What do sawdust, a mineral commonly associated with wastewater facilities, and an enzyme derived from watermelon seeds have in common?
Based on new research, these seemingly unrelated materials could be used to create a fire-resistant building material for your next home.
Researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have invented a way to combine sawdust with the mineral struvite and an organic enzyme to create a versatile construction material that is stronger than original spruce lumber, according to Interesting Engineering.
The new material has shown strong fire-retardant properties and durability — features that would make it ideal for the construction of interior walls and partitions.
Because the new material uses sawdust, largely a waste product of the lumber industry that often ends up in landfills, it could also help drive down the costs of new-home construction.
According to the National Association of Homebuilders, the rising cost of building materials has been a key obstacle to achieving housing affordability. The cost of lumber alone contributes significantly to the price of constructing a new home.
"The average new single-family home uses more than 2,200 square feet of softwood plywood and 6,800 of OSB [oriented strand board, an alternative to plywood], in addition to roughly 15,000 board feet of framing lumber," per the NAHB.
Additionally, the fire-retardant qualities of the new material could help builders meet stringent new standards that require new homes to be more fire-resistant.
For example, the city of Bend, Oregon, is considering instituting new requirements to make homes and neighborhoods more resilient in the event of a fire. However, home builders have warned that these new regulations could drive up the cost of new homes.
By transforming a waste product into a new fire-resistant building material, the invention could help lower home costs while also reducing fire risk and waste.
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While more research remains to be done, the new invention could end up being a rare win-win-win situation.
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