calcium carbonate – Page 2 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Diamonds and Dust for Better Cement

By Guest PostDecember 15, 2011Scienceadvanced light source, als, atomic scale structure, baking limestone, basic materials, beam of x rays, bulk modulus, c s h, calcium carbonate, calcium ions, calcium silicate hydrate, calipso, carbon dioxide, clay, clinker, CO2 emissions, diamonds, diffraction patterns, durability of concrete, human activity, hydrostatic pressure, mineral tobermorite, models, nanoscale, paulo monteiro, performance of cement, portland cement, practical alternatives, pressure, quaint village, scottish isle of mull, silicates, simon clark, southern california, stiffness, structure, surface of earth, university of california at berkeley, versatile concrete, water molecules

Structural studies at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source could point to reduced carbon emissions and stronger cements

It’s no surprise that humans the world over use more water, by volume, than any other material. But in second place, at over 17 billion tons consumed each year, comes concrete made with Portland cement. Portland cement provides the essential binder for strong, versatile concrete; its basic materials are found in many places around the globe; and, at about $100 a ton, it’s relatively cheap. Making it, however, releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide, accounting for more than five percent of the total CO₂ emissions from human activity.

“Portland cement is the most important building material in the world,” says Paulo Monteiro, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, “but if we are going to find ways to use it more efficiently – or just as important, search for practical alternatives – we need a full understanding of its structure on the nanoscale.” To this end Monteiro has teamed with researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (more…)

Scientists Simulate Seashells’ Structures

*Scientists have successfully created synthetic crystals whose structures and properties mimic those of naturally-occurring biominerals such as seashells.*

*The findings, published in the journal Nature Materials, could be an important step in the development of high-performance materials, which could be manufactured under environmentally-friendly conditions.*

Professor Stephen Eichhorn, who has just moved to the University of Exeter from the University of Manchester, played a key role in the research. Professor Eichhorn has been appointed to a Chair in Functional Materials, through the University of Exeter’s £230 million investment in science, medicine and engineering. Exeter’s vision is for a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the understanding and application of functional materials – from fundamentals to manufacture – exploiting world-leading materials knowledge to deliver new concepts, processes and products. (more…)

Tag Archives: calcium carbonate

Diamonds and Dust for Better Cement

Scientists Simulate Seashells’ Structures