Building Materials | Use of Carbon-negative Cement in Building Construction

Carbon-negative cement | New revolutionary Building material

Carbon-negative cement…?? Sound different, doesn’t it?

Have you ever realized how much carbon is emitted because of using concrete in the construction of buildings, highways, dams, bridges etc?

Well, here’s an answer to that. It is found that out of the 100% carbon dioxide emissions, 5% of the emissions are caused by human activities. Majority of the carbon emission is caused by usage of concrete in the constructions. How? Cement is an indispensible ingredient used for making concrete. Cement is made by baking limestone and clay powders under intense temperatures (high temperature). The intense heat which is required for the production of cement is achieved by burning of fossil fuels which in turn release large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Building Construction | We can just imagine to what extent the carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere
Building Construction | We can just imagine to what extent the carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is also released when the conversion of limestone takes place in the kilns. This conversion is called “Calcination”. It has been observed that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during calcination is much higher than that which is released due to burning of fossil fuels.

Recently, a British company called “Novacem” came up with this concept of manufacturing ‘carbon-negative’ cement that absorbs more carbon-dioxide than it emits over its entire life cycle.

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Various types of RCC Slabs | Design of RCC Structures

Reinforced Cement Concrete Slab

  • A Reinforced Concrete Slab is the one of the most important component in a building. It is a structural element of modern buildings. Slabs are supported on Columns and Beams.
  • RCC Slabs whose thickness ranges from 10 to 50 centimetres are most often used for the construction of floors and ceilings.
  • Thin concrete slabs are also used for exterior paving purpose.
RCC Slab Construction
RCC Slab Construction
  • In many domestic and industrial buildings a thick concrete slab, supported on foundations or directly on the sub soil, is used to construct the ground floor of a building.
  • In high rises buildings and skyscrapers, thinner, pre-cast concrete slabs are slung between the steel frames to form the floors and ceilings on each level.

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