Displaying items by tag: lime

Spain: Bio-Ecomatter, a company based in Extremadura, has launched a new sustainable mortar product without cement or sand, using agro-industrial waste as raw material. This product was developed by founders Carmen Tristancho and Lorena Rodríguez, along with Juanjo Tejado and Marisa Carmona from the Institute of Ornamental Rocks and Building Materials.

Bio-Ecomatter's product composition remains confidential. Beyond reducing reliance on traditional materials like cement, it promotes environmental sustainability by utilising agro-industrial waste. Carmen Tristancho, who heads the innovation department at an environmental engineering firm in Badajoz and co-created the product, revealed that the mortar includes hydraulic lime and agro-industrial waste. The mortar reportedly has a 40% higher performance than standard mortar and is half the density. It has the same texture and workability as conventional mortar, with a formula that minimises carbon emissions and lessens reliance on non-renewable raw materials.

The project, while not aiming to replace traditional mortar, introduces alternative sustainable construction methods. Bio-Ecomatter's product won the sustainable construction award from Metabuilding, an EU-funded project supporting SMEs in the construction sector. Tristancho reveals they are also working on projects using recycled plastic moulds filled with their Bio-Ecomatter mortar.

Tristancho said "We are women in a field very centred on cement and sand, so introducing a new material in construction can be met with scepticism."

Belgium: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded Euro4.5m to a consortium consisting of Prefer, gas provider Fluxys Belgium, lime producer Lhoist and carbonation technology developer Orbix. The collaborators are working on a project called CO2ncrEAT. The project will carbonate steel sector by-products with captured CO₂ from Lhoist's Hermalle lime plant to produce alternative building materials. CO2ncrEAT will be the first project to employ Orbix's innovative technique for the purpose. Fluxys Belgium's pipeline technology will convey the Hermalle plant's emissions over a distance of 2km to a Prefer concrete blocks plant.

The consortium said that it will use 12,000t/yr of CO₂ to produce 100,000t/yr of reduced-CO₂ concrete blocks. The use of alternative raw materials in the blocks will further reduce their carbon footprint by 8000t/yr.

Prefer managing director Raphaël Grimont said “As market leader, we must ensure the sustainability of our business by offering innovative and eco-friendly products to our customers. With the CO2ncrEAT project, our building materials will be produced through a sustainable and efficient process and based on local, circular raw materials. The Prefer masonry block of tomorrow will retain all the advantages of the traditional block, with the difference that it will benefit from a negative carbon footprint. We are proud to develop this exceptional project together with key industrial partners, while benefitting from the trust of the European, Belgian and Walloon authorities.”