A study has found coffee grounds could be used in place of some sand content to make ultra high performance concrete that is up to 30% stronger than normal.
A new study has found that coffee grounds could be used in place of some sand content to make ultra high performance concrete that is up to 30% stronger than regular concrete. New Civil Engineer reports that Researchers at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT University) in Australia carried out the interesting experiment.
The researchers found that the coffee grounds required processing with a method that breaks down the organic content, in order to prevent it leaching into the cement particles. This process, known as pyrolysing, uses very high temperatures but is a low energy process.
RMIT University civil engineering researcher Rajeev Roychand, who led the research, said: “The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental challenge as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change.”
RMIT University assistant civil and infrastructure engineering professor Jie Li said: “The ongoing extraction of natural sand around the world to meet the rapidly growing demands of the construction industry has a big impact on the environment.”
Li added: “There are critical and long lasting challenges in maintaining a sustainable supply of sand due to the finite nature of resources and the environmental impacts of sand mining. With a circular economy approach, we could keep organic waste out of landfill and also better preserve our natural resources like sand.”
Each year, an estimated 10 M.t of waste coffee grounds are sent to landfill around the world. This not only uses up land but also causes emissions of harmful greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane. Therefore, the new technique could benefit the environment, and also reduce the need to extract non-renewable resources from the earth.