Scientists have created cement-free concrete based on alcohol

You all know very well that concrete is the most commonly used building material in the world. And everything would be fine, but cement, which is used as a binder in concrete, pollutes the environment quite a lot during the production process.

Has a so-called strong carbon footprint. So scientists from the University of Tokyo managed to create an alternative version of concrete, which does not use cement, but uses alcohol and a catalyst as a binder. It is about this unusual discovery that I want to tell you today.

What is the harm of cement

So, in short, concrete consists of ordinary sand, gravel and cement, which acts as a binder in concrete. So, during the production of the cement itself at the factories, there are rather strong emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So, during the production of one kilogram of cement, about 1 kg of carbon dioxide is released into the air. And in aggregate, cement plants around the world emit about 8% CO2 per year.

And scientists around the world are concerned about this fact and are in search of alternative technologies for the production of materials necessary for humanity. And Japanese scientists managed to find a rather original solution.

New technology for the production of concrete with alcohol

So, in the course of numerous experiments, scientists found out that if you mix together quartz sand, ethanol, potassium hydroxide and 2,2-dimethoxypropane and then heat it all up in a copper vessel, then after a certain time (intervals from 24 to 72 hours) the sand will stick together.

At the same time, depending on the variation of the mixture and the duration of heating, the strength of the resulting concrete differs. And in the course of a huge number of repetitions, a combination was found in which a relatively strong concrete material was obtained.

Of course, the demonstrated strength is still far enough from that of classical concrete, but scientists intend to continue experiments in this direction and still get concrete capable of competing with the classical version without using cement.

Well, only time will tell whether scientists can create really good concrete without cement. Well, if you liked the material, then rate it and do not forget to subscribe to the channel.

Thank you for your attention!