New project may lead to more sustainable building
Troldtekt is part of the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology’s project ReSource, which has just been selected for Realdania’s ‘Housing construction from 4 to 1 Planet’ initiative. The project looks at the possibility of replacing carbon-heavy cement with a more climate-friendly binder produced from construction waste.
Cement is a dominant material in construction, and accounts for a significant part of the industry’s carbon footprint. At the same time, construction waste accounts for as much as 40 per cent of all waste in Denmark. This calls for new solutions – and why not throw the two things together?
This is the idea behind the ReSource project initiated by the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI) with Troldtekt and the companies RGS Nordic and Komproment as other partners. The purpose of ReSource is to reduce the construction industry’s carbon and resource footprint by converting construction waste into new building materials.
The ReSource project is one of 11 winning projects to be included in Realdania and VILLUM FONDEN’s ambitious initiative ‘Housing construction from 4 to 1 Planet’. As a partnership backed by funding of DKK 60 million, the initiative will work to create sustainable housing while respecting the Earth’s resources. The specific ambition is for the construction industry’s current CO2 emissions to be reduced by 75 per cent to stop consuming what equates to the natural resources of four planets a year, as is the case today.
From waste to binder
The hope is that cement can be replaced with waste products from the construction industry, which through the process of geopolymerisation. Geopolymer is a binder based on silica/alumina compounds, which avoid the need to use chalk clinker. The production of chalk clinker emits large amounts of CO2, while other raw materials such as bio ash and crushed bricks can be used to make geopolymer.
“ReSource is a very exciting project for us, and fully in line with our business strategy based on circular principles. Cement accounts for virtually all the CO2 emissions from a Troldtekt acoustic panel, and we are continuously exploring alternatives to cement in order to be able to minimise emissions,” says Vibeke Pedersen, Head of Engineering Department at Troldtekt A/S.
She adds that Troldtekt has already reduced its carbon footprint by offering acoustic panels based on the CO2-reduced cement type FUTURECEM and by using 97.8 per cent renewable energy in production.
The ReSource project is still at an early stage. The first phase involves testing the potential of converting waste into a sustainable alternative to the cement in Troldtekt acoustic panels and facade tiles from the Danish company Komproment. If successful, the project holds enormous long-term market potential.
