About 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the manufacturing of cement. To remedy this, scientists from the University of Colorado have come up with a surprising solution: plankton
Engineers in the US have developed a plankton-based cement. Guaranteed carbon-neutral, this production method could be an effective solution to reducing the significant ecological footprint of concrete, one of the world's most-used construction materials.
About 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the manufacturing of cement, which is used to make concrete, one of the most widely used construction materials in the world. To remedy this, scientists from the University of Colorado have come up with a surprising solution: plankton.
More specifically, they are using coccolithophorids, micro-algae with a very resistant mineral shell, which contains calcium carbonate. This material is precisely what could replace the main ingredient of cement, made of limestone and clay and heated at very high temperatures to harden.