Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
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Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#2Perhaps the UK 'construction' industry could provide some er....support.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/05/raac-and-rui...
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#3> "For centuries, builders tried to cut costs by limiting how much cement they used and incorporating recycled waste materials into their concrete," says Salvatore Aprea, head of the Acm research group. "The challenge now is to revive these old methods—not for financial reasons but for the sake of our planet."
I put it to you that if it was financially viable and simple ("ancient methods"), it would already be done.
Good luck to them
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#4Ancient methods were lost because...earthquakes?
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#5> "For centuries, builders tried to cut costs by limiting how much cement they used and incorporating recycled waste materials into their concrete," says Salvatore Aprea, head of the Acm research group. "The challenge now is to revive these old methods—not for financial reasons but for the sake of our planet." I put it to you that if it was financially viable and simple ("ancient methods"), it would already be done.…
I find it a bit hard to imagine you’re the first person to think of this, let alone those people working on it who I’m sure are a bit familiar with concrete then you ?
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#6> "For centuries, builders tried to cut costs by limiting how much cement they used and incorporating recycled waste materials into their concrete," says Salvatore Aprea, head of the Acm research group. "The challenge now is to revive these old methods—not for financial reasons but for the sake of our planet." I put it to you that if it was financially viable and simple ("ancient methods"), it would already be done.…
The article is about increasing sustainability, not financial viability.
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#7Is this related to the technique that this group recently claimed to have rediscovered: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chemists-long-lasting-ro...? Although that is more about much longer lasting concrete:
> Masic and his colleagues were trying to re-create an ancient Roman technique for making concrete, a mix of cement, gravel, sand and water. The researchers suspected that the key was a process called “hot mixing,” in which dry granules of calcium oxide, also called quicklime, are mixed with volcanic ash to make the cement. Then water is added.
> Hot mixing, they thought, would ultimately produce a cement that wasn’t completely smooth and mixed, but instead contained small calcium-rich rocks. Those little rocks, ubiquitous in the walls of the Romans’ concrete buildings, might be the key to why those structures have withstood the ravages of time.
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#8While it's interesting to explore ancient concrete, actually scalable improvements of concrete production will be made elsewhere.
For instance HeidelbergCement has successfully piloted and is currently implementing technologies that bring the CO2 emissions from cement production close to zero. The OxyCal hybrid process that they are deploying in Bulgaria and Belgium will capture >97% of all emissions from the cement production process.
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#9> "For centuries, builders tried to cut costs by limiting how much cement they used and incorporating recycled waste materials into their concrete," says Salvatore Aprea, head of the Acm research group. "The challenge now is to revive these old methods—not for financial reasons but for the sake of our planet." I put it to you that if it was financially viable and simple ("ancient methods"), it would already be done.…
Financial viability is just (ahem) a question of pricing in externalities correctly (i.e. tax CO2). It must happen, when exactly and on what schedule is a very good question.
Re: Experts revive ancient techniques to make concrete more sustainable
#10I was a bit shocked when I learned that reinforced concrete only has a lifespan of about 100 years. That means that if you buy a condo in a building built in the 1970s, the building will become unsafe and need to be demolished in your life time. I don't know if people are pricing this consideration.
It also means there will be pretty much nothing left of our architecture, all those appartments, offices, museums, bridges, will all need to be destroyed and rebuilt. Not that modern architecture is really worth preserving. But it feels the only thing our era will leave behind is financial debt and bits in the cloud!