ChatGPT & DALL-E generated anoramic image of a concrete truck pouring US paper money into a construction site's foundation
During what has become concrete month, I’ve explored the full range of actual and purported solutions to the climate problem that is the cement, steel, and concrete used in construction. The industry’s emissions are high, with every ton of reinforced concrete having a carbon debt of 0.3-0.4 tons of carbon … [continued]
As cement day turns into concrete week turns into concrete month, it’s worth considering how the absurd tonnages of concrete manufactured changes, often radically, depending on where specifically in the world the concrete is needed. That’s all because those absurd tonnages means that we move the stuff that goes into … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of a bauxite refinery with a red mud pond and a cement plant beside it
One of the many people who have suggested I look at something in the space of cement and concrete decarbonization suggested red mud. All I knew was that it had something to do with aluminum, and hence I thought it would be another metal slag supplement to cement. You know … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of an electric cement truck covered in circuitry delivering cement to a construction site.
A few days ago I went deep on cement again, using an assessment of the processes of American clean cement startups to define the scope and magnitude of the problem, the chemistry and energy requirements of cement, why fixing it is critically important, and incidentally evaluate a couple of companies’ … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of a river bed sand dredge with a concrete plant in the background
During concrete day… errr … week … errr … verging on two weeks this time, I’ve explored a lot of carbon emissions solutions for the full value chain of the gray glue that ensures our buildings don’t collapse, our bridges stay up, and our underground working chambers don’t pancake. We … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of a cement mixing and bagging plant beside a smoking volcano
Every domain brings with it a wealth of new language. Being the domain junky that I am, my head is creaking at the seams with jargon and technical terms from a multitude of places. Cement and concrete are no different. Today’s exploration is of the interesting world of supplementary cementitious … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of an electric arc furnace cauldron with slag forming on the surface, while a cement truck is standing by
An electric arc furnace is like a giant, high-tech kitchen appliance for melting metal. Imagine a huge, robust pot where you throw in scrap metal, like old cars or broken appliances. Instead of using gas or coal to heat things up, this “pot” uses powerful electric arcs — think of … [continued]
Electrified Thermal Solutions has created a thermal battery that makes process heat a low carbon process that could transform industries.
As I’ve been looking at solutions that people are proposing for eliminating cement’s high carbon dioxide emissions, a set of criteria are clearly emerging to assess whether they are going to be material. These include the source material availability, cost, and distribution. They include integration into worksites. They include the … [continued]
Cement is the gray glue that holds our modern cities and infrastructure together. We use about 4.1 billion tons of it a year, and every ton has a carbon debt of about a ton of carbon dioxide. That’s about 10% of our global emissions, so it’s a big problem. From … [continued]
