this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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... "using 3D printing – but instead of concrete, they used sand combined with a binder." ... o.k.
So.... Mortar.
IT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT BRO
Concrete is something like a tenth of humanity's total CO2 emissions, so if this is something that lets us use less concrete then that's actually great
Plus structurally, even if it were off-the-shelf concrete vs mortar, it's still structurally different, so I'm sure that also makes a difference.
Mostly I was just making fun of the phrasing and distinction without actually clarifying the difference.
How does concrete emit CO2?
The process of making it involves cooking limestone until the carbon dioxide comes out, basically. Limestone is CaCO3 (one calcium, one carbon, three oxygen). Cement requires lime, which is CaO (one calcium, one oxygen). That leaves a C and two O, which stick together on the way out