SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
If cement globally could be made in a more sustainable way , then the construction industry would be far better placed to meet its various commitments to cutting greenhouse gas emissions .
Cement production is a multi-step process that begins with the extraction of raw materials : limestone , clay , and mineral substances containing calcium , silicon , aluminium and iron oxides .
These raw materials are then crushed and ground before being kiln-treated at temperatures as high as 1,500 ° C to transform the raw materials into a substance known as clinker .
Global production of cement stands is an estimated 4.1 billion tonnes annually , and the manufacturing accounts for around 8 % of total global carbon dioxide emissions , and is therefore a significant contributor to climate change .
Which is why researchers have for some time been working on moresustainable ways to produce cement – and now scientists from the worldfamous Cambridge University in England might just have found a solution , finding a way to recycle cement that has already been used in existing construction projects .
Their world-first process , dubbed ‘ electric cement ’, has the potential to reshape the future of the construction industry .
The scientists have succeeded in reactivating used cement by exposing it
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