Concrete is what people think of when they think about the most used product on earth. Concrete is second only to water in terms of most consumed products on Earth.1. It is used as the foundation for most of our modern building infrastructure – houses, tower blocks, roads and bridges. Concrete is very versatile and cheap to make. Concrete is used in more than 80% of modern construction.
The environment can be affected by the widespread use of this versatile material. Concrete production has a significant impact on the environment. Concrete production is characterized by the burning of fossil fuels to generate heat and the thermal decomposition calcium carbonate in cement clinker production. As a result, it is thought that concrete production is responsible for approximately 8% of all the worlds’ carbon dioxide emissions2.
Finding an alternative to the strong, inexpensive material upon which our society is reliant is one of the most difficult challenges we face in moving towards a more sustainable way to live.
Numerous studies have been done in recent years to determine what other options are available and how concrete production can be improved to reduce CO2. These include reducing the amount binder as disclosed in this US patent filing US 2022/017419, or substituting some concrete with more environmentally-friendly additives like agricultural waste products, as disclosed by this Chinese patent application CN 104478361. Other options include using co-products and by-products of concrete as partial replacements for cement, as described in US 2012/111236Reuse and recycling of water used in concrete production3You can also use in CN 211513726. However, there are still many things that can be done to improve this process and, ideally identify a substitute material that is as versatile, hard-wearing, and as versatile as concrete.
All over the world, Intellectual Property offices recognize the need to promote innovation in products and processes that use clean technology. They also recognize the need to improve current materials and methods for production, including concrete production. Many patent offices have been opened around the world. schemesThis allows applicants who have filed patent applications for green technology or environmental improvements in current processes to request fast track prosecution.
