Of Interest + Of Use ? (Pt 2)
CarbonCureTM – Simply Better Concrete
“Now CO2 from smokestacks can be permanently sequestered inside Ernest Maier concrete masonry.”
“100K grey block absorb the same amount of CO2 as 110 full grown trees will absorb in a year.” Let’s call it “green block.”
An Ernest Maier brochure states that its new CarbonCure can absorb and convert CO2. It’s a form of carbon sequestration. (If interested in more on that topic, see my post about re-using an abandoned gas field under the ocean.)
“So what?” the brochure asks. Do you know that the key ingredient in concrete is cement? (As readers of this blog, odds slightly favor you do.)
Well, did you know that the cement manufacturing process is responsible for about 5% of global GHGs? That’s per Maier.
“It starts with limestone. When limestone is heated, it splits in two. One part–CaO–is used to make cement. The other part is CO2 gas released into the atmosphere.”
“With CarbonCure, CO2 gas is mixed into concrete, where it finds molecules of CaO and chemically converts back to its natural state: CaCO3… solid limestone.”
In this product, 40% of its content is recycled aggregate. Also, unlike other manufacturers of CMU (concrete masonry unit) block, Maier disallows bottom ash from coal-fired plants to be used in its products so we’ll never see in its product the staining in CMU block that bottom ash causes.
OBTW, Maier offers another product, PaveDrain, which it calls a “one-of-a-kind permeable pavement system classified in the industry as a ‘Permeable Articulating Concrete Block/Mat’ (P-ACB/M).”
These are innovative eco-friendly products! As the good folks from Ernest Maier bought our lunches that day a couple of weeks ago, the presentation I sat through was a win-win.
Silva Cell 2 – Modular Suspended Pavement System
Last week I attended a lunch-time presentation/Q&A about completed stormwater management projects in Baltimore City. Fascinating, to me! And, I hope to you too?
Made by a company called DeepRoot, Silva Cell 2 is a rather important low-impact development in sustaining tree growth and maintaining healthy soils in heavily trafficked areas such as Sugar Beach along Toronto’s waterfront.
A single “block” of Silva Cell 2 consists of a base, posts and deck. These open blocks measure 4’x2’x varying heights. It’s an injection molded, fiberglass reinforced polypropylene product. Physical loading requirements can be determined through computer modeling. A roadway system employing Silva Cell 2 can safely support a 32K lb. truck.
Sugar Beach, opened in 2010, is an award-winning 2-acre urban waterfront park that includes a sand beach and promenade enhanced by a number of deciduous shade trees. Benches for relaxation are interspersed throughout while bicyclists ride along the plaza. Tourists and locals alike amble or sunbathe while admiring the views of Lake Ontario.
By preventing heavy soil compaction, the Silva Cell 2 system permits a more efficient degree of stormwater mitigation by slowing its flow so sedimentation can occur. Healthy tree growth is promoted as rooting is easier in less compacted soil.
What the Silva Cell 2 system provides is a bioretention basin, underground. Water seeping through various surface types is kept where it falls for absorption and cleaning–including polluted materials dissipation. Cooling and recharging too. That’s a good, green thing!
Interesting to learn that an Annapolis-based landscape architect of national reputation and casual business acquaintance claims to be one of the early-on inventors of this product. I found this out when recommending him as a green building project juror for a USGBC-Maryland event upcoming.