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Interesting. The degradation in wet conditions seems like a major challenge to solve. I initially was skeptical of the utility when I saw the mention of heatin
by szvsw 2y ago
Interesting. The degradation in wet conditions seems like a major challenge to solve.
I initially was skeptical of the utility when I saw the mention of heating requirements, but the temperatures aren’t that extreme, and seem very reasonably achieved with electrified energy sources (which in turn can easily be supplied via renewables).
Being able to produce concrete without the emissions involved with the production of portland cement is a major goal of decarbonizing the building stock, so it’s always good to see new lines of research in this front, even if still in the germinal stages!
ARPA-E Hestia has some cool alternatives (a bit further along in research stages) for those interested:
https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/hestia https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/hestia
- danans 2y ago> Being able to produce concrete without the emissions involved with the production of portland cement is a major goal of decarbonizing the building stock AFAICT, cornstarch has a similar emissions to portland cement: https://apps.carboncloud.com/climatehub/product-reports/id/75110207553#:~:text=%E2%80%9DCorn%20starch%E2%80%9D%20currently%20has%20a,of%200.96%20kg%20CO%E2%82%82e%2Fkg https://apps.carboncloud.com/climatehub/product-reports/id/7...
- szvsw 2y agoYep, the authors do a relatively straightforward LCA and estimate essentially equally carbon footprint between concrete and “corncrete.” Point still stands - it’s a major goal of building technology to mitigate the embodied carbon of buildings due to concrete.