Summary activity

Article title: What Happen to Green Concrete?

Majcher (2015) stated that albeit the existence of environmentally-friendly concrete, the application is not widely seen. 

Key points:

• Novacem, forefront of green cement in 2010, along with their head scientist Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, substituted Portland cement with magnesium oxide material. 
• Magnesium oxide captures carbon dioxide when mixed with water. 
• In 2012, the lack of capital due to poor investment rate resulted in liquidation and the sale of their intellectual property.
• Calera another green concrete company, used to mix carbon into portland cement. 
• It had demonstrated on pedestrian pathways, but the application was more useful to make fiber cement boards used in toilets. Increasing the use of the technology will take a while.
• Other companies such as CarbonCure, focuses on improving the material’s strength by adding carbon dioxide produce from factories. 
• Based on past projects, this method is very efficient as it saved 2700 tons of carbon dioxide which is equivalent to 125000 trees.
• Solidia Technologies, as part of a movement towards green cement, is trying to hide away carbon dioxide in concrete with the improvement of technology. Such concrete would be much stronger as well as environmentally friendly.
• Keeping carbon dioxide in concrete is one way for improving the environmental footprint.
• Further advancement in technology as well as the change in the process such as introduction of in situ carbon capturing are required to maximise carbon emission reduction. 
• Besides adding carbon for concrete making, fly ash is another alternative. CeraTech mentioned that its concrete last longer than portland cement. 
• Such methods can help to reduce ash by a significant amount through implementing the ash into the cement.