The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) will receive €2.3 million for research into the reuse of concrete.
For the research, the concrete beams and columns of the Pavilion building on the TU/e campus will be used. According to TU/e researcher and project leader Rijk Blok, the reuse of concrete is an important pillar to emit less CO2.
“Cement production releases a lot of CO2”, Blok says. “Moreover, the large amount of sand and gravel that’s needed has a considerable environmental impact. If we want to make construction more sustainable, concrete is, therefore, an important material to look at”.
New concrete is cheaper
An easy task by no means. Also because recycled concrete must meet the same quality requirements as new concrete. “Structural safety is and remains an absolute requirement, of course.”
Partly for that reason, it’s currently cheaper to produce new material instead of reusing it. “New cement is simply cheaper at the moment”, Blok says. “But in the future, it may not be, if, for example, a climate tax or higher CO2 tax is levied on concrete”.
Blok is therefore optimistic. “Problems are there to be overcome. If we want to become more sustainable, we must research the preconditions now”.
Apart from TU/e, three other universities are participating in the research project, for which a total of €12,5 million’s been allocated. The other projects will take place in Germany, Finland and Sweden.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by: Bob
