinforcement over Steel
One of the biggest sources of carbon in the world is the steel industry.
About 1.83 tonnes of carbon dioxide are released with every ton of steel produced, which amounts to 7-8% of all emissions worldwide. The construction industry is thought to use around half of all steel produced, and 44% of the steel used in building is for reinforcement. This translates to a staggering 1.5% of all carbon emissions in the world being attributed to steel rebar.
Additionally, a key problem that frequently results in structural degradation and the early termination of a structure’s service life is concrete spalling brought on by steel reinforcement corrosion. Corrosion of reinforced concrete and steel infrastructure alone damages the US economy an estimated US$22 billion annually.
The effects of steel-reinforced concrete on the environment are further exacerbated by the expenses, emissions, and waste related to the upkeep, maintenance, destruction, and replacement of buildings.
Through the adoption of more ecologically friendly substitutes for steel reinforcement, such as glass fiber reinforced polymer, this presents a chance for the industry to decarbonize (GFRP).
Environmental Benefits of GFRP in multiple places
According to a study by the University of South Australia, steel substitutes like GFRP can now provide enough structural performance for reinforcing concrete at comparable or lower costs than steel because of developments in material technology.
Another study, conducted by the Malaviya National Institute of Technology, compared the usage of steel rebar with non-metal alternatives, including GFRP, and found that, per tonne generated, GFRP creates significantly fewer emissions than steel. The study also allowed for the actual volume of material required for a genuine project and took into account the design capacity of the reinforcement.
According to the study’s findings, GFRP reinforced beams use approximately half as much energy as steel equivalents while emitting 43% less CO2 (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Parametric study results plot of emissions and energy consumption of steel rebar vs. non-metallic rebar alternatives. Source: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC COMPARISON OF FRP REINFORCEMENTS AND STEEL REINFORCEMENTS IN CONCRETE BEAMS BASED ON DESIGN STRENGTH PARAMETER by N Garg & S Shrivastava, (Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur, India & Govt. Engineering College, Bikaner, India)
In addition to reducing emissions, GFRP also reduces the need for natural resource usage. According to preliminary research, GFRP could make it possible to produce concrete using seawater, sea sand, and sea aggregates rather than using precious resources like fresh water, river sand, and crushed rock. Additional advantages of seawater concrete include a lower cement content, reduced transportation costs, and the potential to recycle the concrete’s components for use in new seawater concrete after the structure has served its purpose.
Road freight accounts for around 5% of all carbon emissions worldwide, with construction freight accounting for about 12% of overall freight volume. Another industry that has the potential to significantly reduce its carbon footprint through more efficient building techniques and wiser material choices is the construction industry.
Over 3 times as much as concrete, steel weighs about 7,850 kg/m3. As a result, the amount of reinforcement that can be transported by a single truck is limited by the weight of steel.
Due to its fourth the weight of steel, GFRP significantly increases the amount of reinforcement that can be transported by a single truck, improving the efficiency of transportation. As a result, each project might save hundreds or even thousands of freight kilometers.
Image: Shows an electric forklift carrying 500 MST BAR 10mm rebars onto a standard ute. This will cover approx. 750sqm of reinforcement saving heavy vehicles on our roads.
Infrastructure-related reinforced concrete is intended to last for 100 years. This only applies to buildings for 50 years. In actuality, reinforced concrete buildings frequently begin to decay in as little as 10 to 20 years.
Inadequate cover depth on the steel reinforcement or cracking in the concrete outside the intended tolerances are just two examples of how poor quality control during construction can weaken the design life of a project. These can significantly shorten the structure’s total service life by exposing the steel reinforcing to premature corrosion.
It is predicted to cost trillions of dollars to repair and replace prematurely degraded buildings and infrastructure in the US alone, and that doing so will produce a sizable amount of waste and carbon emissions.
The major weakness of reinforced concrete, corrosion-induced concrete spalling, is eliminated by using a non-corrosive reinforcing alternative like GFRP, greatly increasing the longevity of reinforced concrete. This includes a significant decrease in the amount of maintenance required over the structure’s design life.
The reduced emissions and waste caused by the three crucial stages of a structure’s lifecycle—maintenance, demolition, and replacement—are achieved by our constructions’ increased durability. In the end, this improved durability is required to address both the environmental issues of waste and climate change.
Steel substitutes will be a crucial part of decarbonizing the construction industry adequately as nations around the world work toward net zero. This is a result of steel’s carbon-intensive mining and production methods as well as its susceptibility to corrosion, which has the unintended consequence of hastening the decay of structures.
The decrease of emissions and waste, and ultimately the preservation of our natural environment, depend on a renewed and enhanced attention on the endurance of structures beyond 50-year and 100-year lifespans.








DL's promises
Reinforce safely without steel. Long lasting, high-strength and economical with glass fibres.
Advanced Technology
Manual production of GFRP rebars using reinforcing material (longitudinal glass fibers) and matrix material.
Expert Engineers
With years of experience, our dedication to Fiberglass ensures that our customers' needs are consistently met.
Customer Support
Instead of making a product, then being done with it, we work together to make better projects by keeping in touch.
Delivery On time
In business, being on time is very important. We know that the most important thing for efficiency is time.