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Old article from 2017. More advances were published earlier this year: https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106 https://news.mit.edu

• bloopernova 3y ago
  That's really cool research. Using quicklime heats up the concrete a bunch more than some other methods, and the result is concrete that fills its own cracks.
  • PaulHoule 3y ago
    People who think A.I. will kill us should be worried that concrete will kill us. There are many materials that could be superior in quality and environmentally benign than Portland cement-based concrete not least the Sulfur concrete which is commonly used in China today https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7660051/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7660051/ and particularly Geopolymer concrete https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolymer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolymer but all of these face resistance from the Portland cement industry which has already standardized products for regulators.
    • digdugdirk 3y ago
      Having seen the state of concrete buildings in China, I'd prefer the alternative.
    • nunuvit 3y ago
      It's not a conspiracy. Fly ash contains heavy metals that would leach out of the cement. There are more challenges remaining to be solved than the Wikipedia article suggests.