Recycling an item that we all end up throwing away could be really useful in the next generation of builds.
English Conversation About Pollution
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English Conversation About Pollution
You would never have imagined that one of the most popular drinks could also contribute to the build.
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Technology is already present in all areas of society and, of course, also in construction. A new era of materials and processes is opening up before us, with 3D printers building walls and with the possibility for anyone to venture to build a space rocket at home, for example. However, next we want to talk about a novelty ingredient to make a concrete strong as few
From the bar to the construction site: this is how this new type of concrete is
Thanks to the information published on the website of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, we have learned how Australian engineers have managed to kill two birds with one stone: take dvantage of waste that usually ended up in the garbage and strengthen the concrete. Thanks to the use of coffee residueone of the most popular drinks around the world, the team of engineers led by Dr. Rajeev Roychand ensure that their concrete is up to a 30% stronger usual.
Australia alone produces 75 million kilograms of coffee waste a year, which usually ends up in landfill. However, the overall figure is much more alarming, with 10,000 million kilograms of coffee waste Threw to the thrash. Professor Roychand states that:
The disposal of organic material is an environmental challenge, as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases, including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change.
Your investigation, published in the scientific journal Journal of Cleaner Production, shows how coffee can be a very useful ingredient to make sustainable concrete for the 21st century. For this they have started experimenting with waste obtained from Melbourne cafeteriaswhich hae been heated at two different temperatures for experimentation, at 350ºC or 500ºC, in order to obtain the so-called biochar.
Usually, an additional ingredient is added to the cement, which is usually a type of sand, but on this occasion a part of the biochar produced from the coffee remains has been added. The end result, of concrete who had the 15% of the sand replaced by biochar manufactured at 350ºC, was that it had a 29.3% higher resistance to that of concrete with 100% of the usual sand. Professor Jie Li, a research participant, states that:
There are long-term challenges in maintaining a sustainable supply of sand, due to the finite nature of the resources and the environmental impact of sand mining. With a circular economy approach, we will be able to eliminate organic waste from landfills and also preserve our natural resources such as sand.
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