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World’s first house made with nappy-blended concrete

The challenge for the hybrid material is more one of logistics than compressive strength.
  1. Elissa Welle
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In an attempt to solve two environmental problems at once, researchers at the University of Kitakyushu in Japan have found that shredded nappies can be used to replace between 9 and 40% of the sand used in making concrete without reducing its strength1. Disposable nappies are a growing source of non-recyclable waste, and cement production is responsible for almost 7% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and consumes around 50 billion tonnes of sand each year.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01701-x

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 22 May 2023: An earlier version of this article misstated Siswanti Zuraida’s role at the Bandung Science Technology Institute.

References

  1. Zuraida, S., Dewancker, B. & Margono, R. B. Sci. Rep. 13, 6390 (2023)

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