{"id":7132,"date":"2024-04-01T16:50:25","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T16:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/?p=7132"},"modified":"2024-04-01T16:50:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T16:50:27","slug":"coal-based-product-could-replace-sand-in-concrete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/01\/coal-based-product-could-replace-sand-in-concrete\/","title":{"rendered":"Coal-Based Product Could Replace Sand in Concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mark S. Kuhar<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n

A study by Rice University researchers found that graphene derived from metallurgical coke, a coal-based product, could serve not only as a reinforcing additive in cement but also as a replacement for sand in concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis could have a major impact on one of the biggest industries in the world,\u201d said James Tour, Rice\u2019s T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor and a professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering. \u201cWe compared concrete made using the graphene aggregate substitute with concrete made using suitable sand aggregates, and we found our concrete is 25% lighter but just as tough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 68% of the global population expected to live in urban areas by 2050, demand for concrete and, hence, sand mining is projected to grow significantly. This has tripled in the last two decades, reaching about 50 billion tons yearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying its signature Joule-heating technique to metallurgical coke, the Tour lab has created a type of graphene that could serve as a substitute for sand in concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInitial experiments where metallurgical coke was converted into graphene resulted in a material that appeared similar in size to sand,\u201d said Paul Advincula, a Rice doctoral alum who is a lead author on the study. \u201cWe decided to explore the use of metallurgical coke-derived graphene as a total replacement for sand in concrete, and our findings show that it would work really well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tests comparing conventional concrete with concrete made from graphene aggregates show promising results. The graphene-based concrete not only matches the mechanical properties of standard concrete but also offers a higher strength-to-weight ratio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tour lab has used Flash Joule heating for a variety of applications, including hybrid carbon nanomaterials synthesis, battery part recycling and heavy metal removal from coal fly ash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis technique produces graphene faster and at a larger scale than previous methods,\u201d Advincula said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the potential to reduce reliance on natural sand and lower carbon emissions from the concrete industry, this new technology could lead to more sustainable urban development practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will take some time for the price of graphene to get low enough to make this viable,\u201d Tour said. \u201cBut this just shows there are alternatives we can pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satish Nagarajaiah, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and of mechanical engineering who is a corresponding author on the study, emphasized that \u201c30% of concrete is composed of sand \u2013 a significant part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research was supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark S. Kuhar A study by Rice University researchers found that graphene derived from metallurgical coke, a coal-based product, could serve not only as a reinforcing additive in cement but also as a replacement for sand in concrete. \u201cThis could have a major impact on one of the biggest industries in the world,\u201d said James Tour, Rice\u2019s T. T.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[196],"tags":[557,2830,2829],"coauthors":[1640],"class_list":["post-7132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-final-word","tag-carbon-emissions","tag-concrete-industry","tag-metallurgical-coke"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t