A method which could revolutionise the production of concrete and slash emissions in the global building industry has been developed.
Concrete is the world’s most-used material, with 500kg produced for every person on the planet, a year.
But it is also hugely energy intensive, and responsible for about 7.5 per cent of emissions.
The process was discovered by the University of Cambridge and used electrically-powered arc furnaces for steel recycling to simultaneously recycle cement, the carbon-hungry component of concrete, which is responsible for almost 90 per cent of its emissions.
The researchers behind the discovery describe it as “an absolute miracle”.
They proved how used cement can serve as a replacement for a material called lime flux during the steel recycling process. Lime flux, which removes impurities in the steel, would normally end up as a waste product. But in replacing it with used cement, the cement is also recycled and can be used to make new concrete.
Concrete is a mixture of four things – cement, sand, stones and water.
Professor Julian Allwood from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who led the research, told The National: “Cement is the active ingredient and the one that’s associated with all the emissions.”
That is because it is made through a process called clinkering, where limestone and other raw materials are crushed and heated to about 1,450°C in large kilns.
“That’s such a high temperature that you essentially have to reach it by burning fossil fuels. So combustion emissions is about half of the emissions,” said Prof Allwood.
“But the other is the chemistry of converting limestone into cement automatically releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That is the other half of the emissions.
“So the cement has already given up its Co2. There is no new chemical reaction required. In effect what we are doing is reactivating the cement.”
He said his team were motivated to seek a solution to the problem because although there are some options for making cement with less emissions, there are none for making the material with zero emissions.
Concrete in Life photography competition – in pictures
“And yet the UK, and many other countries, rightly, are committed to zero emissions in the relatively near future.
“Without it means no cement and building with other very limited options,” he added.
Tests carried out by the Materials Processing Institute, a partner in the project, showed that recycled cement can be produced at scale using an electric arc furnace.
But the researchers say it could produce zero emission cement, if the electric arc furnace is powered by renewable energy.
“The important thing is that for the first time there is a route to getting to zero emissions cement. Our estimate of the maximum volume we could make is based on the fact that we know the world’s steel recycling industry will double in size, at least, in the next 30 years,” said Prof Allwood.
“Because the supply of scrap steel has gone up. If we assume that all of them use our process, we could maybe get up to a quarter of today’s supply of cement.”
You could look at that in two ways, he said.
“One is to say oh where is the other three quarters going to come from? But the better way to look at it is all the rest of it is going to have to stop because of our commitment to getting to zero emissions. At least we now have an option for having some cement,” added Prof Allwood.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that researchers aim to harness heat generated by the sun to manufacture building materials such as glass, steel, ceramics and cement, showing that generating heat of 1,000°C heat is possible without using fossil fuels.
They have found a way to improve the efficiency of solar receivers, which concentrate and build heat with thousands of sun-tracking mirrors.
Researchers led by a team in Switzerland used quartz to trap sunlight, in a process known as the thermal-trap effect, proving a receiver with a normal efficiency of 40 per cent at 1,200°C that uses a concentration of light from 500 suns can hit 70 per cent efficiency when shielded with 300mm of quartz. To obtain that performance would normally require the light from 1,000 suns.
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
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7pm: Flood Zone
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Miss Granny
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Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
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(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
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Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
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Sector: AI, software
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Funding stage: Series A
Specs
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MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
Ajax 4
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
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2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
