Eco-friendly constructions boosted the demand for dry concrete materials globally

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The recent uses of green technology in the construction sector have provided the impetus to the growth of the dry concrete market worldwide. Dry concrete helps to provide suitable conditions to allow the concrete to attain moisture properly. Its increasing strength, reducing shrinkage, fast curing rates, lowering the water permeability rate, reduced construction costs, and reduction in the hydrostatic pressures have helped the dry concrete market to see strong adoption in the construction industry.

Accordingly, the global dry concrete market can be divided into normal strength concrete, high strength concrete, high-performance concrete, ready-mix concrete, and others. Due to the need for sustainable construction materials, innovative dry concrete that is sustainable and reduces environmental footprint is being produced by various research institutes that are further used by various construction companies globally. For instance,

• Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) announced in April 2022 to develop a recycled glass concrete mix, environmentally-friendly building materials. With the increasing urbanization and infrastructure development, sand is slowly becoming a scarce resource, and therefore, the researchers took glass as an alternative for developing this concrete mix.

Therefore, the researcher used this untapped potential of the material to create this recycled glass-based concrete mix which will be used to 3D print a 40cm-tall concrete bench. Thus, this proof-of-concept depicts that this special material formulation can be used to manufacture load-bearing objects, boding well for high-strength construction.

• Similarly, another innovation in the field, in April 2021, a collaboration between researchers of MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) and the French National Center for Scientific Research developed sustainable concrete through the addition of electron conductivity functions in it. This function will help the concrete perform functions such as self-heating and energy storage. 

The researchers introduced highly conductive nanocarbon materials into the cement mixture to make the cement conduct electricity. Most importantly, they found out that this current also had an interesting outcome, it could generate heat. In snow-filled areas, this technology can be very useful for radiant indoor floor heating.  

Notably, the nanocarbon cement can be used in various outdoor structures, such as concrete pavements, which will be highly sustainable, durable, and safe, as it could be used to de-ice pavements without road salt. De-icing pavements require huge expenditure on repair and operations costs, which can be reduced using nanocarbon cement while providing a remedy to various allied safety and environmental concerns. The rising demand for these dry concrete materials can be attributed to due to lesser negative effects on the environment and also on human health as opposed to commercial and residential construction materials.

The dry concrete market has gained popularity recently due to the construction sector's expansion and the need for eco-friendly constructions. Also, the growing priority for interior designs and the preference for low-weight construction materials will further provide impetus to the dry concrete market globally. Therefore, it is expected that rapid growth in the population and increasing awareness about dry construction materials will further boost the demand for these materials around the globe.

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the global construction market, click here.