Materials The Key to Sustainability

1
Materials The Key to Sustainability
TecEco are in the BIGGEST Business on the Planet
- Solving Sustainability Problems Economically
The Problem - A Planet in Crisis
2
A Demographic Explosion
Undeveloped Countries
Developed Countries
Global population, consumption per capita and our
footprint on the planet is exploding.
3
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
4
Global Temperature Anomaly
5
The Carbon Cycle and Emissions
Emissions from fossil fuels and cement production
are the cause of the global warming problem
Source David Schimel and Lisa Dilling, National
Centre for Atmospheric Research 2003
6
The Techno-Process Earth Systems
Earth Systems Atmospheric composition, climate,
land cover, marine ecosystems, pollution, coastal
zones, freshwater systems, salinity and global
biological diversity have all been substantially
affected.
Our linkages to the bio-geo-sphere are defined by
the techno process describing and controlling the
flow of matter and energy. It is these flows that
have detrimental linkages to earth systems.
Detrimental affects on earth systems
Move 500-600 billion tonnesUse some 50 billion
tonnes
7
Ecological Footprint
Our footprint is exceeding the capacity of the
planet to support it. We are not longer
sustainable as a species and must change our ways
8
There are Detrimental Affects Right Through the
Techno-process
Detrimental Linkages that affect earth system
flows
Take manipulate and make impacts
End of lifecycle impacts
Materials are in the Techno-sphere Utility zone
There is no such place as away
Materials are everything between the take and
waste and affect earth system flows.
9
Materials Affect Underlying Molecular Flows
Take ? Manipulate ? Make ? Use ? Waste
?Materials?
? Underlying molecular
flow ? Damaging to the Environmente.g.
heavy metals, cfcs, chalogen compounds and CO2
Materials influence How much and what we have to
take to manufacture the materials we use.How
long materials remain of utility, whether they
are easily recycled and how andwhat form they
are in when we eventually throw them away. What
we take from the environment around us, how we
manipulate and make materials out of what we take
and what we waste result in underlying molecular
flows that affect earth systems.
10
Innovative New Materials - the Key to
Sustainability
The choice of materials controls emissions,
lifetime and embodied energies, user comfort, use
of recycled wastes, durability, recyclability and
the properties of wastes returned to the
bio-geo-sphere.
There is no such place as away, only a global
commons
11
Changing the Techno-process
Take gt manipulate gt make gt use gt waste Driven
by fossil fuel energy with detrimental effects on
earth systems.
ReduceRe-useRecycle
Eco-innovate
Materials
Improving the sustainability of materials used to
create the built environment will reduce the
impact of the take and waste phases of the
techno-process
12
Materials Lifetime Embodied Energies

• The embodied energy of materials only contributes
  1-2 of the total energy consumed by buildings
  over their lifetime
• It follows that the properties of materials such
  as specific heat and conductance are more
  important to the overall energy consumption and
  thus emissions
• New materials and materials composites can
  introduce physical properties that result in them
  being more sustainable in use
• In many instances wastes will provide the
  physical properties required
• Currently unheard of paradigms such as materials
  with high specific heat and low conductance will
  increase the performance of buildings
• An opportunity will emerge to introduce such
  composites with the introduction of robotics

13
Economically Driven Sustainability
The challenge is to harness human behaviours
which underlay economic supply and demand
phenomena by changing the technical paradigm in
favour of making carbon dioxide and other wastes
resources for new materials with lower take and
waste impacts and more energy efficient
performance.
- ECONOMICS -
Sustainable processes are more efficient and
therefore more economic. Natural ecosystems can
be 100 efficient. What is needed are new
technologies that allow material and energy flows
to more closely mimic natural ecosystems. Innovati
on will deliver these new technical paradigms.
Sustainability will not happen by relying on
people to do the right thing
14
Sustainability Culture Technology
Increase in demand/price ratio for sustainability
due to educationally induced cultural drift.

Supply
Greater Value/for impact (Sustainability) and
economic growth
Equilibrium shift
ECONOMICS
New Technical Paradigms are required that deliver
sustainability.
Demand
Increase in supply/price ratio for more
sustainable products due to innovative paradigm
shifts in technology.

Sustainability is where Culture and Technology
meet. Demand Supply
15
Changing the Technology Paradigm
We need materials that require less energy to
make them, that last much longer and that
contribute properties that reduce lifetime
energies. The key is to change the technology
paradigm

• By enabling us to make productive use of
  particular raw materials, technology determines
  what constitutes a physical resource1
• Pilzer, Paul Zane, Unlimited Wealth, The Theory
  and Practice of Economic Alchemy, Crown
  Publishers Inc. New York.1990

16
A Post Carbon Waste Age?
We cannot get there without new technical
paradigms.
The construction industry can be uniquely
responsible for helping achieve this transition
17
Biomimicry

• The term biomimicry was popularised by the book
  of the same name written by Janine Benyus
• Biomimicry is a method of solving problems that
  uses natural processes and systems as a source of
  knowledge and inspiration.
• It involves nature as model, measure and mentor.

The theory behind biomimicry is that natural
processes and systems have evolved over several
billion years through a process of research and
development commonly referred to as evolution. A
reoccurring theme in natural systems is the
cyclical flow of matter in such a way that there
is no waste of matter or energy.
18
Utilizing Carbon and Wastes (Biomimicry)

• During earth's geological history large tonnages
  of carbon were put away as limestone and other
  carbonates and as coal and petroleum by the
  activity of plants and animals.
• Sequestering carbon in magnesium binders and
  aggregates in the built environment mimics nature
  in that carbon is used in the homes or skeletal
  structures of most plants and animals.

In eco-cement blocks and mortars the binder is
carbonate and the aggregates are preferably wastes
We all use carbon and wastes to make our homes!
Biomimicry
19
Re - Engineering Materials

• To solve environmental problems we need to
  understand more about materials in relation to
  the environment.
• the way their precursors are derived and their
  degradation products re assimilated
• and how we can reduce the impact of these
  processes
• what energies drive the evolution, devolution and
  flow of materials
• and how we can reduce these energies
• how materials impact on lifetime energies
• With the knowledge gained re-design materials to
  not only be more sustainable but more sustainable
  in use

Environmental problems are the result of
inherently flawed materials, materials flows and
energy systems
20
Materials in the Built Environment

• The built environment is made of materials and is
  our footprint on earth.
• It comprises buildings and infrastructure.
• Building materials comprise
• 70 of materials flows (buildings, infrastructure
  etc.)
• 40-50 of waste that goes to landfill (15 of
  new materials going to site are wasted.)
• At 1.5 of world GDP Annual Australian production
  of building materials likely to be in the order
  300 million tonnes or over 15 tonnes per person.
• Over 20 billion tonnes of building materials are
  used annually on a world wide basis.
• Mostly using virgin natural resources
• Combined in such a manner they cannot easily be
  separated.
• Include many toxic elements.

21
Huge Potential for Sustainable Materials

• Reducing the impact of the take and waste phases
  of the techno-process.
• including carbon in materialsthey are
  potentially carbon sinks.
• including wastes forphysical properties aswell
  as chemical compositionthey become resources.
• re engineeringmaterials toreduce the
  lifetimeenergy of buildings

Many wastes can contribute to physical properties
reducing lifetime energies
22
Abatement and Sequestration

• To solve the greenhouse gas problem our approach
  should be holistically balanced and involve
• Everybody, every day
• Be easy
• Make money

New technical paradigms are required
Sequestration
Abatement
and


TecEco-cements Low emissions
production,mineral sequestration waste
utilization
Emissions reductionthrough efficiency
andconversion to non fossil fuels
Geological Seques-tration
TecEcos Contribution
23
The TecEco Dream A More Sustainable Built
Environment
CO2
OTHERWASTES
CO2 FOR GEOLOGICAL SEQUESTRATION
PERMANENT SEQUESTRATION WASTE UTILISATION (Man
made carbonate rock incorporating wastes as a
building material)
MINING
MgO
TECECO KILN
MAGNESITE OTHER INPUTS
TECECO CONCRETES
RECYCLED BUILDING MATERIALS
We need materials that require less energy to
make them, that last much longer and that
contribute properties that reduce lifetime
energies
There is a way to make our city streets as green
as the Amazon rainforest. Fred Pearce, New
Scientist Magazine
SUSTAINABLE CITIES
24
Impact of the Largest Material Flow - Cement and
Concrete

• Concrete made with cement is the most widely used
  material on Earth accounting for some 30 of all
  materials flows on the planet and 70 of all
  materials flows in the built environment.
• Global Portland cement production is currently in
  the order of 2 billion tonnes per annum.
• Globally over 14 billion tonnes of concrete are
  poured per year.
• Over 2 tonnes per person per annum
• Much more concrete is used than any other
  building material.

TecEco Pty. Ltd. have benchmark technologies for
improvement in sustainability and properties
25
Embodied Energy of Building Materials
Concrete is relatively environmentally friendly
and has a relatively low embodied energy
Downloaded from www.dbce.csiro.au/ind-serv/brochur
es/embodied/embodied.htm (last accessed 07 March
2000)
26
Average Embodied Energy in Buildings
Most of the embodied energy in the built
environment is in concrete.
Because so much concrete is used there is a huge
opportunity for sustainability by reducing the
embodied energy, reducing the carbon debt (net
emissions) and improving properties that reduce
lifetime energies.
Downloaded from www.dbce.csiro.au/ind-serv/brochur
es/embodied/embodied.htm (last accessed 07 March
2000)
27
Emissions from Cement Production

• Chemical Release
• The process of calcination involves driving off
  chemically bound CO2 with heat.
• CaCO3 ?CaO ?CO2
• Process Energy
• Most energy is derived from fossil fuels.
• Fuel oil, coal and natural gas are directly or
  indirectly burned to produce the energy required
  releasing CO2.
• The production of cement for concretes accounts
  for around 10 of global anthropogenic CO2.
• Pearce, F., "The Concrete Jungle Overheats", New
  Scientist, 19 July, No 2097, 1997 (page 14).

CO2 CO2
Arguments that we should reduce cement production
relative to other building materials are nonsense
because concrete is the most sustainable building
material there is. The challenge is to make it
more sustainable.
28
Cement Production Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Between tec, eco and enviro-cements TecEco can
provide a viable much more sustainable
alternative.
29
Portland Cement Global Warming

• Concrete is the third largest contributor to CO2
  emissions after the energy and transportation
  sectors.
• The cement industry is growing at around 5 a
  year globally. Mainly China, Thialand and India.
• On current trends world production of Portland
  cement will reach 3.5 billion tonnes by 2020 - a
  three fold increase on 1990 levels.
• To achieve Kyoto targets the industry will have
  to emit less than 1/3 of current emissions per
  tonne of concrete.
• Carbon taxes and other legislative changes will
  provide legislative incentive to change.
  
• There is already strong evidence of market
  incentive to change

30
Concrete Industry Objectives

• PCA (USA)
• Improved energy efficiency of fuels and raw
  materials
• Formulation improvements that
• Reduce the energy of production and minimize the
  use of natural resources.
• Use of crushed limestone and industrial
  by-products such as fly ash and blast furnace
  slag.
• WBCSD
• Fuels and raw materials efficiencies
• Emissions reduction during manufacture

31
TecEco Technologies Take Concrete into the Future

• More rapid strength gain even with added
  pozzolans
• More supplementary materials can be used reducing
  costs and take and waste impacts.
• Higher strength/binder ratio
• Less cement can be used reducing costs and take
  and waste impacts
• More durable concretes
• Reducing costs and take and waste impacts.
• Use of wastes
• Utilizing carbon dioxide
• Magnesia component can be made using non fossil
  fuel energy and CO2 captured during production.

Tec -Cements
Tec Eco-Cements
Eco-Cements
32
Greening the Largest Material Flow -Concrete

• Scale down Production.
• Untenable nonsense, especially to developing
  nations
• Use waste for fuels
• Not my area of expertise but questioned by many.
• Reduce net emissions from manufacture
• Increase manufacturing efficiency
• Increase fuel efficiency
• Waste stream sequestration using MgO and CaO
• E.g. Carbonating the Portlandite in waste
  concrete
• Given the current price of carbon in Europe this
  could be viable
• TecEco have a mineral sequestration process that
  is non fossil fuel driven using MgO and the
  TecEco kiln

Not discussed
33
Greening Concrete

• Increase the proportion of waste materials that
  are pozzolanic
• Using waste pozzolanic materials such as fly ash
  and slags has the advantage of not only extending
  cement reducing the embodied energy and net
  emissions but also of utilizing waste.
• We could run out of fly ash as coal is phasing
  out. (e.g. Canada)
• TecEco technology will allow the use of marginal
  pozzolans
• Slow rate of strength development can be
  increased using TecEco tec-cement technology.
• Potential long term (50 year plus) durability
  issues overcome using tec-cement technology.
• Replace Portland cement with viable alternatives
• There are a number of products with similar
  properties to Portland cement
• Carbonating Binders
• Non-carbonating binders
• The research and development of these binders
  needs to be accelerated

34
Greening Concrete

• Use aggregates that extend cement
• Use air as an aggregate making cement go further
• Aluminium use questionable
• Foamed Concretes work well with TecEco eco-cement
• Use for slabs to improve insulation
• Use aggregates with lower embodied energy and
  that result in less emissions or are themselves
  carbon sinks
• Other materials that be used to make concrete
  have lower embodied energies.
• Local aggregates
• Recycled aggregates from building rubble
• Glass cullet
• Materials that non fossil carbon are carbon sinks
  in concrete
• Plastics, wood etc.
• Improve the performance of concrete by including
  aggregates that improve or introduce new
  properties reducing lifetime energies
• Wood fibre reduces weight and conductance.

35
Waste Stream Sequestration is Part of the TecEco
Total Process
Olivine Mg2SiO4
This reaction is how most MgCO3 came to be formed
anyway so why are we not using it to also
sequester carbon?
Serpentine Mg3Si2O5(OH)4
Crushing
Crushing
CO2 from Power Generation or Industry
Grinding
Grinding
Waste Sulfuric Acid or Alkali?
Screening
Screening
Silicate Reactor Process e.g. Mg2SiO4 2CO2
gt2MgCO3 SiO2
Magnetic Sep.
Gravity Concentration
Heat Treatment
Fe, Ni, Co.
Silicic Acids or Silica
Magnesite (MgCO3)
Simplified TecEco ReactionsTec-Kiln MgCO3 ? MgO
CO2 - 118 kJ/moleReactor Process MgO CO2 ?
MgCO3 118 kJ/mole (usually more complex
hydrates)
Solar or Wind Electricity Powered Tec-Kiln
CO2 for Geological Sequestration
Magnesium Thermodynamic Cycle
Magnesite MgCO3)
Magnesia (MgO)
Oxide Reactor Process
Other Wastes after Processing
CO2 from Power Generation, Industry or CO2
Directly From the Air
MgO for TecEco Cements and Sequestration by
Eco-Cements in the Built Environment
36
TecEco Technologies Provide a Profitable Solution

• Silicate ? Carbonate Mineral Sequestration
• Using either peridotite, forsterite or serpentine
  as inputs to a silicate reactor process CO2 is
  sequestered and magnesite produced.
• Proven by others (NETL,MIT,TNO, Finnish govt.
  etc.)
• Tec-Kiln Technology
• Combined calcining and grinding in a closed
  system allowing the capture of CO2. Powered by
  waste heat, solar or solar derived energy.
• To be proved but simple and should work!
• Direct Scrubbing of CO2 using MgO
• Being proven by others (NETL,MIT,TNO, Finnish
  govt. etc.)
• Tec and Eco-Cement Concretes in the Built
  Environment.
• TecEco eco-cements set by absorbing CO2 and are
  as good as proven.

TecEco
More EconomicunderKyoto?
TecEco
37
TecEco Kiln Technology

• Can run at low temperatures.
• Can be powered by variable non fossil fuel
  energy.
• Runs 25 to 30 more efficiency.
• Theoretically capable of producing much more
  reactive MgO
• Even with ores of high Fe content.

• Captures CO2 for bottling and sale to the oil
  industry (geological sequestration).
• Grinds and calcines at the same time.
• Part of a major process to solve global CO2
  problems.
• Will result in new markets for ultra reactive low
  lattice energy MgO (e.g. cement, paper and
  environment industries)
• TecEco need your backing to develop the kiln

38
Increasing the Proportion of Waste Materials that
are Pozzolanic

• Advantages
• Lower costs
• More durable greener concrete
• Disadvantages
• Rate of strength development retarded
• Potential long term durability issue due to
  leaching of Ca from CSH.
• Glasser and others have observed leaching of Ca
  from CSH and this will eventually cause long term
  unpredictable behavior of CSH.
• Resolved by presence of brucite in tec-cements
• Higher water demand due to fineness.
• Finishing is not as easy
• Supported by WBCSD and virtually all industry
  associations
• Driven by legislation and sentiment

39
Impact of TecEco Tec-Cement Technology on the use
of Pozzolans

• In TecEco tec-cements Portlandite is generally
  consumed by the pozzolanic reaction and replaced
  with brucite
• Increase in rate of strength development
  particularly in the first 3-4 days.
• Internal consumption of water by MgO as it
  hydrates reducing impact of fineness demand
• More pozzolanic reactions
• Mg Al hydrates?
• Improved durability as brucite is much less
  soluble or reactive
• Potential long term durability issue due to
  leaching of Ca from CSH resolved.
• Improved finishing as Mg contributes a strong
  shear thinning property

40
Portlandite Compared to Brucite
Cement chemists in the industry should be
getting their heads around the differences
41
Tec-Cement Concrete Strength Gain Curve
We have observed this kind of curve with over 300
cubic meters of concrete
The possibility of high early strength gain with
added pozzolans is of great economic and
environmental importance.
42
Replacement of PC by Carbonating Binders

• Lime
• The most used material next to Portland cement in
  binders.
• Generally used on a 13 paste basis since Roman
  times
• Non-hydraulic limes set by carbonation and are
  therefore close to carbon neutral once set.
• CaO H2O gt Ca(OH)2
• Ca(OH)2 CO2 gt CaCO3
• 33.22 gas ? 36.93 molar volumes
• Very slight expansion, but shrinkage from loss of
  water.

43
Replacement of PC Carbonating Binders

• Eco-Cement (TecEco)
• Have high proportions of reactive magnesium oxide
• Carbonate like lime
• Generally used in a 15-112 paste basis because
  much more carbonate binder is produced than
  with lime
• MgO H2O ltgt Mg(OH)2
• Mg(OH)2 CO2 H2O ltgt MgCO3.3H2O
• 58.31 44.01 ltgt 138.32 molar mass (at least!)
• 24.29 gas ltgt 74.77 molar volumes (at least!)
• 307 expansion (less water volume reduction)
  producing much more binder per mole of MgO than
  lime (around 8 times)
• Carbonates tend to be fibrous adding significant
  micro structural strength compared to lime

Mostly CO2 and water
44
Replacement with Non Carbonating Binders

• There are a number of other novel cements with
  intrinsically lower energy requirements and CO2
  emissions than conventional Portland cements that
  have been developed
• High belite cements
• Being research by Aberdeen and other universities
• Calcium sulfoaluminate cements
• Used by the Chinese for some time
• Magnesium phosphate cements
• Proponents argue that a lot stronger than
  Portland cement therefore much less is required.
• Main disadvantage is that phosphate is a limited
  resource
• Geopolymers

45
Geopolymers

• Geopolymers consists of SiO4 and AlO4
  tetrahedra linked alternately by sharing all the
  oxygens.
• Positive ions (Na, K, Li, Ca, Ba, NH4,
  H3O) must be present in the framework cavities
  to balance the negative charge of Al3 in IV fold
  coordination.
• Theoretically very sustainable
• Unlikely to be used for pre-mix concrete or waste
  in the near future because of.
• process problems
• Requiring a degree of skill for implementation
• nano porosity
• Causing problems with aggregates in aggressive
  environments
• no pH control strategy for heavy metals in waste
  streams

46
TecEco Cements
TecEco concretes are a system of blending
reactive magnesia, Portland cement and usually a
pozzolan with other materials and are a key
factor for sustainability.
47
The Magnesium Thermodynamic Cycle
Calcination
CO2 CaptureNon fossil fuel energy
We think this cycle is relatively independent of
other constituents
48
TecEco Cement Technology Theory

• Portlandite (Ca(OH)2) is too soluble, mobile and
  reactive.
• It carbonates, reacts with Cl- and SO4- and being
  soluble can act as an electrolyte.
• TecEco generally (but not always) remove
  Portlandite using the pozzolanic reaction and
• TecEco add reactive magnesia
• which hydrates, consuming water and concentrating
  alkalis forming brucite which is another alkali,
  but much less soluble, mobile or reactive than
  Portlandite.
• In Eco-cements brucite carbonates

49
TecEco Formulations

• Tec-cements (Low MgO)
• contain more Portland cement than reactive
  magnesia. Reactive magnesia hydrates in the same
  rate order as Portland cement forming Brucite
  which uses up water reducing the voidspaste
  ratio, increasing density and possibly raising
  the short term pH.
• Reactions with pozzolans are more affective.
  After all the Portlandite has been consumed
  Brucite controls the long term pH which is lower
  and due to its low solubility, mobility and
  reactivity results in greater durability.
• Other benefits include improvements in density,
  strength and rheology, reduced permeability and
  shrinkage and the use of a wider range of
  aggregates many of which are potentially wastes
  without reaction problems.
• Eco-cements (High MgO)
• contain more reactive magnesia than in
  tec-cements. Brucite in porous materials
  carbonates forming stronger fibrous mineral
  carbonates and therefore presenting huge
  opportunities for waste utilisation and
  sequestration.
• Enviro-cements (High MgO)
• contain similar ratios of MgO and OPC to
  eco-cements but in non porous concretes brucite
  does not carbonate readily.
• Higher proportions of magnesia are most suited to
  toxic and hazardous waste immobilisation and when
  durability is required. Strength is not developed
  quickly nor to the same extent.

50
TecEco Cements Impact on Sustainability

• The CO2 released by calcined carbonates used to
  make binders can be captured using TecEco kiln
  technology.
• Tec-Cements Develop Significant Early Strength
  even with Added Supplementary Materials.
• Around 15 - 30 less total binder is required for
  the same strength.
• Eco-cements carbonate sequestering CO2 requiring
  25-75 less binder in some mixes
• Both tec and ecocements provide a benign low pH
  environment for hosting large quantities of waste
  overcoming problems of
• Using acids to etch plastics so they bond with
  concretes.
• sulphates from plasterboard etc. ending up in
  recycled construction materials.
• heavy metals and other contaminants.
• delayed reactivity e.g. ASR with glass cullet
• Resolving durability issues

51
Benefits to the Concrete Industry of Adopting
TecEco Technology

• Utilizing wastes to make concretes.
• Tec-cements have more rapid strength development
  with fly ash, bottom ash, industrial slags etc.
  (Tec-Cements.)
• Reducing energy and emissions during the
  production of cements.
• MgO can be made using non fossil fuel energy
• Concretes containing MgO
• are demonstrably more durable.
• can incorporate wastes that contribute to
  physical properties reducing lifetime energies
• It makes sense to sequester carbon by allowing
  MgO to re-carbonate and thereby gain strength.

The biggest business on the planet is going to be
the sustainability business
52
TecEco Technologies Take Concrete into the Future

• More rapid strength gain even with added
  pozzolans
• More supplementary materials can be used reducing
  costs and take and waste impacts.
• Higher strength/binder ratio
• Less cement can be used reducing costs and take
  and waste impacts
• More durable concretes
• Reducing costs and take and waste impacts.
• Use of wastes
• Utilizing carbon dioxide
• Magnesia component can be made using non fossil
  fuel energy and CO2 captured during production.

Tec -Cements
Tec Eco-Cements
Eco-Cements
53
Using Aggregates that Extend Cement

• Air used in foamed concrete is a cheap low
  embodied energy aggregate and has the advantage
  of reducing the conductance of concrete.
• Concrete, depending on aggregates weighs in the
  order of 2350 Kg/m3
• Concretes of over 10 mp as light as 1000 Kg/m3
  can be achieved.
• At 1500 Kg/m3 25 mpa easily achieved.
• From our experiments so far with Buildlite
  Cellular Concrete PL tec-cement formulations
  increase strength performance by around 5-10 for
  the same mass.
• Claimed use of aluminium and autoclaving to make
  more sustainable blocks questionable

54
Use Aggregates with Lower Embodied Energy and
that Result in less Emissions or that are
Themselves Carbon Sinks

• Use of aggregates that lower embodied energies
• wastes such as recycled building rubble tec and
  eco-cements do not have problems associated with
  high gypsum content
• Use of other aggregates that include non fossil
  carbon
• sawdust and other carbon based aggregates can
  make eco-cement concretes a net carbon sink.
• Reduce transport embodied energies by using local
  materials such as earth
• mud bricks and adobe.
• our research in the UK and with mud bricks in
  Australia indicate that eco-cement formulations
  seem to work much better than PC for this

55
Improve the Performance of Concrete by Including
Aggregates that Improve or Introduce New
Properties Reducing Lifetime Energies

• Rather than be taken to landfill many wastes can
  be used to improve properties of concrete that
  reduce lifetime energies.
• For example paper and plastic have in common
  reasonable tensile strength, low mass and low
  conductance and can be used to make cementitious
  composites that assume these properties