A cement company out of Utah is using the byproduct of decades of dirty energy production and paving the way for the concrete of the future. According to The Architect's Newspaper, Eco Material Technologies uses fly ash, the material left after coal is burned, to produce cement that creates a fraction of the carbon pollution that is created during traditional cement production.
The key difference in using fly ash, along with other similar natural and human-made materials, is that the new product, called PozzoSlag, can be made at room temperature, according to the creators.
In contrast, traditional cement requires immense heat during production — heat that is usually generated using dirty energy, Solex Thermal Science reports. PozzoSlag also doesn't need as much water, according to The Architect's Newspaper, making it a smart alternative in areas facing increasing water scarcity, such as the American Southwest.
Eco Material has operations across the country and explained to The Architect's Newspaper that the ash necessary for PozzoSlag comes from about 1,000 different sites. Besides obtaining current-production fly ash, the company says it harvests previously disposed ash. Eco Material estimates there are about 2 billion tons of ash available, so it's "set to supply material for its green cement products long into the future," per the news report.
Given the amount of roads and buildings constantly under construction across the world, it's perhaps no surprise that the concrete industry is reportedly responsible for about 8% of the world's carbon pollution, and that's why technology such as that developed by Eco Material is so important. It will not only contribute to cleaner air for people to breathe but also reduce the pollution that's warming the planet, and there are a lot of other cement producers working toward the same goal.
One such company is a startup in Finland called Carbonaide that has developed a method to mineralize carbon dioxide and turn it into a material that can be used in concrete. The process stores air pollution and avoids the production of more pollution.
Also, a company in Germany is building the world's first carbon-neutral cement plants. The facilities will replace ambient air with pure oxygen during the combustion process, which will capture nearly 100% of the carbon dioxide produced.
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