Cement scientist Brent Constantz wants concrete to be the "hero" that cleans up dirty coal. "The reality is, coal is not going away," he says. "We need to meet the world’s power demands without emitting more carbon." His answer? A new type of concrete that sequesters carbon without disturbing its traditional binder: portland cement. Slide Show Illustration: Calera Corp. How the Calera Process Works Photo: Tudor Van Hampton / ENR In Las Vegas, Constantz said he can use aggregate to store carbon in concrete. This past summer, the Stanford University professor’s Los Gatos, Calif.-based startup, Calera Corp., began making cement
Members of the International Code Council are all over the map about the revamped model code development process announced by the publisher of the widely adopted International Building Code and a dozen other model codes. Many greet the change with open arms, saying it will streamline the process. Others think the new process will stifle innovation, reduce the quality of the codes and allow special interests to more easily hijack the development process. The biggest change is that there will be one complete code development cycle every three years instead of two. A consequence of that is elimination of the
In an effort to move forward quickly with stimulus funds, federal agencies targeted to receive construction funds for buildings will focus heavily on greening existing inventory and pushing projects with designs in place. While the specific definition of "shovel-ready" remains uncertain, it’s clear from the bill that speed is the order of the day. The General Services Administration will see $5.55 billion in funds from the bill with a major emphasis placed on green building. As a result, projects that upgrade existing facilities will trump new construction. While $750 million would go to federal buildings, such as U.S. courthouses, and
A structural designer may soon be selected for a planned 50-m-tall representation of a white horse, which, if realized, would be taller than the Statue of Liberty, sans pedestal. The horse, if constructed, would “overlook” the London-Channel Tunnel Railroad and a new real estate development in Kent, 30 km east of London. The nonprofit Ebbsfleet Landmark Project Ltd. recently chose artist Mark Wallinger’s horse concept and has committed $1.5 million to advance the project through design. Futurecity Ltd., London, is managing implementation, including selection of a structural firm. Photo: Ebbs Fleet
Bart Ney gets concerned calls from people just about every day. They see the steel trusses starting to cross San Francisco Bay between Yerba Buena Island to the west and the new 1.2-mile-long precast concrete Skyway to the east, alongside the existing eastern steel truss span of the old Bay Bridge. They wonder why the trusses don’t look at all like the striking self anchored assymetrical suspension span they saw in the renderings. Slide Show Susan Lohwasser / ENR A temporary bridge will take shape this year to carry segments of new self-anchored suspension span until cable arrives. Related Links:
Gainesville Regional Utilities will become the nation’s first utility to offer a feed-in tariff for generation of electricity from solar photovoltaic energy. Starting on March 1, the Florida municipal utility will sign new power purchase agreements for up to 4 MW per year. Sellers with a building- or pavement-mounted installation will receive a guaranteed fixed rate of 32¢ per kilowatt-hour for 20 years. The rate for a free-standing installation will be 26¢ per kWh. GRU has a program offering a rebate of $1.50 per installed watt, with up to 14¢ per kWh paid for excess power sold back to the
New Orleans’ hurricane and storm damage risk-reduction system is much improved since Hurricane Katrina, but protecting lives will continue to require an emphasis on evacuation, especially until 2011, when the 100-year protection levels are scheduled to be in place. The risk remains high. Photo: Angelle Bergeron Debris behind floodwalls are evidence the walls took the load as the water came over. Those are the findings of a reconnaissance team sponsored by the National Science Foundation, through the Geoengineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association. The team’s inspections last October assessed system performance in Hurricane Gustav’s Sept. 1 landfall. The team plans to
Workers are making good progress dismantling and cleaning up the U.S. Energy Dept.’s Oak Ridge former nuclear-weapon factory complex in Tennessee, says a report released last week by site contractor Bechtel Jacobs. But the contractor and DOE acknowledge that some work at its massive K-25 building are behind schedule. Bechtel Jacobs says it removed a bridge structure connecting two sections of the 1.6-million-sq-ft building, which houses uranium-enrichment equipment dating back to the Manhattan Project era and was the world’s largest structure when erected. Cleanup work at the adjacent Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and other parts
Hundreds of dinosaur tracks and fossils estimated more than 120 million years old have been discovered during construction of a mining road in the highlands of Central Peru. Officials with the Antamina mining company announced the find last week. Photo: Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. Dinosaur footprints discovered during road construction in Central Peru. The discovery was originally made in 2006 during the construction of a road by the company between a crossroads at Conococha and the Antamina’s Yanacancha camp about 250 miles northeast of Lima. A preliminary examination of the site - since dubbed Cruz Planta - uncovered dozens of
The Washington State Dept. off Ecology has proposed a fine of $147,000 against Hanson Pipe and Precast, Tacoma, Wash. for alleged violations of its sand and gravel permit and failure to treat contaminated stormwater. Ecology inspectors cited the company for 27 violations of the pollutant levels specified in its sand and gravel permit from the second quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2008. “We will continue our efforts toward and will cooperate fully with Washington State’s Department of Ecology to rectify this situation," says Clifford Hahne, senior vice president of Hanson Building Products’ West region in a written
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