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Polimer Tanah‑Lumut 3D Cepat Kering untuk Menggantikan Beton
Concrete’s Environmental Limits: Sand Use and CO₂ Emissions
Concrete has become the central material in construction over the past few decades, especially in dense urban environments. It has progressively replaced bricks, stone, and wood, thanks to its low cost, ease of use, and scalability.
But it is not without issues.
First, it is far from a sustainable product when it comes to resource consumption. It uses tremendous amounts of sand, to the point that reports suggest dunia “kehabisan pasir.”
Sumber: Visual Capitalist
The production of cement is also a very energy-intensive activity. It is almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels, resulting in cement production being responsible for 8% of the world’s CO₂ emissions.
This is comparable to the emissions from cars and vans, which are responsible for 10% of global emissions. Consequently, making concrete more sustainable would be as impactful as transitioning all of the world’s cars to EVs and powering them only with green energy.
How Clay-Hemp 3D Printing Creates a Low-Carbon Concrete Alternative
Parallel to the search for greener alternatives to traditional concrete, gagasan muncul tentang penggunaan prinsip pencetakan 3D untuk membangun rumah.
Instead of labor-intensive methods like bricklaying, an automated 3D printing machine can assemble walls quickly.
However, printing the walls does not eliminate the long curing time required for concrete; there is still a 28-day waiting period before the structure achieves full strength.
Researchers at Oregon State University have now developed a concrete substitute that is significantly less carbon-intensive while remaining compatible with 3D printing technology.
They published their results in Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials1 under the title “Pencetakan 3D infrastruktur berkelanjutan menggunakan beton tanah cepat dengan aditif berbasis bio.”
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| Properti | Beton Semen Tradisional | Beton Polimer Tanah‑Lumut (OSU) | Semen Elektroliser Rendah Karbon (Sublime) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pengikat | Semen Portland, klinker yang dipanggang di kiln | Pengikat polimer berbasis akrilamida menggunakan RICFP | Semen berbasis elektroliser yang dibuat pada suhu ambient |
| Konten berbasis bio / in-situ | Rendah; terutama agregat tambang | ≈75% tanah liat, pasir, serat hemp, biochar berdasarkan berat | Tergantung pada sumber kalsium lokal (produk sampingan industri, batu) |
| Kekuatan segera setelah penempatan | Efektif 0 MPa; memerlukan bekisting | ≈3 MPa tepat setelah pencetakan 3D | Profil kekuatan awal masih dalam skala dan pengujian |
| Hari untuk mencapai kekuatan struktural 17–24 MPa | Biasanya hingga 28 hari | ≈3 hari untuk melampaui 17 MPa | Menargetkan serupa atau lebih baik, bervariasi menurut campuran dan pabrik |
| Waktu pengerasan penuh | ≈28 hari | ≈8–14 hari (lebih dari 40 MPa) | Spesifik pabrik; dirancang untuk menghindari proses kiln |
| Jejak CO₂ vs semen Portland biasa | Tinggi (kiln dan emisi proses) | Lebih rendah, berkat agregat berbasis bio dan tanpa kiln semen | Dirancang untuk jauh lebih rendah dengan menghindari kalsinasi batu kapur |
| Kemampuan pencetakan 3D | Memerlukan penopang, pengerasan lebih lambat, overhang terbatas | Dapat mencetak overhang dan celah bebas penopang | Tahap awal; fokus pada produksi batch semen rendah karbon |
Inside the Clay-Hemp Polymer: RICFP and Bio-Based Aggregates
Cement is typically comprised of calcium, silicon, aluminum, and iron, which are ultimately heated in a kiln and ground into a fine powder.
Instead, the researchers developed a 3D-printable, clay-based construction material using a method known as Radical-Induced Cationic Frontal Polymerization (RICFP).
It relies on three key chemical components:
- Monomer yang mempolimerisasi di hadapan radikal bebas.
- Crosslinker yang menghubungkan rantai polimer bersama‑sama.
- Inisiator yang, pada suhu tinggi, melepaskan radikal bebas yang diperlukan untuk memulai polimerisasi.
The researchers achieved this by combining the RICFP binder with clay aggregate, sand, biochar, and hemp fiber to improve compressive strength, insulation, and sustainability. To this, a binder was added, made of acrylamide (ACR) monomer, methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) cross‑linker, and ammonium persulfate (APS).
In total, this managed to use 70–80% bio-based materials by weight.
Superior Strength and Faster Curing Than Traditional Concrete
The main improvement this material provides compared to concrete is higher strength, especially immediately after 3D printing.
With a buildable strength of 3 megapascals (MPa), it enables the construction of multilayer walls and freestanding overhangs like roofs.
This strength increases over time, creating a very solid final building.
“It surpasses 17 megapascals, the strength required of residential structural concrete, in just three days, compared to as long as 28 days for traditional cement‑based concrete.” – Devin Roach, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, OSU College of Engineering
Another advantage is cure time: the material reaches the 17 MPa strength required for residential structural concrete in just three days. It fully cures in under two weeks—compared with around 28 days for traditional cement‑based concrete.
The researchers also tested different 3D printing construction methods. They demonstrated that higher strength and rapid polymerization enable the new mix to be printed without an underlying structure.
This new method could also be used to print normally shaped doors and windows, features that usually require extra materials or special methods with concrete 3D printing.
“The material’s ability to print free standing structure without the use of supports, including various and unique capabilities of printing with frontally polymerizing concrete.”
What Clay-Hemp 3D Printing Could Mean for Future Buildings
While 3D‑printed houses and construction materials initially used concrete, it is likely that this novel construction method will benefit from new materials.
For now, as it is still at an experimental stage, the clay‑hemp‑biochar‑based material is more expensive than concrete.
But further refinement and reduction in construction costs, thanks to 3D printing efficiencies, should ultimately bring it on par with traditional materials.
In addition, the superior carbon footprint could be a decisive factor if carbon taxes begin to impact cement costs heavily.
Investing in Cement Production
Intisari Investor – Pencetakan 3D Tanah‑Lumut & CRH
Beton polimer tanah‑limpah masih berada di tahap laboratorium dan pilot, namun berada di jalur tiga kekuatan kuat: dekarbonisasi konstruksi, bangunan otomatis yang dicetak 3D, dan material pengerasan cepat yang memperpendek jadwal proyek. Campuran Oregon State University menunjukkan bagaimana agregat berbasis bio dan kimia polimer dapat memberikan kekuatan struktural dalam hitungan hari bukan minggu, dengan jejak CO₂ jauh lebih rendah dibandingkan semen tradisional. Bagi investor pasar publik, CRH adalah salah satu cara paling jelas untuk mendapatkan eksposur pada transisi ini. Perusahaan ini adalah recycler terbesar di Amerika Utara, telah mulai mengurangi emisi semen dengan bahan bakar alternatif, dan menyalurkan modal ke inovator semen rendah karbon seperti Sublime Systems, teknologi penangkap karbon, dan optimasi campuran berbasis AI. Jika semen berbasis elektroliser dan campuran cetak 3D canggih berhasil secara komersial, pemain lama dengan distribusi global, modal, dan hubungan regulasi—seperti CRH—akan berada pada posisi terbaik untuk menguasai transisi daripada terganggu olehnya.
CRH: A Sustainable Cement Leader and Decarbonization Play
(CRH )
As one of the world’s leaders in cement production, CRH will be instrumental in turning cement construction into a more sustainable industry. It ranks #1 in total volume of construction material provided in both the US and European markets.
The company is active in 28 countries and 3,390 locations, employing 78,500 people, with CRH Americas making 65% of its 2023 global sales.
CRH expects robust spending by Western governments on infrastructure to help grow its business. The trends of re‑industrialization and on‑shoring high‑tech manufacturing should also help.
Sumber: CRH
CRH has made serious progress in sustainability with a series of initiatives:
- It is the largest recycler in North America, with 43.9 million tons of waste and by-products from other industries recycled in 2023.
- It reduced its CO₂ emissions by 8% in 2023, thanks to using 36% alternative fuels in its cement plants.
- It is aiming for a reduction of emissions by 30% by 2030 (compared to 2021 emissions).
This is laudable in itself, but it can be seen as too little, too late, considering the carbon emissions of the concrete industry.
Luckily, CRH is also a driver of more fundamental changes to the sector. Notably, it has invested $75M into low-carbon cement company Sublime, together with the European concrete giant Holcim.
Sublime Systems was spun out of MIT in 2020 to utilize an electrolyzer to produce cement at ambient temperatures, replacing energy and fossil fuel‑intensive kilns. It also enables the use of calcium sources as an input material, avoiding the release of CO₂ from limestone input.
Sublime’s first commercial facility in Holyoke is expected to open as early as 2026. If proven successful, it could be the real game‑changer for the cement industry, and it could open the way to scalable low‑emission concrete.
CRH also invested in other decarbonization and sustainability startups:
- €23.7 million in Cool Planet Technologies, developing carbon capture solutions for industries that have traditionally been difficult to decarbonize.
- $34.7M by CRH and other investors in Carbon Upcycling Technologies, using an all‑electric mineralization solution to permanently store CO₂ in industrial by‑products and minerals, like cement, plastics, consumer products, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals.
- AICrete, a ‘recipe‑as‑a‑service’ platform that works with local concrete producers, optimizing local materials and minimizing the amount of cement used using AI analyses, reducing both the CO₂ footprint and the cost of concrete production.
- FIDO AI’s Series B funding is a startup using AI to reduce water consumption and increase water savings.
Lastly, CRH is also investing in 3D concrete printing (3DCP) through its subsidiary Amerimix.
Overall, CRH is a profitable leader in the concrete and construction industry and is very actively preparing for the decarbonization of the industry, both directly in existing facilities and by being a prime provider of capital to innovative startups creating the next generation of cement and concrete production technology, including decarbonization and 3D printing.
Latest CRH (CRH) Stock News and Developments
Study Referenced
1. Nicolas A. Gonsalves et al,. Pencetakan 3D infrastruktur berkelanjutan menggunakan beton tanah cepat dengan aditif berbasis bio. Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials. Volume 8. 01 Oktober 2025. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42114-025-01456-1 opsi
Studi Dirujuk 1. Nicolas A. Gonsalves et al,. Pencetakan 3D infrastruktur berkelanjutan menggunakan beton tanah cepat dengan aditif berbasis bio. Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials. Volume 8. 01 Oktober 2025. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42114-025-01456-1
