Bio-concrete and biogenic construction materials with cyanobacteria

Transitioning to climate-friendly construction

02-Jul-2024 - Fraunhofer researchers have developed a method of creating biogenic construction materials based on cyanobacteria. The bacteria multiply in a nutrient solution, driven by photosynthesis. When aggregates and fillers such as sand, basalt, or renewable raw materials are added, rock-like solid ...

Particles from everyday wall paints can harm living organisms

Novel membrane shows high filtering effects

22-Aug-2022 - Dispersion paints are mostly used in households for painting walls and ceilings. An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Bayreuth has now analysed the chemical composition of two typical dispersion paints and discovered a large number of solid particles in them which are only a ...

Omya completes expansion of Orgon production plant

State-of-the-art facility for sustainable, high-quality mineral products

09-Jul-2020 - Omya has rebuilt and expanded its calcium carbonate production plant in Orgon, France, creating a substantially higher capacity for its functionalized calcium carbonate product platform, a new packaging line and an on-site warehouse. The modern facility produces the company’s mineral grades for ...

New material for chemistry text books

Calcium carbonate forms a previously unknown aqueous crystal structure

06-Mar-2019 - Even the well-known can sometimes surprise. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3), also known colloquially as lime or chalk, is a mineral that has already been thoroughly analysed by chemists. But chemistry books, in which it is listed as occurring in five different crystal structures, now need to be ...

Essential Ingredients: Report on the Global Market for Fillers

GCC and Carbon Black Dominate the Market

22-Feb-2018 - Fillers do not only make numerous products cheaper, often, they also greatly improve the properties of the filled materials. The market research company Ceresana analyzes the complete market for fillers for the fifth time already: Worldwide demand for ground calcium carbonate (GCC), precipitated ...

Study pinpoints role of proteins that produce pearls

26-Sep-2017 - Pearls are among nature's most beautiful creations, and have been treasured for countless centuries. Beneath one's iridescent surface lies a tough and resilient structure made of intricately arranged tiles of calcium carbonate organized by a crew of proteins that guide its formation and ...

Climate change mitigation

Turning CO2 into rock

13-Jun-2016 - An international team of scientists have found a potentially viable way to remove anthropogenic (caused or influenced by humans) carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere - turn it into rock. The study has shown for the first time that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) can be permanently ...

Microwaved nanoribbons may bolster oil and gas wells

17-May-2016 - Wellbores drilled to extract oil and gas can be dramatically reinforced with a small amount of modified graphene nanoribbons added to a polymer and microwaved, according to Rice University researchers. The Rice labs of chemist James Tour and civil and environmental engineer Rouzbeh Shahsavari ...

Indispensable Additives

Ceresana's Fourth Filler Report

12-Apr-2016 - Fillers are more than just cheap filling materials: They can also improve characteristics, such as stability, weather-resistance, and electrical conductivity, of numerous products. Many plastics would not be of any use without fillers. For the fourth time now, Ceresana analyzed the whole market ...

How seashells get their strength

12-Jan-2016 - Seashells and lobster claws are hard to break, but chalk is soft enough to draw on sidewalks. Though all three are made of calcium carbonate crystals, the hard materials include clumps of soft biological matter that make them much stronger. A study reveals how soft clumps get into crystals and ...