Giving infrastructure the bio-cement advantage!

The basic function of cement is to 'cement' or 'bond' the components/parts concerned. For example, it could be used to bind bricks together to make a strong wall when mixed with sand in say a 1:4 ratio of cement to sand and made liquid enough with water (mortar) to make the bricks evenly to lay. With differences in the process, it can be used to make structures such as columns, slabs and others from reinforced concrete. Due to the reactions that take place at the microscopic level during the solidification and curing process, cement molecules adhere strongly to other surrounding components (bricks, stones, sand, etc.) and form a strong, consolidated, stony mass through the various components together. Various materials have been used as cement for at least 2,000 years or more.

Given the huge demand for various construction purposes, the global cement industry is huge. It is estimated that annual cement production around the world is 4 billion tons. Unfortunately, the process of cement production releases a large amount of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere - about 2.8 billion tons per year. That is more than the CO2 emitted by all aircraft and ships together.

Given the huge demand for various construction purposes, the global cement industry is huge. It is estimated that annual cement production around the world is 4 billion tons. Unfortunately, the process of cement production releases a large amount of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere - about 2.8 billion tons per year. That is more than the CO2 emitted by all aircraft and ships together.

We all know that CO2 in the atmosphere is bad for the planet and serious efforts have been made worldwide to reduce CO2 emissions. At the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021, some 140 countries pledged to reduce CO2 emissions towards achieving zero-emission targets.

In addition, some parts of the cement production process have to operate at temperatures above roughly 900oC. The cement production process therefore consumes an enormous amount of energy.

Imagine how beneficial it would be if cement could be made with negligible CO2 emissions and low energy consumption! That is indeed possible – with biocement.