Agricultural Wastes for High Performance Concrete ... · Agricultural Wastes for High Performance...

Agricultural Wastes for High Performance

Concrete Construction in Africa –

Potentials for Innovation, Markets,

and Sustainability

Wolfram SchmidtBAM Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung

08.11.2017

08.11.2017Agricultural waste for high performance construction - potentials for innovation, markets, and sustainability | 5th German-African Infrastructure Forum 2017 | [email protected]

2

Introduction

Societal perception of concrete

• In society, concrete has a rather negative perception.

• Can concrete also be sexy?

www.bewegteflaeche.de


3

Introduction

Societal perception of concrete

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art by Tadao Andō, Source: Wikipedia

phænoby Zaha Hadid, Source: Wikipedia


• Can concrete also be sexy? – Absolutely!



• The embodied CO2

and energy forconcreteproduction areextremelylow compared toother materials.


4

Introduction

Environmental impact of concrete

Barcelo et al., 2014



• The embodied CO2

and energy forconcreteproduction areextremelylow compared toother materials.


5

Introduction

Environmental impact of concrete

Barcelo et al., 2014

There isno global or

more sustainablealternative to concrete!


6

Introduction

What is required?

• Concrete makes out 50% of everything the world produces.

• It is the second largest consumed good – following water.

• Today, cement is responsible for 5-10% of the global CO2.

What can we do?

A blueprint for a climate friendly cement industry, 2008

Use concrete!

But use less cement in concrete, anduse cement in concrete more efficiently.

Traditional concrete


7

Sustainable concrete

Solutions and potentials

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

CEMCEM

CEMCEM



8

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

CEMCEM

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

SCMSCM

CEMCEM

SCMSCM

Concrete with reduced cement clinker


Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs)


9

Steel production

(Wikipedia)

Hard coal (Wikipedia)

Scrivener, 2017




10

• Most agricultural by products can beconverted to reactive ashes.

• These ashes often outperform classicalcement or industrial by-products.

• Africa‘s economic growth is closelylinked to agriculture.

• And this is a growing sector:

– Africa has 600 million ha ofunused arable land.

• It is likely that Africa will become thebreadwinner of the earth.

Agricultural by-productsare not a negligible resource!

Olonade, 2015

Ikumapayi, 2015

Msinjili, 2015



More efficient use of cement in concrete



11

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

CEMCEM

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

SCMSCM

H2OCEM

CEM

GravelSandCEM

CEMCEM

CEM

CEMCEM

SCMSCM



Organic admixtures


12

The control of the consistency is crucialfor innovative concrete:

• High strength• 3D-Printing• Pumping• Casting at extreme climatic

conditions

Thus, organic admixtures that controlthe water content and the flow are thekey to future technologies.


Organic admixtures


13

• Naphtha based admixtures supply fromoutside and limited to coastal regions

www.maps.google.de


Organic admixtures


14

• Naphtha based admixtures supply fromoutside and limited to coastal regions

• The alternatives can be derived againfrom agricultural and bio-basedindustrial processes, e.g.

• Acacia gum

• Lignosulfonate

• Starch

• …


Organic admixtures

More efficient use of cement in concrete



15

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

CEMCEM

H2OH2OH2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

SCMSCM

H2OCEM

CEM

Gravel

SandCEMCEM

CEMCEM

CEMCEM

SCMSCM

CEMCEM



Way forward


16

Potentials for Africa

Case study: cassava

Food production

Unusedwaste

Today: dumped

Olonade, 2015


17

Food production

Unusedwaste

Energy from burning


Case study: cassava


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Case study: cassava


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Conclusions

Summary and outlook

• Africa can become pioneer in green and sustainablecement and concrete technologies based on agricultural wastes.

• Agricultural waste products are technically not betteror worse than products from rocks or metallurgy,

• but they are renewable and sustainable, and

• suitable for low-end and high-end construction.

• Bio-based waste materials can be used for high performance concrete as:

• Mineral powder• Organic admixture

• The process chains open up enormous marketpotentials for local and global players.

International

Energy Agency


20

Thank you very much for your kind attention!

[email protected]


21

Backup!


22


Possible chemical admixtures

• For efficient use of cement in concrete, rheology modifying admixtures are key.

• Sugar based chemistry has pointed out to provide.

Mbugua, UP


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We have alwaysbeen doing it

like this!

28d compressive

strength

We fulfil all ourstandards, why

should wemove?

Will it bring votes?

SustainabilityCreativity rules

Naphtha


Real life challenges

EBIT

Agricultural waste for high performance construction - potentials for innovation, markets, and sustainability | 5th German-African Infrastructure Forum 2017 | [email protected]

24

Potentials in Africa and Europe

Obstacles vs. degrees of freedom

Europe has a long lasting concrete tradition.

• Safety in use• Predictable performance• High level of education and technology

• Technology boost during last 20 years• Low-clinker cement types• High-Performance Concrete• Tailored and smart performances• Eco cement and concrete

State of possibilitiesStatus Quo

• Well established standards• Strong involvement of stakeholders Limitation

Cement and concrete history is relatively short in Africa

• Evolving safety level• Evolving performances• Evolving training and education

• Implementing best available knowledge without repeating mistakes of the past

• Africa can develop concrete technologies that are more modern and future oriented than the existing ones.

State of possibilitiesStatus Quo

• Pragmatic standard level• Low and different stakeholder interests

Potential

08.11.2017


25


Sustainable potentials

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Ca

ssa

va

pro

du

ctio

n

in %

of

glo

ba

l p

rod

uct

ion

Africa Central America and Caribbean South America Asia

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Nig

eri

a's

ca

ssa

va

pro

du

ctio

n [

%]

Nigeria's cassava production in % of world's production

Nigeria's cassava production in % of Africa's production


26

Summary and conclusions

Possible future path

Aitcin, 2000

Morgan Stanley Research, 2015

CEMNET, 2013

• In the past concrete performance was depending upon w/c and OPC content.

• Today, with a more efficient use of cement, the former correlations do no longer hold true.

Per

capita

cem

ent

consum

ption

Per capita gross domestic income

Africa

Europe


27


The important role of civil engineers

Civil Engineering

HabitatUrbanisation InfrastructureEnvironment Sustainability

Global challenges of the 21. century

Architecture Chemistry

Physics Economy

Geology

Environ-

mental

sciences

Planning

Exploitation of

resourcesBuilding

Maintenance

Civil engineers are responsible for the global challenges, but they also hold the key for their solutions.


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Way forward

http://lmc.epfl.ch/files/content/users/184559/files/2016-UNEPReport-Complete4.pdf

Environmentally friendly technologies and newmarkets

Environmentally friendly technologies and newmarkets



Relevance for Europe

Drivingforce:

Mainte-nance

No inherent potential forsustainable local solutions.

Regulations:Conserva-

tive

Markets: Stagnating

Innovation:risk

Innovation: slow

Innovation: hindered

Drivingforce:

Develop-ment

Enormous potential for sustainablefuture oriented building materials

Regulations: Open

minded

Markets:Evolving

Innovation: motivation

Innovation: urgent

Innovation: possible

Environmentally friendly technologies, newmarkets, more social equality

Europe Africa

Adaption to localmaterials

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What is required?

Understanding of the real boundary framework

• Only few cement plants all over thecontinent (though this is changing).

• Cement is extremely expensive

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