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Researchers create a new type of cement from ceramic waste
Researchers of the Universitat Politècnica de València, the Universitat Jaume I de Castellón, the Imperial College of London and the Universidade Estadual Paulista of Sao Paulo (Brasil) have created a new type of cement from ceramic waste in the laboratory. It is a more sustainable cement and it also opens business possibilities for the ceramics industry. The first results of this study were released the last year in Construction and Building Materials magazine.
To date, the researchers have worked with brick, sanitary ware (washbasins and toilets) and porcelain stoneware waste, resulting in an end product that is stronger than the mortars used today.
“It is an entirely new material. Its main characteristic is that it does not contain portland cement, which turns it into a more sustainable material. It is only composed of ceramic waste, a chemical activator and water,” explains Mª Victoria Borrachero, researcher at the Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH, in Spanish) of the Universitat Politècnica de València.
Crushed bricks
The first studies were carried out using red clay brick waste and sodium hydroxide or sodium silicate solutions as activator substances.
“In this particular case, the process is very simple: first, we grind bricks, then, they are milled and mixed with the activator solution. We immediately mix them with the aggregate and then the mortar is ready to be put into molds and undergo a high-temperature hardening process”, explains Mª Victoria Borrachero.
The researchers are now focused on the study of the performances of the products created from the sanitary ware and stoneware waste. Moreover, they are analyzing new activator substances to make an end product that is even more sustainable .
“We have already done tests with rice husk ash and the results are very positive. Its use would give us a more sustainable and cheaper end product, because it would be composed, almost entirely, of reusable waste,” says Mª Victoria Borrachero.
References:
L. Reig, M.M. Tashima, M.V. Borrachero, J.Monzó, C.R. Cheeseman, J. Payá. "Properties and microstructure of alkali-activated red clay brick waste". Construction and Building Materials 43, June 2013.
The sounds of amphibians are altered by the increase in ambient temperature, a phenomenon that, in addition to interfering with reproductive behaviour, serves as an indicator of global warming. Researchers at the University of Seville have resorted to artificial intelligence to create an automatic classifier of the thousands of frog and toad sounds that can be recorded in a natural environment.
Pee can be transformed into electricity with the help of bacterial metabolism, thanks to a device created by researchers at the University of the West of England, where Spanish researchers are working. A test cubicle was installed at Glastonbury festival, but the final aim is to improve sanitation facilities in Developing World countries or in areas where there is limited electricity generation, such as refugee camps.
