Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > UTA project aims to extend life of concrete, cement by adding nanoscale wood fibers: Wood fibers key to sustainable concrete, cement

Warda Ashraf

CREDIT
UT Arlington
Warda Ashraf CREDIT UT Arlington

Abstract:
A University of Texas at Arlington civil engineering assistant professor is working to make concrete and cement more sustainable by adding nanoscale fibers from wood to the material.

UTA project aims to extend life of concrete, cement by adding nanoscale wood fibers: Wood fibers key to sustainable concrete, cement

Arlington, TX | Posted on September 24th, 2021

In 2018, landfills received 12.2 million tons of wood, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, representing 8.3% of all municipal solid waste.

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities awarded Warda Ashraf a $50,000 grant for her project, “Application of Cellulose Nanofibers as Durability Performance Enhancing Additives for Cement and Concrete Industry.”

Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer present on Earth. This project will use cellulose fibers that are present in the cell walls of wood. Ashraf will try to determine what percentage of these fibers can be added to cement and concrete to make it a viable material to use.

“It’s an interesting project, one that utilizes our forest resources,” she said. “We’ll explore potential ways to extend the service life of concrete and cement. It doesn’t matter what kind of plants we use, but we’d mainly be using nanoscale fibers prepared from these woods. The wood chips are chemically and mechanically processed to make the nanoscale fibers, about 10-15 nanometers wide.”

A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter or one billionth of a meter. A human hair is about 60,000 nanometers in diameter. A DNA molecule is between two and 12 nanometers wide.

The project is international in scope. It includes the UT Arlington team, which is incorporating students and a postdoctorate researcher, and researchers from universities in Canada and England.

“Most of our work will be done in the lab,” Ashraf said. “Practical applications might take us to the field in subsequent projects.”

Ali Abolmaali, chair and professor of civil engineering, said Ashraf’s project could change what’s used in construction worldwide.

“Materials, especially more environmentally friendly materials, used in concrete to extend its life is cutting-edge research,” Abolmaali said. “Anytime the industry can help the environment with what it produces, it makes for a better world.”

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Herb Booth
University of Texas at Arlington

Office: 817-272-7075

Copyright © University of Texas at Arlington

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024

Possible Futures

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications January 12th, 2024

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Grants/Sponsored Research/Awards/Scholarships/Gifts/Contests/Honors/Records

Discovery of new Li ion conductor unlocks new direction for sustainable batteries: University of Liverpool researchers have discovered a new solid material that rapidly conducts lithium ions February 16th, 2024

$900,000 awarded to optimize graphene energy harvesting devices: The WoodNext Foundation's commitment to U of A physicist Paul Thibado will be used to develop sensor systems compatible with six different power sources January 12th, 2024

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project