Are There Alternatives to Concrete?
One of the world's pressing contemporary dilemmas centers on concrete, a well-established and widely used material that has recently come under scrutiny for its significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. This arises from the energy-intensive nature of cement production and all the chemical reactions involved. To put this into perspective, it is estimated that concrete production accounts for around 8% of the world's annual emissions, resulting in the release of 11 million tons of CO? into the atmosphere every day, and also consumes approximately 9% of the world's annual industrial water use. Adding to the complexity of this issue, global demand for cement and concrete is projected to rise. With the world's building stock set to double by 2060, this growth is equivalent to building an entire New York City every month for the next 36 years, intensifying the challenges posed by its environmental impact.
From scientific studies investigating the remarkable self-repairing capacity of Roman concrete, recycling initiatives, and innovations exploring the use of algae in concrete production, both the research community and the industry are committed to finding solutions that reduce the environmental impact of this material. In this edition of the Building Future Newsletter, we have selected a series of articles that explore the vast array of alternatives to conventional concrete, making it possible to use this remarkable material without threatening the future of our planet.
What is your opinion on it? See you in the next edition.
Eduardo Souza, Senior Editor, Brands & Materials
Explore the impressive properties of Prometheus Materials' zero-carbon bio-concrete, a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete.
There is a self-healing reaction of the cracks inside the cement, which occurs spontaneously and indefinitely.?
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Rieder aims to be “Climate Positive” by 2030 and does so by building new green headquarters.
There are some possibilities to make cement and concrete production more green and even replace them in some traditional uses.
Sika has developed a highly efficient process to separate and reuse demolished concrete components while increasing the quality of recycled aggregates.
Discover how Seratech's carbon-negative concrete revolutionizes the construction industry. Learn about their plans for scaling up this innovative process.
Ingeniero Técnico en electronica industrial
1 年It's important work hard to find out alternatives like it's
Vice President, Strategic Development | Building Innovations Expert
1 年I think it is important to note that the concrete industry in North America has made significant strides in reducing its carbon footprint. We have been able to reduce our industry's continental overall carbon footprint by almost 22% over the last 7 years and we are continuing to reduce our GHG emissions. No other major material industry is able to make that claim. With that in mind, I believe it's also time to hold the other major industries accountable as well. The steel industry has the highest impact coming in at 11% (Global Energy Monitor, 2021) overall with the second being the wood industry at 10% (World Resource Institute, 2023) and then the global concrete industry is at 8% (Washington Post, CNN, 2023) so that begs the question: Why is the concrete industry singled out when compared to steel and wood? One answer: Deflection by the other industries. But to thicken the plot, MIT's Concrete Sustainability Hub has proven that exposed concrete has the ability to actually be an atmospheric carbon sink. So the material that has been vilified the most for it's carbon footprint is the one that is truly the most sustainable when compared to the other major material industries. It really makes you wonder, doesn't it?