Game Changer
Plant Based Rebar!
Recently, the United Nations released a climate report written by IPCC announcing climate change is devastating the planet faster than humans can adapt! As the earth continues to warm, we are faced with the harsh reality that countries are not taking enough action to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses.
The effects are clearly visible around the globe, as extreme weather events displaced more than 13 million people across Africa and Asia in 2019. Unprecedented storms creating floods displaced millions of people from their homes. Diseases like dengue and malaria are spreading into new parts of the world. The rising heat is creating deadly droughts killing crops and trees while putting millions of people at risk of increased malnutrition and hunger. Did you know half the world faced water scarcity at some point within the year of 2021?
Unfortunately, I can go on about deforestation, carbon emissions, wildfire, tornadoes, blistering heat waves and many more symptoms of the climate crisis we are facing. I choose to stop now and share some positive light on a solution helping to reverse the effects of the climate crisis within the built environment.
As you may be aware, concrete has a high embodied carbon footprint and uses large amounts of rebar made from steel. Steel rebar provides concrete tensile strength required in the construction of many structures within the built environment.
There are some incredible researchers at Rensselaer Polytech Institute (RPI) who are in the process of offering a new sustainable solution that can replace high carbon intensive steel in the creation of rebar used in concrete. Surprisingly, the team is using a renewable resource called hemp combined with a bioplastic! Wow… now that’s thinking greener! It’s hard to believe this sustainable solution can be as strong as steel.
The team is working with a company developing a machine that can produce the hemp rebar. The machine will be portable and about the size of a small car allowing for the hemp rebar to be made on site as needed. This sustainable scalable solution has great potential in the near future, helping to reduce the amount of carbon used in the construction industry while increasing the lifespan of the concrete! Have a look at the article for greater details.
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