Tag Archive for: Emissions

carbon

Zero carbon by 2050?

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The UK is to become the first G7 nation to set a legally-binding target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced Government will tomorrow lay a statutory instrument before Parliament that will amend the Climate Change Act and introduce a  net zero emission target.

Presently the country is committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

According to the Committee on Climate Change, which recommended the move in its recent report, the industry has little more than 10 years to take all new buildings over to net zero carbon if the goal is to be met.

The commitment will also need wholesale changes to energy generating infrastructure and big changes to new buildings and improvements to existing buildings.

This will require a switch away from fossil-fuel based heating, increasing the energy efficiency of the building stock, and improving the energy efficiency of lighting and electrical appliances.

It will also necessitate the widespread use of heat pumps to replace boilers and accelerating district heating and hydrogen technologies.

Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive at UKGBC said: “This is a powerful and positive move by the Prime Minister that will give her time in office a legacy beyond Brexit.

“UKGBC knows that the built environment contains some of the biggest opportunities to slash emissions.

“We must accelerate action in all areas including improving the efficiency of our aging building stock, and overcoming the challenge of decarbonising heat.

“To do this, we need to see both policy and industry leadership to ensure the built environment is at the vanguard of emissions reductions. There is no time to lose, now is the time to act.”

Paul Reeve, director of the Electrical Contractors Association, said: “No-one should expect the feat of resolving the UK’s carbon footprint to be anything other than daunting, but the Government has issued a truly remarkable response to the ‘zero carbon’ challenge set out by the CCC in May.

“The task ahead is immense: the UK is drastically short of the infrastructure, supply and installation capacity needed to introduce low-carbon building heating at scale.

“There are also major ‘low carbon’ skills gaps across building design, construction and installation. We also need to ensure that whatever happens in the years ahead delivers the quality and performance necessary for whole-life low carbon buildings.”

vegetables

Can vegetables make concrete stronger?

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Engineers at Lancaster University are working with industrial partners at Cellucomp Ltd UK to research how concrete mixtures can be strengthened and made more environmentally friendly by adding ‘nano platelets’ extracted from the fibres of root vegetables.

The work, which is being supported with £195,000 by the EU’s Horizon 2020 funding, will strengthen findings from early tests that have demonstrated that concrete mixtures including nano platelets from sugar beet or carrot significantly improve the mechanical properties of concrete.

These vegetable-composite concretes were also found to out-perform all commercially available cement additives, such as graphene and carbon nanotubes and at a much lower cost.

The root vegetable nano platelets work to increase the amount of calcium silicate hydrate – the main substance that controls the performance of concrete, and stop any cracks that appear in the concrete.

By increasing the performance of concrete, smaller quantities are needed in construction.

The construction industry is urgently seeking ways in which to curb its carbon emissions. The production of ordinary Portland cement, one of the main ingredients for concrete, is very carbon intensive – its production accounts for 8% of total global co2 emissions. This is forecast to double in the next 30 years due to rising demand.

The proof-of-concept studies highlighted that adding the root vegetable nano platelets resulted in a saving of 40kg of ordinary Portland cement per cubic metre of concrete – which gives a saving of 40kg of CO2 for the same volume. This is because the greater strength of the root vegetable mixture means smaller sections of concrete are required in buildings.

Professor Mohamed Saafi from Lancaster University’s Engineering Department and lead researcher believes root vegetable concrete could go a long way to reducing construction carbon emissions.

Saafi said: “These novel cement nanocomposites are made by combining ordinary Portland cement with nano platelets extracted from waste root vegetables taken from the food industry.

“The composites are not only superior to current cement products in terms of mechanical and microstructure properties, but also use smaller amounts of cement. This significantly reduces both the energy consumption and CO2 emissions associated with cement manufacturing.”

The vegetable-based cementitious composites were also found to have a denser microstructure, which is important to prevent corrosion and increasing the lifespan of the materials.

The research project is also looking at adding very thin sheets made from vegetable nano platelets to existing concrete structures to reinforce their strength.

The two-year research project will investigate the science behind the results of the proof-of-concept studies to gain a fuller understanding of how the vegetable nano platelet fibres enhance the concrete mix. The researchers will also seek to optimise the concrete performance to help produce a mixture that can be used in the construction industry.

Cellucomp Ltd already uses fibres from root vegetables to manufacture more durable paints.

Dr Eric Whale from Cellucomp Ltd said: “We are excited to be continuing our collaboration with Professor Saafi and developing new applications for our materials, where we can bring environmental and performance benefits.”

Source: PBCtoday.co.uk