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 |
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.
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.
Related News Press |
News and information
Generating power where seawater and river water meet July 22nd, 2022
First electric nanomotor made from DNA material: Synthetic rotary motors at the nanoscale perform mechanical work July 22nd, 2022
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
UNC Charlotte-led team invents new anticoagulant platform, offering hope for advances for heart surgery, dialysis, other procedures July 15th, 2022
Strain-sensing smart skin ready to deploy: Nanotube-embedded coating detects threats from wear and tear in large structures July 15th, 2022
Crystal phase engineering offers glimpse of future potential, researchers say July 15th, 2022
Possible Futures
Generating power where seawater and river water meet July 22nd, 2022
First electric nanomotor made from DNA material: Synthetic rotary motors at the nanoscale perform mechanical work July 22nd, 2022
Materials/Metamaterials
Strain-sensing smart skin ready to deploy: Nanotube-embedded coating detects threats from wear and tear in large structures July 15th, 2022
New protocol for assessing the safety of nanomaterials July 1st, 2022
Nanotubes: a promising solution for advanced rubber cables with 60% less conductive filler June 1st, 2022
Announcements
Quantum computer works with more than zero and one: Quantum digits unlock more computational power with fewer quantum particles July 22nd, 2022
Generating power where seawater and river water meet July 22nd, 2022
First electric nanomotor made from DNA material: Synthetic rotary motors at the nanoscale perform mechanical work July 22nd, 2022
Grants/Sponsored Research/Awards/Scholarships/Gifts/Contests/Honors/Records
UNC Charlotte-led team invents new anticoagulant platform, offering hope for advances for heart surgery, dialysis, other procedures July 15th, 2022
Photoinduced large polaron transport and dynamics in organic-inorganic hybrid lead halide perovskite with terahertz probes July 8th, 2022
Luisier wins SNSF Advanced Grant to develop simulation tools for nanoscale devices July 8th, 2022
Solving the solar energy storage problem with rechargeable batteries that can convert and store energy at once June 24th, 2022
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |