Scientists dispense with tires for aggregates in the concrete industry, How does this discovery benefit you?

Used tires are widely available. By 2030, about 1.2 billion tires will be disposed of as waste annually around the world, and therefore adding these tires to the construction process will benefit the so-called "circular economy".

A research team led by scientists from the Royal Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, has come up with a method by which the traditional aggregate used in concrete can be replaced by 100% of used tires.

And “ aggregate ” is a term referring to any particulate material, such as gravel, crushed stone and sand, which makes up about 60-80% of the concrete mix used in construction.

Aggregate is used in the concrete mix to provide the required compressive strength and mass.

Promising results

According to the study published in the journal Resources Conservation and Recycling, small amounts of rubber are already used in some types of concrete mixes, but no one has yet been able to completely replace rubber with aggregates, because this has led to Production of weak concrete that does not meet the required standards.

The research team was able to develop a technique through which newly designed molds were used to compress rubber aggregates into fresh concrete. The technique led to the production of concrete that not only fit the standards, but was better and lighter in weight than ordinary concrete.

In addition, according to an official press release issued by the institute on August 11, 2022, this new mixture can significantly reduce manufacturing and transportation costs, which can contribute to low-cost housing projects in rural and remote areas, around the world.

Circular economy

On the other hand, used tires are widely available. By 2030, about 1.2 billion tires will be disposed of as waste annually around the world, and therefore adding these tires to the construction process will benefit the so-called “circular economy”.

The term “ circular economy ” refers to an economic system that aims to eliminate waste through the continuous use of resources in the form of closed loops that each hand over to each other, in the sense of being a “waste” of a process; They are "nutrients" or other process resources, which minimize the use of resources, thus the circular economy is concerned with approaches to reuse, remanufacturing and recycling.

Day by day, many countries are interested in the circular economy because it represents an important tool for reducing pollution rates and carbon emissions, especially with a noticeable increase in the average temperature on the planet during the past few decades.