How cement may yet help slow global warming

). But it might also be injected back into concrete at the point when it is being mixed with water to cure it. Water promotes chemical reactions that cause cement to harden. COIn fact, reversing calcination in this way makes concrete stronger than if water alone is used. So, not only is some of the original emission thus dealt with, less cement is needed for a given job, lowering overall emissions still further.

A pilot plant using this technology has run successfully as part of a European Union research project on a site in Belgium operated by Heidelberg Cement, a German firm that is one of the world’s biggest cement-makers. A larger demonstration plant is due to open in 2023, in Hanover, to help scale up the technology.Another approach—less green, but still better than using fossil fuels—is to substitute some of the coal burnt in kilns with municipal and industrial waste.

For Dr Harrop, an important part of the answer is to “tech-up” concrete in ways which mean that less of it will be needed to do particular jobs. This means adding things like synthetic and natural fibres—or even graphene, a substance stronger than steel that consists of single-layer sheets of carbon atoms. Only small amounts are needed to produce beneficial results.

Additives can also make concrete last longer and reduce the need for maintenance. At the University of Michigan, Victor Li and his colleagues use synthetic and natural fibres, along with COinjection, to produce a bendable concrete they call Engineered Cementitious Composite . The internal structure of this material was inspired by nacre, a flexible material commonly called “mother of pearl” that coats the insides of the shells of molluscs such as abalone and oysters.

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