Cement is one of the most important CO2 emitters, accounting for 5% of the world’s total man-made emissions. Producing 1 ton of Portland cement, for example, outputs 800 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and that is because of the material used in the fabrication process: calcium carbonate.
Novacem, a London-based company, has recently received an award for a new type of cement that not only doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, but absorbs it. The award came from Material ConneXion, a global materials consultancy firm.
The innovative cement is made using a magnesium silicate mixture, and the entire production process absorbs carbon dioxide, hence the “carbon negative” nickname it got.
The cement will be released commercially starting 2014, but not by Novacem. Instead, they will sell the patent rights to producing companies, who will (hopefully) commercialize it at competitive prices.
[via jetsongreen/novacem]
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