Alkaline waste-based materials and low-carbon agroindustrial processes as modernization tools in constructive applications

• Grant number: 23/02750-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Construction Industry
• Principal Investigator: Ana Carolina Constâncio Trindade
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Constâncio Trindade
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Holmer Savastano Junior ; Joao Adriano Rossignolo ; Jorge Juan Payá Bernabeu ; Luciane Silva Martello ; Marco Liebscher ; Waltraud M. Kriven
• Associated research grant(s): 24/19161-9 - Strengthening International Collaboration for Advancing Alternative Cementitious Materials: Mobility and Research in Alkali-Activated Systems, AP.R SPRINT; 24/15084-0 - 5th Luso-Brazilian Congress on Sustainable Building Materials, AR.EXT
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/12346-3 - Evaluation of the CO2 capture and storage capacity of alkali-based materials produced from agro-industrial waste, BP.MS; 24/02445-4 - Use of nucleation seeds to enhance CO2 capture and mineralization from the sugar and ethanol industry in low-carb fiber-cement, BP.PD; 24/00112-8 - Utilization of Agricultural Residues in the Extrusion Manufacturing of Mechanically Efficient Geopolymeric Composites, BP.MS; 23/11397-0 - Alkaline waste-based materials and low-carbon agroindustrial processes as modernization tools in constructive applications, BP.JP

Abstract

The production of building materials in Brazil generates every year increasing levels of polluting emissions. Considering the global initiatives in search of carbon neutrality and the country's current technological and environmental context, alternatives have been sought for its eco-efficient modernization. A promising option, still little explored nationally, corresponds to the so-called alkaline materials. Some local groups have been developing specific research in the area, but so far their academic-technological transition has not actually taken place. This is mainly due to the difficulty of making the technology a viable product in view of the adequacy of local resources and technological processes in decentralized manufacturing stages of the usual cement model, which have been extensively successful in countries in Europe, North America and Oceania. In addition, the proposed applications remain aligned with the manufacture of urban elements, not exploring the potential benefits of this technology in sectors of greater interest and impact, such as the agro-industry, for example. Therefore, the proposed project aims to demystify the impeding aspects of the use of this technology in Brazil by creating a research topic focused on alkaline materials produced from waste and low-carbon agro-industrial processes, at FZEA/USP in Pirassununga, which already develops other studies with an emphasis on sustainability. International support from vast experience in the area will also act as collaborators. For this, 5 stages will be carried out: (i) production of alkaline mixtures and composites based on agricultural residues and their productive and microstructural adequacy; (ii) use of potentially beneficial CO2 capture and storage processes for these technologies; (iii) durability studies focused on understanding typical actions and their mitigating processes, comparing natural and accelerated aging assessments, in order to provide substantial data regarding the long-term capacity of the material; (iv) thermal comfort and life cycle assessments; and (v) implementation of coverage prototypes in the zootechnical area, in order to promote the alternative capacity of this technology in niches of national interest of thermoregulation and animal productivity. (AU)