A journey into the world of cement
The Smart City program – Voices and places of innovation on RADIO24 – recently took a look at the world of cement. Producer Maurizio Melis devoted three episodes to the evolution of cement and concrete, including the measures being undertaken to reduce the environmental impact of this industry.
Assisted by Prof. Luigi Coppola from the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Bergamo, Melis illustrated some of the new cement products available today: photocatalytic concretes that break down pollutants, pervious concretes with a porous structure, reinforced concretes for maintenance operations, self-healing concretes containing crystallizing additives, translucent concretes with optical fibers to allow the transmission of light, floating concrete produced with lightweight aggregates and used, for example, to construct offshore turbines, photoluminescent concretes composed of a conglomerate that absorbs light during the day and releases it at night, and last but not least, concrete for large 3D printers that have already been used to construct several multi-story buildings in China.
Cement is an old material but is constantly evolving thanks to continuous investments in research and profitable collaborations with universities.
The three Smart City Podcast episodes: