Cement that absorbs greenhouse gases instead of emitting them

https://qz.com/1123875/the-material-that-built-the-modern-world-is-also-destroying-it-heres-a-fix/

by Hooke • 9 years ago

76 17 9 years ago

EADGBE2• 9 years ago

Solidia insists that their cement can be used for all sorts of concrete application. I was less convinced, because much of concrete use requires pouring and curing on site. Ensuring such uses are covered in chambers full of carbon dioxide seems difficult.

Was interesting until I saw this.

Good for decorative concrete, though.

Around here all the applications of poured concrete are for foundations, basement slabs & walls, as well as commercial building applications.

vonmoltke• 9 years ago

Was interesting until I saw this.
Good for decorative concrete, though.

It goes far beyond decorative concrete. This process can be used for concrete blocks, roof tiles, drainage pipes and boxes, prestressed slabs, and virtually any other product that is manufactured off-site.

For the record, I don't think I have ever seen a basement where the walls were solid pour. It's a waste of concrete when hollow block with poured columns is sufficient.

snowwindwaves• 9 years ago

In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada all of the basements I went in were solid pours. I only saw cement blocks as a foundation for cabins with no basement.

In coastal BC most places don't seem to have a basement at all.

EADGBE2• 9 years ago

In tornado alley, poured concrete is a life-saver.

it's also extremely time efficient. 5,000 sq/ft homes' foundations can be fully assembled in a day.

It's unusual for you, but you're also not the target market.

I see it mostly advantageous for full-height/walk-out/live-in basements, though.

hannob• 9 years ago

I looked at that development quite closely (for an article for a German online magazine) a couple of years ago. There were a number of companies trying things like this.

Recently I was asked to write an updated article and I checked what happened to all those companies. Most of them went nowhere. Unfortunately. It seems to be a very hard problem to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

zitterbewegung• 9 years ago

For concrete their first priority is for it to work. So are they going to take a bet with a new formula if it will cost them tons of money to fix? If your new formula messes up then you probably double the carbon impact in the first place.

MBlume• 9 years ago

This seems like a distraction. We don't need green cement, we need laws that allow us to shape cement into tall buildings so people can live near where they work.

cjensen• 9 years ago

Why not both?

antoniuschan99• 9 years ago

Anyone hear about Hempcrete? Concrete made of Hemp that also traps Co2?

agumonkey3• 9 years ago

I've heard about it many times (looking for hemp history) but I forgot. So thanks

andrewwharton• 9 years ago

It's not comparable to concrete though as it has completely different physical properties (ie. much lighter and weaker). It's more rigid insulation made with natural fiber and a lime based binder to hold it together.

agumonkey3• 9 years ago

stupid question, why not growing trees above cement factories ?

kerbalspacepro• 9 years ago

Trees can only story a certain amount of CO2, and factories will produce much more than the trees can absorb.

agumonkey3• 9 years ago

Then pass it through pools of liquid an algae I don't know... I'm sure we could transform a large chunk of emissions into useful byproduct if people tried.

rubatuga• 9 years ago

Why not normal concrete that already takes in CO2 from the environment? A interesting read about what went wrong in the Biosphere atmosphere: http://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/bio3/2000projects/carroll_d_...

makomk• 9 years ago

This is explained in the article: the process of producing cement releases more CO2 than is subsequently absorbed when it cures.

Cement that absorbs greenhouse gases instead of emitting them

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