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We’ve recently heard about efforts to replace some of the aggregate used in concrete with crumbled used tires. Now, scientists have succeeded in producing good quality concrete in which all of the aggregate has been replaced with tire particles.

In recent years, we’ve heard about efforts to replace some of the aggregate used in concrete with crumbled used tires. Now, however, scientists have succeeded in producing good quality concrete in which all of the aggregate has been replaced with tire particles.

Concrete consists of three parts: water, a cement which binds everything together, and an aggregate such as sand or gravel. That aggregate has to be mined from the ground, and is actually now in short supply in many parts of the world.

Discarded tires can be recycled to a certain extent, but often just end up sitting in landfills or getting burned.

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Researchers at Aalto University have developed a bio-based adhesive that can replace formaldehyde-containing adhesives in wood construction. The main raw material in the new adhesive is lignin, a structural component of wood and a by-product of the pulp industry that is usually burned after wood is processed. As an alternative to formaldehyde, lignin offers a healthier and more carbon-friendly way to use wood in construction.

The carbon footprint of timber construction is significantly lower than concrete construction, and timber construction has often been viewed as better for the health of human occupants as well. However, wood panels still use adhesives made from fossil . They contain formaldehyde, which can be harmful to health, especially for those working in the adhesive manufacturing process. People living in or visiting buildings can also be exposed to toxic formaldehyde from wood panels.

Lignin, on the other hand, comes from wood itself. It binds cellulose and hemicellulose together and gives wood its tough, strong structure. Lignin accounts for about a quarter of the weight of wood and is produced in huge quantities in the pulp and bioprocessing industry. Only two to five percent of the produced is used, and the rest is burned in factories for energy.

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As published in Nature Materials (“Nuclear spin polarization and control in hexagonal boron nitride”), the research team used electron spin qubits as atomic-scale sensors, and also to effect the first experimental control of nuclear spin qubits in ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride.

Researchers used light and electron spin qubits to control nuclear spin in a 2D material, opening a new frontier in quantum science and technology. (Image: Secondbay Studio)

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A nearby exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of a star just 4.2 light-years from Earth may be home to a vast ocean, boosting its chances of supporting life. Since its discovery, questions about the conditions at the surface of Proxima b have been swirling; the planet’s mass is just about 1.3 times that of Earth’s, and the red dwarf star it circles is similar in age to our sun.

Studies over the last few years, however, have both bolstered hopes of its habitability and shot them down. Now, a new study has once again raised the possibility that Proxima b could support life, suggesting that under the right conditions, the exoplanet could sustain liquid water.

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Scientists in the Netherlands have developed a model to forecast the energy yield of a PV system. It is able to take into account factors such as partial shading and multiple module orientations. Tested against a reference cell and pyranometer, the model showed less than 5% error, and the scientists claim their approach is up to three orders of magnitude faster than more common approaches using complex ray tracing.

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