Scientists in Japan have developed a revolutionary new technique to recycle old concrete blocks into usable materials that could make a major dent in carbon pollution globally.
According to Interesting Engineering, researchers at the University of Tokyo said they have discovered that old concrete blocks can be recycled by crushing them into a fine powder to react with carbon dioxide.
The resulting material, known as calcium carbonate concrete, is strong enough to be used in building homes and other structures.
Historically, old concrete lands in landfills after a building is destroyed. The process of making concrete alone generates about 8% of the world's carbon dioxide pollution.
In our fight against our warming planet, which has caused extreme weather events to become more intense, removing that amount of the planet-heating gas would be an immense step. On top of that, the procedure can use industrial emissions to create the new material, and it traps that carbon dioxide inside of the new bricks, further reducing the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere.
If that weren't enough, a press release by the researchers notes that the process of creating the bricks can be repeated multiple times on the same materials.
"The blocks could theoretically be remade again and again, through the same process," the press release said, as Interesting Engineering covered first. In other words, this process could lead to a more circular construction system, reducing material waste from the sector.
Professor Ippei Maruyama reiterated that the process could be done multiple times over a long period of time.
"These blocks can theoretically be used semipermanently through repeated crushing and remaking, a process which requires relatively low energy consumption. Now, concrete in old buildings can be thought of as a kind of urban mine for creating new buildings," Maruyama said, per Interesting Engineering.
The new material has yet to actually be used in the creation of new buildings; its initial blocks were just a few centimeters in size but have grown significantly as testing has gone on. Maruyama also noted that the plan was for them to use the material in a new build by 2030.
If calcium carbonate concrete succeeds as a building material, it will be a massive step in our push for more sustainable and recyclable construction practices.
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