Why not research and invent new products than can replace the carbon intensive process of making cement? Well, that is exactly what is happening amongst some forward-thinking people! As I mentioned before, a tremendous amount of CO2 is emitted during the process of producing cement. The manufacturing of one ton of portland cement produces one ton of CO2 emissions. This is not an option moving forward! Portland cement accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions.
Let’s talk about the ingredients of cement that makes it’s CO2 emissions so high. Portland cement is a mixture of sand, gravel, water, and lime. High CO2 emissions are produced during the making of lime which acts as the glue to the cement. First you must extract the raw material of limestone then convert to lime. Finding an alternative for the glue ingredient could solve the problem!
As the world’s current population of 8 billion continues to grow to over 10 billion by 2060, the housing supply will need to also accommodate the new population it is estimated that the equivalent of one NYC must be built every month for the next 40 years. Wow, that is a staggering concept! New building products that can replace concrete are a must for us to help drawdown our carbon emissions.
This article speaks about a new solution to replace the glue in cement, and it comes from the byproduct desalination of water. The glue is made from magnesium oxide (Mg0) which sequesters carbon during the curing process and has no operational or embodied CO2.
So, check it out and keep thinking greener!
Image courtesy of the united arab emirates pavilion