Revolutionary Melbourne Innovation: Converting Coal Ash into Robust Building Bricks | Blog

Posted 07-02-2024
Category News

Image: Mohammad Ali Sanagooy (left) and Steven Lazarevic, the inventors and developers of the new polymer technology. On the right, the polymer, plastics and coal ash is melted together to form a new building product.CREDIT:

A Melbourne-based invention is gaining attention for its ability to transform coal ash, highly toxic soil, and plastic into bricks suitable for construction. It is believed that this mixture can be used as a replacement to conventional concrete, making production both cheaper to create and stronger.

Developed by Pure New World, this innovative chemical polymer has undergone verification by two independent laboratories, including the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.

The polymer undergoes a blending process with hazardous materials, including plastics and soil tainted with hydrocarbons, toxic coal ash, heavy metals, PFAS, & potentially low-grade radioactive waste. The outcome is a solidified substance, as indicated by test results, showcasing superior strength and significantly reduced susceptibility to deterioration compared to conventional concrete.

Image: The building material created from Pure New World’s patented polymer using contaminated coal ash and commingled plastics.CREDIT:

Independent testing shows the end product could be safely used as a construction or building material that is cheaper, stronger, and less environmentally damaging than concrete. The material has also outperformed current benchmark standards set by the US Department of Energy to prevent the leaking of toxins into the environment.

“We’ve been doing some tests from Pure New World, and I think we’ve seen it not only exceed the performance of concrete, [but] there’s other properties of this polymer that [are] even better than our normal concrete,” Professor Tuan Ngo of the University of Melbourne’s Advanced Protective Technologies Engineering Structures Research Group said at the demonstration.

“The carbon footprint of concrete is very significant, and this polymer can potentially replace concrete.”

Conducting research for a Melbourne Road project, where a 20km road barrier could potentially use the new polymer, would repurpose 14,000 tons of contaminated soil & fly ash, and 1250 tons of commingled plastics.

The polymer has been patented in Australia and the US, along with several other countries in Europe and Asia.

The Melbourne-based firm has sought informal guidance from global consultancy The Asia Group, particularly regarding its aspirations to engage major corporate and government entities in the international and Australian expansion of its technology.

___

Read the orginal article HERE