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May 2020 / 15 concrete production emissions research from 2018, the cement industry globally accounted for about 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. This would make the industry the third lead- ing emitter of carbon emissions behind China and the US. By using the "living" building material as an alternative construction material, carbon emission reductions could be achieved. The research "Biomineralization and Successive Regeneration of Engineered Living Building Mate- rials" was published in the journal Matter. The research was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. temperature for a few days as the bacteria dies out. However, the bacteria activates (comes to "life") again once the material is exposed to high temperature and humidity even after a few weeks. In terms of the environmental impact, the research revealed that when the bricks were cut in half, put into a warm beaker with more raw materials, and subsequently put back into a mold, each brick piece would grow back into its own full-sized brick. This discov- ery could save time and effort for remote builds in harsh conditions. Also, the process doesn't require virgin sand like a typical concrete mixture would, so the bricks could be formed using waste materi- als like ground glass or recycled concrete, according to Srubar. Per RESEARCH NOTES Researchers develop self- healing, environmentally friendlier building material Researchers at the College of Engi- neering & Applied Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder have developed a "living" building material that can be sculpted into a range of shapes and sizes. Aside from having the ability to self-heal, the material can also offer a way to reduce the concrete industry's carbon footprint. Researchers at the university introduced cyanobacteria from the genus Synechococcus to a sand and gelatin mixture. The mixture was then used to form a brick capable of scrubbing carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere instead of emitting it. The cyanobacteria was chosen because it absorbs carbon dioxide, a process that encourages the formation of calcium carbon- ate, which is a primary ingredient in limestone and cement. The cya- nobacteria uses photosynthesis to absorb light and create calcium carbonate, which gradually forms a cement-like structure with the sand and gelatin. Researcher Wil Sruber suggested using gelatin instead of water in forming the material, so the researchers bought Knox brand gelatin from the supermarket. The resulting material-and-gelatin mix- ture grew stronger and faster than previous attempts to create a brick- like material using a recipe with water instead of gelatin. The material took about a day to form a solid block and though these blocks were weaker than con- ventional concrete, they showed promise for use in construction as long as shoebox-sized blocks are used. According to the research, the blocks gain the most strength after remaining in dry air at room Powder handling is more than just putting components together. custom. sanitary. solutions. unloading & storage - pneumatic & mechanical conveying - batching & Blending - sifting & size reduction - dust control - filling & packaging let pps handle your next powder processing project. contact the experts. www.powder-solutions.com 877-933-2556 food dairy nutritional