Innovative Cement Supplement Inspired by Oceanic Mineralization of Calcium

Innovation: Industry

Fortera

Image: Daniel Öberg / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Chemically Break Down Organic Compounds

The vast majority of biochemical assembly and breakdown processes–even by the most complex organisms–occur within cells. In fact, cells are able to perform hundreds, even thousands of chemical transformations at the same time under life-friendly conditions (ambient temperature and pressure in an aqueous environment). Part of the reason that decomposition reactions (chemical breakdown) can occur under such mild conditions is because most often, they occur in a stepwise, enzyme-mediated fashion, sipping or releasing small amounts of energy at each step. For example, the breakdown of glucose to pyruvate–and the release of energy–occurs in the 10-step enzyme catalyzed process of glycolysis.

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Physically Assemble Structure

Living systems use physical materials to create structures to serve as protection, insulation, and other purposes. These structures can be internal (within or attached to the system itself), such as cell membranes, shells, and fur. They can also be external (detached), such as nests, burrows, cocoons, or webs. Because physical materials are limited and the energy required to gather and create new structures is costly, living systems must use both conservatively. Therefore, they optimize the structures’ size, weight, and density. For example, weaver birds use two types of vegetation to create their nests: strong, a few stiff fibers and numerous thin fibers. Combined, they make a strong, yet flexible, nest. An example of an internal structure is a bird’s bone. The bone is comprised of a mineral matrix assembled to create strong cross-supports and a tubular outer surface filled with air to minimize weight.

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Store Chemical Entities

Chemical entities include elements such as carbon and metals, and compounds such as nutrients and proteins. Living systems must often store chemical entities–for example, for food or protection–temporarily or for long periods; the latter is synonymous with sequestration. Because chemical entities can react with other chemicals, living systems must store these entities so that they are stable and out of the way (for long-term storage) or readily available when needed (for temporary storage). An example of temporary storage is found in crustaceans such as crabs, which must shed their external skeletons as they grow. But first, a crab must absorb as much calcium carbonate from its shell as possible, storing the compound in its blood until the crab can use it to grow a new exoskeleton.

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Patents

US7922809B1
14.5 MB PDF

ReCARB from Fortera uses excess carbon dioxide to re-carbonate calcium oxide to make a cementitious material.

Benefits

Sustainable
Reduced CO2 emissions

Applications

Construction
Infrastructure

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 9: Industry Innovation & Infrastructure
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
Goal 12: Responsible Production & Consumption

The Challenge

Cement is the second most consumed product on Earth after water. Concrete production is also one of the largest producers of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. These gases absorb solar energy and keep heat close to the Earth, known as the greenhouse effect, leading to global warming.

Innovation Details

ReCARB™ re-carbonates calcium oxide with waste CO2 from kilns. This creates reactive calcium carbonate, similar to the material found in many marine organisms. When combined with water, the calcium carbonate transforms from a spherical shape to a dense network of rods. This increases the hardening and binding ability of cement while also trapping waste CO2.

Biological Model

Calcium carbonate is formed in the oceans when calcium ions dissolved from other minerals react with carbon dioxide. The resulting calcium carbonate is a very hard, stable material that is found in many organisms, including coral reefs.

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