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

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在用能够从根本上改善地球上最常见建筑产品之一的环境状况的材料制造一种砖石砌块。这项研究将探索利用一种新的制造工艺，在纳米硅酸铝存在的情况下，使用工程碱激活土壤混合物来促进地球聚合的可行性。特定的细小颗粒成分，特别是粘土矿物、云母和长石，通常存在于土壤和商业集料和采石作业的回收材料中。该项目的学术价值包括对纳米铝硅酸盐存在下的地质聚合有更深的了解，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，以及能够利用广泛的自然土壤来源生产耐用的、结构稳定的砖石产品。预计的结果是一种环境可持续的稳定土砌块，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波特兰水泥粘结剂，体现能源减少了90%。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砖石产品的潜力。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。消除砌块中传统的普通硅酸盐水泥(OPC)将通过减少二氧化碳(CO2)排放、增加经济活动和改善公众健康为公众带来宝贵的社会和环境效益。美国每年生产约80亿块混凝土块来支持建筑活动，需要使用1500万吨(MMT)的OPC。这种水泥的制造排放了大约1400万公吨的二氧化碳，占美国工业二氧化碳排放总量6000公吨的0.25%。土壤是一种无处不在的、无害的、无限的资源，作为稳定土混合料设计的主要成分，它有望在整个产品生命周期内实现从摇篮到摇篮的可持续环境性能。从经济角度来看，预计到2014年将达到960亿至1400亿美元的绿色建筑是建筑市场增长最快的部分，而建筑市场本身就是国民经济的关键驱动力。

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.