Researchers Develop Eco-Friendly Concrete
18th February 2019
Nine years ago, Riman, a distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering, invented an energy-efficient technology that harnesses largely low-temperature, water-based reactions. As a result, he and his team can make things in water that previously were made at temperatures well above those required to thermally decompose plastics.
So far, the revolutionary technology has been used to make more than 30 different materials, including concrete that stores carbon dioxide, the prime greenhouse gas linked to climate change. Other materials include multiple families of composites that incorporate a wide range of metals, polymers and ceramics whose behavior can be processed to resemble wood, bone, seashells and even steel.
Ordinarily, when I see a product described as being ‘eco-friendly’ I ignore it, but in this case I’ll make an exception.
I guess you have to call something ‘eco-friendly’ these days in order to get any attention.
February 18th, 2019 at 13:46
Concrete is the mixture of cement and rocks. It would be the cement that holds carbon dioxide.
But, wait! To make cement, you heat up calcium carbonate (and some other calcium compounds) until the carbonate gives up carbon dioxide and becomes an oxide. Mix the oxide with rocks and add water, and the cement absorbs carbon dioxide to become the carbonate precipitate.
So while it may be “storing” a greenhouse gas, it gave it up to begin with so there is no net change.
Solidia cement has less calcium oxide (and more silicates and sulfates) than typical cement, that’s how they claim it emits less CO2. It looks like they propose adding CO2 to the water used to cure the cement when mixed in concrete, so that they can say that CO2 came from flue gas – as opposed to coming from the general atmosphere.
Obviously, Professor Riman was a very big fan of The Wizard of Oz.
Humorous side story: A college roommate choked at his master’s orals when the geology department head asked him for the chemical formula for the precipitation of calcium. As he stood there silent with his mind in vapor lock, the professor chided him with, “Come on, Doug. Think about beer. You drink beer, don’t you Doug?” The vapor lock deepened and we found Doug hours later – after many beers – in a deep funk of failure. He did manage to get his masters a few months later and later became a headhunter, which is even at it’s worst a more honest career than Prof. Riman’s.