Cement, making it cleaner

[ArMaP]

They may eventually succeed in using carbon-capture technologies to produce usable building materials on a large scale.  

If so, the windmills which are currently being built with coal-powered concrete production could someday begin to power building materials which clean up the atmosphere as they build things like new windmills and electric cars.

In Portugal we use natural gas instead of coal.

[chr0naut]

Romans made stuff that has lasted for over 2000 years, and we can't make cement lasting a decade.

wtf, over?

Roman roads were an extensive network that spanned over 186,000 miles. Almost none of it survives to this day.

We know exactly how they were built, right down to volumes, grades of fill, and labour required, and they were cobbled, but usually with unfinished stones on top. That is why no-one has built any practical roads that way for centuries.

They were also, in most places, too narrow and too rough for modern vehicles. But because they were built in straight lines, there are a lot of modern roads built on top of, or alongside them.

[chr0naut]

Even more 'environmentally gentle' technologies with concrete are the various aeration and emulsion methods for very specific engineered properties.

[andy06shake]

Romans made stuff that has lasted for over 2000 years, and we can't make cement lasting a decade.

wtf, over?

Roman concrete used volcanic ash that strengthened it over time.

Modern concrete prioritises speed, cost, and steel reinforcement instead of maximum lifespan.

We dont really build things to last for 1000s of years anymore.

Our world is about replacement cycles as opposed to permanence.

[chr0naut]

Roman concrete used volcanic ash that strengthened it over time.

Modern concrete prioritises speed, cost, and steel reinforcement instead of maximum lifespan.

We dont really build things to last for 1000s of years anymore.

Our world is about replacement cycles as opposed to permanence.

Oh, I'm not too sure about that. Some plastic packaging for stuff that will only last for a week, even with refrigeration, will still be around in 1,000 years - but most probably as microplastics in the food chain.

[andy06shake]

Oh, I'm not too sure about that. Some plastic packaging for stuff that will only last for a week, even with refrigeration, will still be around in 1,000 years - but most probably as microplastics in the food chain.

This is true, but it's not something that we planned for...

And plastic is not something that we tend to use as a main structural material.

Now, where pipes/window frames/insulation foams/floor covers, and roofing membranes are concerned.

Well thats a different story...

None of which changes the fact that we dont tend to build things to last longer than their design cycle.

I mean, there are exceptions like bridges, dams, and some monuments.

But even then, they are only designed and constructed to last for 100s of years.

[BeyondKnowledge]

This is true, but it's not something that we planned for...

And plastic is not something that we tend to use as a main structural material.

Now, where pipes/window frames/insulation foams/floor covers, and roofing membranes are concerned.

Well thats a different story...

None of which changes the fact that we dont tend to build things to last longer than their design cycle.

I mean, there are exceptions like bridges, dams, and some monuments.

But even then, they are only designed and constructed to last for 100s of years.

Many modern concretes use plastic fiber for reinforcement. The plastic recycling company I worked for also made reinforcement packs for a while. They were a small paper bag with a weighed amount of short metal strips and one or two bundles of plastic fiber. It depended on the order for the one or two. 

So yes, plastic is structural and will be released from concrete in the future as micro plastics.  

Just another example of not thinking something through all the way.

[BeyondKnowledge]

I just ran into another article about this new cleaner cement.

https://bigthink.com/sponsored/american-...ts-recipe/

I told you someone would make a bundle off this dead end idea.

[J DOH]

A solution could reside within ceratain formulae of mycelium hempcrete.

Metal (such as steel) reinforcement is decent and reasonably considered the current standard.  However, without proper, adaptive shielding, over time metals will eventually fail from electrolysis, oxidative leeching, and other causes of corrosion.

Other more "organic" builds can continue to strenghen and solidify instead.

[ArMaP]

A solution could reside within ceratain formulae of mycelium hempcrete.

Metal (such as steel) reinforcement is decent and reasonably considered the current standard.  However, without proper, adaptive shielding, over time metals will eventually fail from electrolysis, oxidative leeching, and other causes of corrosion.

Not really, the cement's pH is very high and protects the iron/steel. But it needs to be airtight, otherwise the moisture will enter and corrode the iron/steel.