A new type of concrete from desert sand

More plentiful and more respectful of the environment

Photo du titre par Giorgio Parravicini via unsplash

The shortage of sand is a real threat. In order to tackle this issue, an English start-up has created « Finite », a construction material based on desert sand that, up until now, has been unusable…And it’s even better than standard concrete.

Plage sous un grand soleil

Photo par Scott Murdoch via Burst

the overuse of available sand

We don’t always consider this, but of the approximately 120 trillion tonnes of sand present on Earth, only 5% is usable. Sand is the 3rd most used resource after air and water, usually in construction, and this raises a problem. Marine and river sand is currently exploited, often illegally as criminal gangs profit enormously from trafficking huge quantities of aggregates, destroying ecosystems in places such as Indonesia and Cambodia. But why can’t we use desert sand, which is not in short supply?

INFINITE BUT UNUSABLE DESERTS…UNTIL NOW

Sahara, Arabian, Gobi, Kalahari…We estimate that deserts cover a surface area of 5000 million hectares. Nevertheless, we’re short of sand because the type we use in construction and in industry differs from the type found in our deserts. The latter has grains that are too finepolished by wind and friction until they are too rounded and even to aggregate effectively; at least until now.

 

Petits blocs de béton Finite

© Finite

four young english researchers on the brink of a breakthrough

A revolutionary composite material that makes desert sand useable, « Finite » employs a binder that the scientists responsible for are keeping secret (perfectly understandable!). Moving on from this already promising start, the creators of « Finite », Saki Maruyami, Hamza Oza, Carolyn Tam and Matteo Maccario, assure us that this binder boasts a carbon footprint that is half that of concrete, which is responsible for a great deal of current CO2 emissions. Biodegradable, Finite can also be recycled endlessly, principally for use in temporary constructions. In addition to all these qualities, this material can be easily moulded and gives designers total freedom when it comes to colour.  

Finite béton esthétique

© Finite

is it as solid as concrete?

In theory: yes. In reality, Finite is still undergoing tests to ascertain its resistance to ageing, compression, hardening, humidity and a whole raft of other key factors that must be taken into account. It’s due to be adapted depending on the results. Nevertheless, Finite is very promising, because the use of desert sand would be extremely beneficial for the environment. The phenomenon of erosion as a result of a sustained exploitation of beach sand could be slowed, raw materials in the Middle East will be able to be collected more easily and this will reduce the length of the supply chain and, consequently, the carbon footprint of this process will be further reduced.

Reducing the ecological impact of construction and offering greater aesthetic value and accessibility means that there are great opportunities in the pipeline for this revolutionary new material known as Finite.