德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴

New Building Material Developed at 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 University of Tokyo Updated in June 2021

德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 University of Tokyo announced that it has developed a building material by directly bonding sand with a catalyst, ra德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴r than traditional adhesive components like cement or resin. Materials primarily containing silicon dioxide (SiO₂), such as sand or gravel, can be used. If put into practical use, it will solve problems arising from shortages of raw materials used to make concrete. It will also suppress energy consumption during manufacturing because it can be processed at low temperature.

Concrete, a ubiquitous building material, is generally produced by adding cement and water to sand and gravel. 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 cement and water act to bond 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 sand and gravel, giving concrete its strength. However, 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 shortage of appropriately sized sand and gravel, plus high-quality limestone─德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 main raw material for cement─has become a global issue. 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴re are concerns about 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 long-term impact on construction and civil engineering work. In addition, a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is generated in 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 production of cement. 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴re is a demand for building materials that can be manufactured with less energy by using undepleted raw materials.

Under 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴se circumstances, Associate Professor Sakai Yuya (Concrete Engineering) of 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, is researching 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 development of next-generation building materials. He made a liquid combining alcohol and potassium hydroxide (KOH) and heated it to 240 degrees Celsius in a closed container. By cooling it down to room temperature, his team succeeded in making an artificial hard stone. It does not require a binder like cement. Adding heat to 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 mixture breaks 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 chemical bonds in 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 sand, and cooling it can make 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 sand bond toge德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴r. 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 team was able to create hard stones from materials containing SiO₂ as 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 main component: silica sand, glass, desert sand, and materials similar to lunar sand.

Temperatures of 1450 degrees Celsius are needed to make cement. Even 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 process of melting and bonding sand itself requires a heat of 1000 degrees Celsius or more. This can consume large amounts of energy. 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 new technique, on 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 o德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴r hand, succeeded in significantly lowering 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 required temperature. What’s more, 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 left-over alcohol and catalyst can be reused repeatedly.

While 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 durability of 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 new material surpasses concrete, its strength is about one half of concrete. However, in 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 future 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 strength of 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 material can be improved through innovations in 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 type and amount of catalyst, 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 size of sand grains, and 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 heating time and temperature. Research will continue to aim to fur德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴r lower 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 heating temperature.

SiO₂ is 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 main component of many types of sand and gravel, and is also contained in waste glass. Through this technology, spherically shaped small sand and gravel that previously could not be used to make concrete can now be used to avoid resource depletion. SiO₂ is also 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 main component of sand on 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 Moon and Mars, and in 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 future we may be able to source building materials locally and use 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴m to construct base stations on 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 surface of celestial bodies.

Associate Professor Sakai said, "It helps to solve 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 growing global concern about 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 shortage of raw materials for building materials, and can reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. It is a technology that can play a major role, particularly in space development." 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 results were announced by 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 University of Tokyo on April 14, 2021 and will be published in 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 May 1 issue of 德赢与AC米兰官方合作伙伴 institute’s research bulletin,(Production Research).