The concrete mixer has long since been a fundamentally important tool in the production, construction, and development of our urban cityscapes. It is an instrument that has aided us in producing one of the world’s most important materials — but for all the good that this machine has provided us, it is also time to consider how its applications are changing during a time of shifting design trends.
As the broader public becomes more aware of worldwide sustainability goals, it is time to consider how we can build and construct in a way that is both environmentally friendly and innovative. Thus, more and more developers and construction companies have come to reconsider how we can design sites that blend form and function with a long-term vision of a healthy planet. If you want to know how people are responding to changes in the world of construction and design, then read this article to understand more sustainable ways to work with concrete mixers.
The Changing Trends In Design
The landscape that we live in is constantly shifting, evolving, and reshaping itself to suit new visions and new goals. Humanity continues to facilitate investigations into how we can improve and innovate, using the resources at hand to create unimaginable possibilities. In the last decade, we have seen the rise of the tech industry, the expansion of the urban environment, and a destabilisation of the natural environment. As we continue to grow, we also begin to see the impression that our development has on the earth and its people. Changing temperatures, rising tides, social ills, and more continue to humble us as we continue on our journey of modernisation and growth.
Consequently, it is important now more than ever to consider how we can alter and adjust our strategies to suit wider agendas and the common good, without sacrificing our goals to create and experiment with newness. We continually have to negotiate what constitutes ‘best practice’. Sustainability is no longer just a word, but rather a goal — one that requires us to think twice about how we design our spaces, our communities, and our lives. The 2020’s have, in general, shown us that the rules don’t apply. Whatever we think we know about the world is put into question every day, and in 2023 specifically, we have certainly witnessed a massive array of new trends and cultural shifts.
Among some of the changes we can see in the world of design, architectural trends have been particularly exciting lately. As we put greater focus on outlining smart and responsive design approaches meant to accommodate communities without sacrificing precious resources, we continue to see the evolution of construction techniques. If there was once a time for unfettered development, it is no longer now. Today we are being more considerate of culture and context, embracing a form of transitional modernism that pays an ode to history while still embracing contemporary aesthetics and function. Thus, we have begun to consider how we can repair or blend modern-day developments with trends in wellness-centric design.
Part of the solution to these questions is the extended focus on sustainability. Architecture as an industry has been forced to reconsider how we use new technology and limited materials to create greener spaces. Energy efficiency, adaptive reuse of materials, and mixed-use development are all approaches that can be implemented in order to facilitate spaces that are more attuned to the needs of both its inhabitants and the earth. This presents an exciting opportunity for companies and designers to put BS Power tools to new uses. Items like concrete mixers can now be used to produce materials that can ultimately be integrated into new kinds of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
How Can Concrete Be Used Sustainably?
Concrete mixers produce one of the world’s most widely used building materials. Concrete is a popular building material for many reasons including versatility, strength, and durability — these characteristics of concrete make it a ubiquitous material found in industrial buildings, roads and highways, residential homes, dams and reservoirs, bridges, stadiums, and public centres to name a few.
Concrete has become widely appreciated for both its aesthetic and its function. Movements like modernism and minimalism, not to mention brutalism, have championed concrete’s ability to withstand the elements while maintaining a signature, raw look. It has become the material most associated with urbanity, cosmopolitanism, and the modern world. When we think of the big city, we think of ‘the concrete jungle’.
But is there a way to adapt this material to our broader sustainability goals? Fortunately, there are ways to put your concrete mixers to use in an eco-friendly manner by incorporating new practices to minimise the environmental impact of concrete production. Carbon emissions can be reduced by producing concrete in new ways — for example, concrete mixers can be loaded with alternative cementitious materials such as fly ash, slag and silica fume.
Similarly, instead of mixing newly extracted aggregates in the concrete mixer every time, recycled concrete aggregates can act as alternatives and substitutes, preventing new extraction. Some have even considered the production of ‘green concrete’, a type of mixture that incorporates recycled waste and industrial by-products into the concrete mixer.
Other options are to include innovation in construction techniques, which can help to save you time and labour costs. For example, prefabrication and modular construction can be done in advance of the builds, so that labourers don’t have to mix on-site. This helps reduce the time spent creating concrete and generating waste. Prefabrication can ensure that concrete is mixed in a controlled environment, where moulds can be used and concrete can be produced at specific certifications. Modular construction also allows construction workers to put pieces together more easily on site, without the additional mess of producing concrete in the moment.
Other cement plants are also big on Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU), which is a technology that captures and converts carbon dioxide emissions that are released into the atmosphere during industrial processes. Naturally, this is a newer technology that has limited applications as of yet — however, in the long term it promises to prove useful in the construction industry, where carbon emissions are high.
Manufacturing cement using a concrete mixer is a chemical process that generally involves converting limestone into clinker, but CCU technology would help to capture some of its emission offsets. Although the actual concrete mixers’ carbon offsets are relatively low, emissions from concrete production at a large scale can be high, thus making the idea of using CCU technology very appealing.
Carbon capture can take place at cement plants, near cement kilns. Once this carbon is captured, it can be reused in various ways. Captured C02 can be reacted with minerals to produce stabilised carbonates that facilitate carbon sequestration. It can also be converted into synthetic fuels like gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel through electrolysis or Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Likewise, C02 can be used as an ingredient for chemical production or even the synthesis of plastic and fuel.
Other ways of reusing carbon dioxide are carbon farming, algae cultivation, and enhanced oil recovery. In carbon farming, captured carbon dioxide can be injected into soils as a way to enhance agricultural productivity and growth, as well as soil fertility. As far as algae cultivation is concerned, algae respond very well to CO2, which is a nutrient that feeds it and aids its growth. C02 is actually useful for various applications, including in biofuel production and wastewater treatment. C02 is also used to replenish oil reservoirs and geological formations.
Depleted oil and gas fields are often restored with C02, which helps with long-term sequestration. Oil reservoirs respond similarly well to the injection of carbon dioxide, which encourages additional oil extraction and similarly helps to sequester carbon underground so that oil reservoirs can remain healthy. Besides these practices, materials produced and mixed using concrete mixers can be put to good use when applied to construction sites responsibly. By incorporating green belts, natural materials, and greenery, we can see improvements in air quality, biodiversity, and temperatures. Incorporating natural elements into urban landscapes and architecture is also known as biophilic design.
Biophilic design stands for energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, reuse and recycling, eco-friendly manufacturing processes, and the preservation of wildlife and local ecosystems. It can certainly be applied to urban environments where concrete is a primary material, as it helps to improve the environment by reintroducing organic processes to areas where C02 is high and the urban heat island effect is prominent.
While a concrete mixer can aid the production of sturdy buildings, roads, and infrastructure, biophilic design as manifested in green roofs, green walls and water features, has been put to use to create environments with lower impact. By creating habitats for local plants and wildlife to thrive, we can enjoy the best of both the natural and the built environment.
Striking The Right Balance: Producing Sustainably With The Concrete Mixer
Of course, we must all do our best to produce sustainably and efficiently, but sometimes certain procedures and practices are inaccessible. If you can’t capture and reuse carbon, then you can at least consider how you can incorporate biophilic design into your building sites, leaving room for greenery and nature. If you can’t introduce green elements to your site, then perhaps you can try out new construction techniques. For example, you can attempt to use recycled aggregates the next time you use a concrete mixer to produce cement. For small-scale projects, it would be best to use a diesel concrete mixer, and for large-scale projects, the electric BS Power concrete mixer can be utilised for larger, more efficient production.
There are many ways to make more sustainable design choices as you continue on your construction journey. And perhaps what is most exciting about new trends in design, construction, and architecture, is the opportunity to try out new processes and think more holistically with the future in mind. This way, everyday tasks like mixing cement using a concrete mixer can become a chance to challenge yourself and your project. Whether you’re using your concrete mixer for small do-it-yourself projects or industrial development, you too can consider what changes could be made to improve the outcome and limit environmental impact. This may result in some exciting new plans, procedures, and innovations.
Invest In BS Power Tools
The next time you take on an exciting new project, consider which tools you’ll need and how you can use them sustainably. The BS Power concrete mixer is an incredible tool, and often the first instrument used to kickstart the building process. With a wide range of products, you can find a machine with the right load and drum capacity to suit your project. Our electric concrete mixer is a sturdy machine with different features designed to make the mixing process easier for you. If you’re interested in investing in the machines that will make your construction dreams possible, then simply scroll through our website today, or chat with our customer service for advice and assistance — you won’t be disappointed!