a cement alternative has the potential to reduce emissions by roughly 40 percent.
by rick richardson
technology this week
all roads lead to rome, as they say. as the building sector struggles with climate issues posed by concrete, some engineers believe a roman-era invention may provide the solution.
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speaking at the climate smart engineering conference in melbourne, durability engineer miles dacre of the consulting firm aecom notes that concrete emissions are under more and more scrutiny.
dacre is involved in large-scale infrastructure projects that typically require a lot of concrete.
demand for concrete has doubled in the last 20 years, he says. “it’s our number one building material that our civilization requires to function as it does.”
however, the rocky mountain institute estimates that 5-8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are attributable to concrete, and cement plays a significant role in those emissions. heating limestone during the cement-making process results in direct greenhouse gas emissions and indirect ones from burning fossil fuels to heat the kiln.
according to dacre, calcined clay is a low-carbon substitute for portland cement that dates back 2000 years and is “probably the same concrete that the romans used.”
he declares, “we have to switch to that content as soon as possible.”
a research paper in applied clay science proposed that using ancient roman concrete will decrease emissions and environmental issues.
clinker, limestone, and gypsum – a clay that has been heat-treated – combine to create calcined clay.
“in addition to the environmental considerations, roman concrete also represents the epitome of extremely durable cement-based materials,” the paper says. “roman concrete exposed to harsh maritime environments remains in a remarkable condition even 2000 years after construction, while modern ordinary portland cement concrete shows degradation within 32 weeks of exposure to seawater,” the authors write.
dacre says anyone in the engineering and construction industry who doesn’t know about calcined clay must educate themselves. the cement alternative has the potential to reduce emissions by roughly 40 percent compared to ordinary portland cement.
“we’ve just got to prove it as quickly as possible; it’s going to take everyone in the engineering business to do that.”
one response to “did ancient romans find a solution for climate change?”
roger rotolante
co2 is plant food. the main greenhouse gas is water vapor. the plants remove the c and release the o2 into the atmosphere . the climate has been changing for over 4 billion years. the earth is evolving. if it weren’t for early plants there would be no oxygen in the atmosphere. the earth is in balance thanks to green plants.
what is out of balance is the information system. climate change is natural and it cannot be changed by eliminating plant food. the attempt to stop climate change the way it is being done will lower the temperature of the earth by less than 1 degree in 200 years. is is an attempt to stop progress, extract 200 trillion dollars from the west and terrorize and motivate people with pseudo science.