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In the last century, the issue of "water reserves" has become a remarkably strategic topic in modern science and technology. In this context, water resource treatment and management systems are being developed in both agricultural and urban area scenarios. This can be achieved using superabsorbent polymers (SAPs), highly cross-linked hydrogels with three-dimensional, hydrophilic polymer structures capable of absorbing, swelling and retaining huge amounts of aqueous solutions. SAPs are able to respond to several external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, electric field, and solution composition and concentration. They can be used in many areas, from sensor technology to drug delivery, agriculture, firefighting applications, food, and the biomedical industry. In addition, new categories of functional SAP-based materials, mainly superabsorbent polymer composites, can also encapsulate fertilizers to efficiently provide the controlled release of both water and active compounds. Moreover, SAPs have great potential in wastewater treatment for the removal of harmful elements. In this respect, in the following review, the most promising and recent advances in the use of SAPs and composite SAPs as tools for the sustainable management and remediation of water resource are reviewed and discussed by identifying opportunities and drawbacks and highlighting new challenges and aims to inspire the research community.

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Nowadays, the preservation and restoration of a historical building needs to be faced in accordance with a novel sensibility regarding the environment in order to preserve the building for future generations. In this context, the scientific community is focusing on novel and sustainable materials and techniques that allow for durability and mechanical performance as well as compatibility with the existing heritage. Alkali-activated materials represent a great challenge to the production of new materials, starting from the existing ones, with the goal of reducing consumption, emission of greenhouse gases and environmental impact. This study deals with the valorisation of waste materials coming from demolition and construction activities in the manufacture of geocomposites suitable for the restoration and conservation of historical heritage. In particular, waste from tuff sawing and brick grinding were used as raw materials, and then the geopolymeric samples produced were characterized based on a physical-chemical and mechanical point of view in order to investigate their performance and evaluate their suitability as materials for a historical building's recovery. The results showed that brick waste-based geocomposites were more compact than the tuff-based ones, as shown by the higher-density values and the lower values of open porosity and water absorption and as further confirmed by the trend of the mechanical performance. Moreover, experimental data showed that the physical and mechanical properties of both bricks and tuff waste-based geocomposites, even with different waste content, are compatible with existing building materials as well as traditional repairing products.

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The increase in concrete structures' durability is a milestone to improve the sustainability of buildings and infrastructures. In order to ensure a prolonged service life, it is necessary to detect the deterioration of materials by means of monitoring systems aimed at evaluating not only the penetration of aggressive substances into concrete but also the corrosion of carbon-steel reinforcement. Therefore, proper data collection makes it possible to plan suitable restoration works which can be carried out with traditional or innovative techniques and materials. This work focuses on building heritage and it highlights the most recent findings for the conservation and restoration of reinforced concrete structures and masonry buildings.

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The present paper assesses petrographic, mineralogical, chemical, and technological features of different zeolitic tuff samples from various western USA districts of the Basin and Range Province containing mainly erionite, mordenite, clinoptilolite/heulandite and phillipsite. The aim of this characterization is to evaluate the pozzolanic activity of these samples according to European normative UNI-EN 196/5 (Fratini test) to program a possible use as addition for blended cements. Petrographic and mineralogical results show that the two phillipsite-bearing tuffs have a higher theoretical Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) than the other samples; technological characterization shows a pozzolanic behavior for all the samples but higher for the tuff samples containing phillipsite, which shows a higher reactivity with CaO. All the samples could be thus advantageously employed for the preparation of blended cements, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by 70-90%.

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The latest tendency of the scientific community regards the development of different classes of green materials able to solve pollution problems caused by industrial and human activity. In this paper, chitosan and diatomite were used to produce a broad-spectrum hybrid adsorbent, either in powder or in monolithic form for environmental pollutant removal. Diatomite-chitosan-based powders and porous diatomite-chitosan hybrids were prepared and characterized by chemical-physical, thermal and morphological analysis. Moreover, their adsorbent capacity towards anionic dye (Indigo Carmine) was also evaluated. Obtained data showed that chitosan improves the adsorption capacity of both systems, increasing the uptake of dye in both diatomite-chitosan systems.

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An innovative and facile synthesis of cobalt based inorganic pigment was carried out by means of a low energy thermal conversion of a cobalt-exchanged zeolite. The Na-A [LTA] zeolite was used, since it is a low cost and easily available raw material. The ion exchange mechanism allowed to control, at microscopic level, the composition of the zeolitic precursor. Several chromatic effects could be obtained by varying the treatment temperature and/or the cobalt concentration in the contact solution. The reliability of these new zeolite-based pigments was tested in porcelain manufacture, in collaboration with the Institute for the Capodimonte porcelain "Giovanni Caselli". The developed cobalt pigments were successfully tested either in the porcelain mixture to obtain a coloured product or in the decoration step (such as ingobbio, colored glazes and "third fire decoration").

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A great challenge of research is the utilization of natural or synthetic zeolites, in place of natural pozzolans, for manufacturing blended cements. The difficulties of interpretation of the pozzolanic behavior of natural zeolite-rich materials and the role played by their nature and composition can be overcome by studying more simple systems, such as pure synthetic zeolites. This study aims at investigating the pozzolanic ability of isostructural zeolites with different framework compositions, such as three sodium zeolites of the faujasite (FAU) framework type: LSX, X, and Y. The pozzolanic activity has been estimated by thermogravimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis. The overall outcome of the investigation is that the zeolite structure affects its pozzolanic activity, as zeolites with similar framework densities exhibit distinct abilities to fix lime. Moreover, the framework composition is effective either from a kinetic point of view or on the total amount of fixed lime. Zeolite X appears to possess the best average features.

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This review presents "a state of the art" report on sustainability in construction materials. The authors propose different solutions to make the concrete industry more environmentally friendly in order to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and consumption of non-renewable resources. Part 1-the present paper-focuses on the use of binders alternative to Portland cement, including sulfoaluminate cements, alkali-activated materials, and geopolymers. Part 2 will be dedicated to traditional Portland-free binders and waste management and recycling in mortar and concrete production.

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The paper represents the "state of the art" on sustainability in construction materials. In Part 1 of the paper, issues related to production, microstructures, chemical nature, engineering properties, and durability of mixtures based on binders alternative to Portland cement were presented. This second part of the paper concerns the use of traditional and innovative Portland-free lime-based mortars in the conservation of cultural heritage, and the recycling and management of wastes to reduce consumption of natural resources in the production of construction materials. The latter is one of the main concerns in terms of sustainability since nowadays more than 75% of wastes are disposed of in landfills.

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Sustainable building material design relies mostly on energy saving processes, decrease of raw materials consumption, and increase of waste and by-products recycling. Natural and lightweight artificial aggregates production implies relevant environmental impact. This paper addresses both the issues of residues recycling and energy optimization. Particularly, three coal combustion wastes (Weathered Fly Ash, WFA; Wastewater Treatment Sludge, WTS; Desulfurization Device Sludge, DDS) supplied by the Italian electric utility company (ENEL) have been employed in the manufacture of cold bonded artificial aggregates. Previously, the residues have been characterized in terms of chemical and mineralogical compositions, water content, particle size distribution, and heavy metal release behavior. These wastes have been used in the mix design of binding systems with the only addition of lime. Finally, the artificial aggregates have been submitted to physical, mechanical, and leaching testing, revealing that they are potentially suitable for many civil engineering applications.

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The possibility to remove chromium ions from a simulated electroplating wastewater by a discontinuous ion-exchange process based on phillipsite-rich Neapolitan yellow tuff (NYT) has been investigated. The immobilization of the pollutant cation in the resulting sludge through a heat-treatment has been realized, demonstrating that compacts made of Cr-loaded NYT powder, fired at temperatures of 1000 degrees C or over, are safe materials with negligible Cr3+ leaching. The set up overall process allows, in addition, a volume reduction of the waste with associated lower disposal costs or, better, the obtainment of a ceramic material, whose physical and mechanical properties are comparable to those of similar ordinary ceramics, such as bricks. In summary, the proposed strategy looks at the polluted sludge as a resource to be exploited, instead of a dangerous material to safely dispose of.

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