Reebok’s plant-based shoe, fish-free seafood, mango-based bioplastic, breakthrough plant breeding, autosteer for small farms, biosand water filters, concrete from waste: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of August 22nd

#6 University team converts waste into polymeric ash for concrete replacement

In Mexico, researchers have created a cement alternative using waste materials from paper recycling, coal, marbling, sugarcane ash, and unicel industries.
The work, led by Martha Poisot at the University of Papaloapan in Oaxaca, created a “Polymeric Ash System.” The material is light and has plasticity, but can be used with steel. It is also a good thermal insulator, reducing the need for heating and air conditioning.
“We receive the waste material and in a single step, in a kind chemical reaction, we convert the organic matter with the binder into hydrophobic cellulose compatible with the cane ash, with the marble industry, thermoelectric, and even the unicel that is used to store food and products,” Poisot tells Riviera Maya News. The team is currently looking for capital for a production plant.

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