Development of eco-friendly silicate-based nanoparticles for sustainable concrete infrastructure

混凝土生产主要依赖于波特兰水泥的消耗，而波特兰水泥是一个巨大的二氧化碳排放源。此外，恶劣的环境条件，如冻融循环和除冰盐的使用，对阿尔伯塔省的混凝土基础设施造成了巨大的破坏和修复成本。因此，开发环保和持久的混凝土材料对于保护我们的地球，并降低与土木工程基础设施的维修和建设相关的成本是必不可少的。该项目的重点是开发和设计自然衍生的硅酸盐基纳米颗粒，这些纳米颗粒易于生产，与水泥基基质兼容。纳米颗粒将经过精心设计，以满足所需的性能，如表面化学、颗粒大小和形态，以实现混凝土的最佳功能。然后，它们将以适当的比例集成到混凝土混合物中，以获得坚固耐用的混凝土，波特兰水泥的用量较少。这项工作将通过卡尔加里大学化学和石油教授Nassar博士和土木工程助理教授Khoshnazar博士之间的密切合作进行，前者的专长是纳米颗粒的开发和表征，后者的专长是水泥和混凝土生产。这种环保、高效、低成本的技术将彻底改变水泥和混凝土行业。高素质的人才也将接受培训，以解决与建筑行业及其环境影响有关的“现实世界”问题。

Concrete production mainly relies on the consumption of Portland cement that is a huge CO2 emitter. In addition, harsh environmental conditions such as freezing and thawing cycles and the use of de-icing salts cause significant damage and repair cost to concrete infrastructure in Alberta. Development of eco-friendly and long-lasting concrete materials is therefore essentially needed to protect our planet, and to reduce the costs associated with repair and construction of civil engineering infrastructure. This project focuses on the development and design of naturally-derived silicate-based and easy-to-produce nanoparticles that are compatible with cement-based matrix. The nanoparticles will be carefully designed to meet the required properties such as surface chemistry, particle size and morphology for optimum functionality in concrete. Then, they will be integrated in the concrete mixtures in appropriate proportions to obtain strong and durable concrete, with less amount of Portland cement. The work will be conducted through close collaboration between Dr. Nassar, Professor of Chemical and Petroleum whose expertise is on nanoparticle development and characterization, and Dr. Khoshnazar, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering whose expertise is on cement and concrete production, at the University of Calgary. This technology would revolutionize the cement and concrete industry through being environmentally sound, highly efficient, and cost effective. Highly qualified personnel will also be trained to solve "real world" problems related to construction industry and its environmental impacts.