Engineering

Researchers improve cement with shrimp shell nanoparticles

Putting nanoparticles from shrimp shells into cement paste made the material significantly stronger—an innovation that could lead to reduced seafood waste and lower carbon emissions from concrete production.

Engineering

Startup using microorganisms to make 'green' cement

A Colorado company is channeling the industriousness of microorganisms to grow zero-carbon cement in a process that is similar to the way corals build reefs or oysters produce shells.

Business

Business models for carbon dioxide mineralization

The cement industry is responsible for about seven percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. To encourage the decarbonization of this industry, policymakers and the industry must find ways to incentivize reductions. A study ...

Engineering

From ancient times to the space age, concrete has staying power

The earliest known use of concrete is a floor that dates back to Galilee, circa 7000 BCE, still sound when unearthed in 2007. After thousands of years as the go-to building material, it might seem like science surely could ...

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Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term "opus caementicium" to describe masonry which resembled concrete and was made from crushed rock with burnt lime as binder. The volcanic ash and pulverized brick additives which were added to the burnt lime to obtain a hydraulic binder were later referred to as cementum, cimentum, cäment and cement. Cements used in construction are characterized as hydraulic or non-hydraulic.

The most important use of cement is the production of mortar and concrete - the bonding of natural or artificial aggregates to form a strong building material which is durable in the face of normal environmental effects.

Cement should not be confused with concrete because the term cement explicitly refers to the dry powder substance. Upon the addition of water and/or additives the cement mixture is referred to as concrete, especially if aggregates have been added.

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