Sometimes it takes the right market timing to disrupt with a new innovation. In the case of this stronger, lighter concrete that also produces fewer carbon emissions, the creator was waiting for the market to embrace sustainable solutions. He waited decades for environmental responsibility to be a larger concern for the building industry.
In the future, wide-ranging composite materials are expected to be stronger, lighter, cheaper and greener for our planet, thanks to an invention by Rutgers' Richard E. Riman. Nine years ago, Riman, a distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering, invented an energy-efficient technology that harnesses largely low-temperature, water-based reactions.
As a result, he and his team can make things in water that previously were made at temperatures well above those required to thermally decompose plastics. So far, the revolutionary technology has been used to make more than 30 different materials, including concrete that stores carbon dioxide, the prime greenhouse gas linked to climate change.
Other materials include multiple families of composites that incorporate a wide range of metals, polymers and ceramics whose behavior can be processed to resemble wood, bone, seashells and even steel.
So he founded Solidia Technologies Inc. in Piscataway, New Jersey, in 2008. It's a startup company marketing improved, eco-friendly cement and concrete for construction and infrastructure. Concrete is a $1 trillion market, Riman noted.
"The first thing we did was show that we could make a material that costs the same as conventional Portland cement," he said. "We developed processing technology that allows you to drop the technology right into the conventional world of concrete and cement without having to make major capital expenditures typically encountered when a technology is disruptive to the marketplace. We plan to do the same thing in the advanced materials business."
Solidia Concrete products have superior strength and durability. They, combined with Solidia Cement, can reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete by up to 70% and can save as much as 528.3 billion gallons a year, according to Solidia Technologies.
The company's concrete-based products include roofing tiles, cinder blocks and hollow core building slabs. The company approaches concrete product manufacturers to see if they're interested in licensing its products.
