lemmy - Link to source

Scientists Are Making Concrete With Human Poop – And It Gets 42% Stronger

Scientists Are Making Concrete With Human Poop – And It Gets 42% Stronger

Concrete is, quite literally, the foundation of the modern world.
Michelle Starr (ScienceAlert)
#science
in reply to Chris Remington
lemmy - Link to source

QuentinCallaghan

So if you add carrots into concrete with poop, it will become even more stronger?

dezeen.com/2018/08/09/carrots-concrete-stronger-lancaster-university-technology/

Concrete mixtures could be strengthened by adding nanoparticles extracted from carrots and other root vegetables, research currently underway at England's Lancaster University suggests.

Preliminary tests by the university's engineers found that "nano platelets" sourced from the fibres of these vegetables "significantly improved" the strength of concrete — and at a low cost.

in reply to Chris Remington
lemmy - Link to source

chicken

The beginning of the article mentions the environmental impact of cement manufacture and the importance of replacing it, but later mentions that the research found they can only replace 5-10% of a cement mixture with poop based biochar before it's strength becomes worse rather than better. Still some difference though I guess.
in reply to chicken
piefed - Link to source

rhythmisaprancer

I also wonder how the processing into biochar, and necessary electricity (I assume) to do that, factors into the overall offset of environmental impact. Maybe hard to quantify since it would lest human waste to dispose of otherwise.

Nice to see the concern of heavy metals, and should probably consider pharmaceuticals (will they survive pyrolysis?), but I believe concrete is very recyclable so maybe those things will stay in suspension.