New greener building bricks made from demolished school and CO2

Back in 2021, researchers came up with a recipe for greener concrete that had building waste and CO2 among its ingredients. Now the same team has used rubble from a demolished school and the greenhouse gas to produce bricks to build new structures.Cont… Continue reading New greener building bricks made from demolished school and CO2

Shell-inspired cement 19x more flexible thanks to ‘engineered defects’

Nature is known for developing lightweight yet tough materials using limited, modest materials arranged into ingenious architecture. Take nacre, for example. More commonly known as mother of pearl, the shiny inner lining of some mollusks’ shells is an … Continue reading Shell-inspired cement 19x more flexible thanks to ‘engineered defects’

‘Absolute miracle’ breakthrough provides recipe for zero-carbon cement

Concrete and steel production are major sources of CO2 emissions, but a new solution from Cambridge could recycle both at the same time. Throwing old concrete into steel-processing furnaces not only purifies iron but produces “reactivated cement” as a … Continue reading ‘Absolute miracle’ breakthrough provides recipe for zero-carbon cement

Long-life low-carbon concrete switches 80% of its cement for coal ash

Coal ash is abundant around coal-fired power stations. In fact, that might be considerably understating things – globally, power stations produce around 1.2 billion tonnes annually, and in Australia coal ash accounts for nearly 20% of all waste. It’s a… Continue reading Long-life low-carbon concrete switches 80% of its cement for coal ash

Carbon-capturing concrete walls conceal a quirky Japanese house

The production of the cement used in concrete is a major contributor to worldwide CO2 emissions and since we’re reliant on the stuff for our infrastructure, this is a serious problem. However, Nendo showcases an example of a greener way to build with i… Continue reading Carbon-capturing concrete walls conceal a quirky Japanese house

C-Crete hailed as a planet-friendly alternative to cement

According to some estimates, the generation of the heat used to produce traditional portland cement is responsible for 5% to 8% of all human-made CO2 emissions. A new substance known as C-Crete, however, is claimed to be a much greener – yet still prac… Continue reading C-Crete hailed as a planet-friendly alternative to cement

Revolutionary “true zero carbon” cement uses electrolysis, not furnaces

Traditional concrete manufacturing processes result in a ton of CO2 for every ton of cement produced – and since we’re talking about somewhere around 4.1 billion tons globally just in 2022 – more than half of that in China alone – cement is a massive c… Continue reading Revolutionary “true zero carbon” cement uses electrolysis, not furnaces