SBIR Phase I: Using Geopolymerisation of Natural Aluminosilicate Minerals to Develop Sustainable Masonry Materials

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的目的是制造一种砖石建筑砌块，这种材料可以从根本上改善地球上最常见的建筑产品之一的环境状况。该研究将调查使用工程碱活化土壤混合物的可行性，以促进在纳米铝硅酸盐的存在下使用一种新的制造工艺的地质聚合。特定的细颗粒成分，特别是粘土矿物，云母和滑石，通常存在于土壤和来自商业骨料和采石作业的回收材料中。该项目的智力优势包括更深入地了解纳米铝硅酸盐存在下的地质聚合，测量由这些材料组成的工程土壤混合物在极端压实下的结构能力，以及利用广泛的天然土壤来源生产耐用，结构稳定的砌体产品的能力。预期的结果是一个环境可持续的稳定地球建筑砌块，具有与传统混凝土砌块相同的性能，但由于完全消除了能源密集型的波特兰水泥粘合剂，减少了高达90%的隐含能源。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在全球范围内改变传统水泥基砌体产品的潜力。该产品将满足美国和全球建筑市场对可持续材料的明确市场需求。在砌块中消除传统的普通波特兰水泥（OPC）将以减少二氧化碳（CO2）排放、增加经济活动和改善公共健康的形式为公众提供宝贵的社会和环境效益。美国每年生产约80亿块混凝土砌块以支持建筑活动，需要使用1500万公吨（MMT）OPC。这种水泥的生产排放约14百万吨的二氧化碳，占美国工业二氧化碳排放总量6,000百万吨的0.25%。土壤是一种无处不在的、无害的和无限的资源，作为稳定土混合设计的主要组成部分，它的使用保证了在整个产品生命周期内实现可持续的从摇篮到摇篮的环境性能的可能性。从经济角度来看，绿色建筑预计到2014年将达到960亿至1400亿美元，是建筑市场增长最快的部分，而建筑市场本身也是国民经济的主要驱动力。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to manufacture a masonry building block from materials that could radically improve the environmental profile of one of the most common construction products on the planet. The research will investigate the feasibility of using engineered alkali-activated soil blends to promote geopolymerisation in the presence of nanoaluminosilicates using a novel manufacturing process. The specific fine particle components, specifically clay minerals, micas and feldspars, are commonly found in soil and recycled materials from commercial aggregate and quarrying operations. The intellectual merits of the project include a deeper understanding of geopolymerisation in the presence of nanoaluminosilicates, the measurement of the structural capabilities of engineered soil blends composed of these materials under extreme compaction, and the ability to utilize a wide range of natural soil sources to produce durable, structurally-stable masonry products. The anticipated result is an environmentally-sustainable stabilized earth building block, with equivalent performance to traditional concrete blocks, but with a reduction in embodied energy by as much as 90% due to the total elimination of energy-intensive Portland cement binders.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the potential to transform traditional cement-based masonry products on a global scale. The product will meet a clear market need for sustainable materials in both the US and global construction marketplace. The elimination of traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in masonry blocks will provide valuable social and environmental benefits to the public in the form of reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, increased economic activity, and improved public health. Approximately 8 billion concrete blocks are manufactured in the US annually to support construction activities, requiring the use of 15 million metric tons (MMT) of OPC. The manufacture of this cement emits approximately 14 MMT of CO2, which represents 0.25% of the 6,000 MMT of industrial CO2 emissions overall in the US. The use of soil, a ubiquitous, innocuous and unlimited resource, as the principal component of stabilized earth mix designs, promises the possibility of sustainable cradle-to-cradle environmental performance over a full product life cycle. From an economic perspective, green construction, which is projected to reach $96-140 billion by 2014, is the fastest growing segment of the construction market, which itself is a key driver of the national economy.