Novacem cement that will eat up CO2 in the air

The major cause of atmospheric degradation is construction – be it building or roads. In those, the building section takes a stronger hand. Apparently, the construction field uses an annual production of 2.5 billion tons of cement. Now what if this is in turn used to gobble up the carbon presence in the air? New company Novacem has invented a cement that can ‘eat up carbon as it hardens’. This cement, a creation of the Imperial College of London, is based on magnesium oxide and special mineral additives to remove heavy CO2 producing bases such as limestone and calcium carbonate.

The cement hardens by absorbing the greenhouse gases and the company has estimated that for every ton of Portland Cement replaced by Novacem, three fourths of a ton of CO2 will be saved. The company recently got huge investment in the size of $1.7 million and by 2011 they will have pilot plant ready in England.


[Inhabitat]