Disposing of Concrete - раздел Иностранные языки, К30 Engineering The Future: пособие по английскому языку. /Н.Г. Качановская, Л.М. Морозова, О.А. Шалай. – Минск.: БНТУ, 2009. – 128 с In Its Final Form, As Waste, Concrete Is Far From Being Either Biodegradable ...
In its final form, as waste, concrete is far from being either biodegradable or environmentally friendly. It generally has to be smashed up and removed in chunks. One of the benefits of working with concrete is that it is adaptable, hard wearing and long lasting, but once it has started cracking, or becoming uneven, then it needs to be replaced, or covered with further layers of new concrete.
There are other green materials that can be used for some building and construction purposes – more wood can be used in house construction, for instance. But in generals humans need to wean ourselves off our devotion to and reliance upon ugly grey, environmentally unfriendly concrete. Materials that work with and do not despoil the natural environment need to be found and experimented with.
Green cement: an industry revolution?
6 February 2009
By Stephen Kennett
Cement produces more carbon dioxide than the whole of the aviation industry. But now there’s a variant that actually absorbs greenhouse gases
The argument about which is the greener construction material, concrete or steel, could be about to take a new turn. UK scientists say they have discovered a way of producing cement which, instead of emitting carbon dioxide, absorbs it from the atmosphere. Given that cement accounts for about 5% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, more than the aviation industry, and that concrete production is set to grow 50% by 2020, the discovery could be the breakthrough of the decade in the construction industry.
The cement has been developed by Novacem, a spin-off company of Imperial College in London. It uses different raw materials to conventional Portland cement. According to Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, the company’s chief scientist, when they were developing the cement they wanted to cross the boundary and make a material that was carbon negative. “That was our goal from the outset,” he says.
Traditional Portland cement is made by heating limestone and clay in giant kilns at about 1,500ÞC to produce clinker. This is ground with gypsum to make cement. The International Energy Agency estimates that for every tonne of cement releases an average of 0.83 tonnes of CO2. About half of this is generated from the vast amounts of energy needed to heat the kilns and the other half is released in chemical reactions as the limestone decomposes.
According to Vlasopoulos there is little that can be done to reduce the CO2 emissions given off when clinker is produced. “Unless you have a way to capture it and encapsulate it, it’s going to be released into the atmosphere.”
However, instead of limestone, Novacem’s cement uses magnesium oxides. Vlasopoulos is coy about the exact technique – a patent is still pending – but says they have developed a way of converting magnesium silicates, which are abundantly available, into magnesium oxide, which is used as the raw material for the cement. The advantage of using magnesium oxide is that the production process requires lower temperatures – typically in the range of 650ÞC to 700ÞC – and it does not give off any carbon dioxide in the reaction.
Lower temperatures open up the possibility of decreasing the carbon footprint further by using biomass. Traditional cement production relies on a mix of fuels such as coke and coal, as well as used tyres, meat, bone meal and packaging waste. For the past decade cement makers have been working on ways to reduce their energy consumption. “There has been a move to switch to lower carbon content fuels,” says Vlasopoulos. “The problem is that they cannot sustain the temperatures as easily as when you use coke or coal to fire the kilns. If you use lower temperatures we can be much more flexible in the types of fuel we use.”
Of course this still means that carbon dioxide is produced, but Novacem’s cement absorbs carbon dioxide when it hardens; Portland cement does this too but Novacem’s cement absorbs it in much greater amounts. Portland cement soaks up anywhere between 0.2 and 0.5 tonnes, which, taking into account the production process, leaves an overall carbon footprint of between 0.3 and 0.6 tonnes. Vlasopoulos says production of a tonne of his cement generates 0.4 tonnes of CO2 but absorbs 1.1 tonnes when it hardens meaning on balance it absorbs 0.7 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. This compares favourably with steel which produces an average 1.7 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne produced.
The big question of course is when will the cement be available? Work on developing full-scale production facilities is now under way and the company is working with Rio Tinto Minerals on how best to get hold of magnesium silicate, but, says Vlasopoulos, it will be three to five years before it is commercially available. “It needs some time to fall into place; we need to build production plants and get the market on board.”
And there’s more to come. Vlasopoulos and his team are also working on a way to recycle its magnesium oxide cement. “Normally with concrete you break it up and recover it as aggregate and use it instead of sand and gravel. We propose recycling it to make cement again. It’s not something that will happen now as you need a stock of buildings to do it with but in the long term this is our goal.”
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Read the following information about sustainability, matching questions to the answers.
1) What is sustainability in an ecological point of view?
2) What is the definition of sustainability in the broad sense?
"What
Sustainability
“Our work embraces infrastructure, architecture and product design.
We design by challenging – by asking the right questions.
We believe the quali
Read the following news and try to guess what ideas they have in common and what problems they deal with.
Eco-terraces: Urban jungle
Eco-terraces are the next big thing in rooftop developments – but, says Stephen Kennett, it pays to have green fingers.
Ov
Sustainable Architecture Questions and Answers
1. Read some information about Kelly Hart – a green building professional. Then think of some questions you would like to ask him.
Kelly Ha
Read the first part of the text and answer the questions after it.
Spanning 25 years in the work of Jim Olson of Olson Sundberg Architects, these houses illustrate the evolution of a sustainable design sensibility rooted in the 1960s.
The beginnings.
The first of the three Olson houses, designed in the late 1960s, is on a steep, densely wooded cliff (near a beach where Olson played as a youth) overlooking south Puget Sound and, in the distance,
The Next Generation
The second house, built in 1992 in the suburb of Kirkland east of Seattle, bursts cheerfully from the landscape instead of hunkering into it. Yet the principle of prospect and refuge is at work her
The 1960s Revisited.
Yet the third house discussed here returns to many of the themes of the first – a “return to roots” brought about in not a small part by the client’s close collaboration in its design.
Lik
Keeping it Simple
The client would have none of it – no illusions, no architectural tricks. She wanted simplicity; the living room roof would be flat, its windows perceptible as such. The cross axis would be straigh
Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.
1. These three houses are interesting both for their commonalities and their differences.
2. One thing the houses have in common is relevance to the theory of energy conser
Language development
14. Fill in the gaps with the words below:
a) inserted b) refuge
c) elaborate d) low-key
e) ingrained f) watchwords
Complete the sentences with the suitable preposition, if necessary.
1. respond … the images
2. affinity … a place
3. to be interesting … their commonalities
4. to burst … the landscape
5. suffused … light
Follow-up
18. Look through some information about underground construction and answer the following questions:
1. Is it possible to build underground
Advantages of building underground
Houses can be built on steep surfaces and can maximize space in small areas by going below the ground. In addition the materials excavated in construction can be used in the buildin
Do this questionnaire to find out how green you are. Make use of the list of unknown words at the end of it. Then discuss the results in class.
"Going green" has become as mainstream as baseball and apple pie, and Earth Day has morphed from an also-ran government holiday to a full-fledged internati
Builder in Hell
A builder dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, "Ah sorry, you're in the wrong place." So the builder reports to the gates
Read the following news and try to guess what ideas they have in common and what problems they deal with.
A 13th Century village church is aiming to install solar panels as part of an environmentally friendly fund-raising scheme.
Parish officials hope the panels will produce
Read the text and check your answers.
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources — such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat — which are renewable (naturally replenished).
In 2006, about 18% of g
Read the text and answer the questions after it.
What is a passive house?
“Maximising the use of solar energy
and minimising heat loss is our credo.”
R
Elements of passive solar design
Every passive solar building includes five distinct design elements (see diagram 1):
1. An aperture or collector — the large glass area through which sunlight enters the building.
Lighting and electrical appliances
To minimize the total primary energy consumption, low-energy lighting (such as compact fluorescent lamps), and high-efficiency electrical appliances are normally used.
Read the following information and try to guess what type of house is described in each paragraph.
The term passive house refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in buildings. This can be achieved by a mixture of energy conservation technolog
Reading task C
1. Go over the vocabulary list. Consult a dictionary if you need.
assembly (n)
proprietor (n)
r
Building for the future
Houses without heating? Long considered only a subject for research projects, this idea has now become a practical reality. Zero-energy houses obtain electricity and heat from the sun free of ch
Read part two and answer the questions after it.
In conjunction with the local college and other businesses, Fritz is attempting to combine high-technology and ecology in an “intelligent house” in Rosenheim. The windows close when
Comprehension check
9. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text:
1. Hubert Fritz is a famous German economist.
Language focus
Match the words to their synonyms:
1) proprietor 6) breakthrough a) overlook f) support
2) estimate 7) squander b) stab
Language development
Fill in the gaps with the words below making all necessary changes to them:
a) to fulfill low-energy standards b) to lay off
Villa Girasole
The oldest rotating house we have found is Angelo Invernizzi's Villa Girasole (Villa Sunflower) near Verona, Italy. "The two storied and L shaped house rests on a circular base, which is over
Three men and a genie
A project manager, a superintendent, and a field engineer are in Ft. Lauderdale for a two-week period helping out on a project. About midweek they decide to walk up and do
The Cathedral Construction
There's this cathedral that's still being worked on, and the workers have rigged a "cage elevator" inside so they can get material up and down to the upper floor
Warming up
1. Work with a partner. Which of these people have you heard of? Why are they famous?
2. Read their quotations. Which do you agree with?
The History of Skyscrapers
The word skyscraper often carries a connotation of pride and achievement. The skyscraper, in name and social function, is a modern expression of the age-old symbol of the world cent
Choose any of them to describe. Use additional information.
Building
City
Height
Floors
Built
Burj Dubai
Dubai, UAE
Sustainability
The skyscraper as a concept is a product of the industrialized age, made possible by cheap energy and raw materials. The amount of steel, concrete and glass needed to construct a skyscraper is vast
Read the following news and try to guess what ideas they have in common and what problems they deal with.
Europe's Tallest Skyscraper Bid
A proposal for the tallest residential skyscraper in Europe to be built in Leeds has been submitted to planners.
The pl
Translate the following word-combinations from the text. Consult a dictionary if you need.
To rise majestically, to enjoy breathtaking views, to express concern, to whisk up, to come up with something, to lead the way in skyscraper building, downtown Chicago, a proud and
Buildings that Scrape the Sky
One of the wonders of the modern American city is that architectural marvel called the skyscraper. From New York to Miami from Chicago to Dallas, from Seattle to Los Angeles, these
Read the dialogue and fill in the blanks using the words from the box below.
antenna gargoyles marshy elevator excavated architecture skyscrapers decorated observatory tallest population
Go over the vocabulary list. Consult a dictionary if you need.
Developer(s) joint venture step down
Walk-up(s) affiliate u-shaped pattern
Predecessor partner townhouses
Crowd-pleaser neighborhood of impact ring
Large-scale e
Adding a Notch to the City Skyline
Commercial-residential complex in Manhattan steps down to nearby walk-ups
Introduction. The developers of a $545-million complex on
Read part III and answer the questions after it.
Demolition. A three-story brick building in a corner of the site was quickly demolished in two days. But when excavation of the rest of the 200 x 800-ft site began,
Read part IV and answer the questions after it
Bracing. Gary R. Steficek, SOM's project engineer for the commercial tower, adds that not all of the core bracing continues to the top of the building, either. Some
Read part V and answer the questions after it
Wind forces. Most skyscrapers have an impermeable envelope. This building project is unusual because both the arcade at grade level and the copper-clad roof are ope
Comprehension check
15. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text:
1. The commercial-residential complex in Manhattan is
Make sure you can explain the following terms and word combinations from the part called Wind Forces
Impermeable envelope
Wind forces
Research director
Wind tunnel
Boundary layer
Round dormers
Roof space
A four-sto
Language focus
Match the words to their synonyms:
1) walk-up 6) surround a) access f) tenement
2) design 7) adjacent b) beam g) reflec
Language development
Fill in the gaps with the words below making all necessary changes to them:
a) to fulfill low-energy standards b) to lay off
Questions Regarding Skyscrapers
The dictionary says (and I trust it’s no lie),
a SKYSCRAPER's a VERY TALL BUILDING. Why,
howtall, then, is VERY TALL? What rule to apply?
Would twenty-si
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The ancient Greeks were probably the first to make up a list of the Seven Wonders—those marvelous structures that no traveler would want to miss. Through the ages, others added to or subtracted fro
Working with Concrete
Concrete (as dry cement) is available in many dry forms and comes as a raw powder in many sizes – in small sacks for the home user, or in huge containers for builders, construction engineers, and m
Concrete facts
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· Global cement production in 2007 =
The Bed ZED Project, London
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The Findhorn Foundation Eco-Village
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Sustainable Architecture Can Help Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions
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Saturday, June 10, 2006; F05
Carbon dioxide is in the air like never before, but not just as measurable parts per
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