Arizona cements spin-out

Arizona University is spinning out Iron Shell with the aim of commercialising a new cement-like material dubbed Ferrock. The material is an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional Portland cement.

Ferrock was developed by David Stone while a PhD candidate at the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, and was granted a patent in the US in 2013. It has now been licensed to Stone’s company via the university’s technology transfer office Tech Launch Arizona.

The material uses waste steel dust from industrial processes. It also requires high concentrations of carbon dioxide to harden: instead of releasing the gas into the atmosphere as a by-product of creating cement (one ton of cement currently creates one ton of carbon dioxide) it absorbs the gas. On top of being eco-friendly, it has the added benefit of being stronger than traditional Portland cement.

David Stone said: “This all started from an accidental discovery in a lab, which is actually the way it usually goes. That was back in 2002 and I included as much as I knew in my doctoral dissertation. But the work goes on. It has taken years to get just a basic understanding of the chemistry involved. But this should not be surprising since scientists are still trying to figure out Portland cement they have had 200 years. I am into this for the long haul. Time is on our side since in this era of global warming unsustainable processes like cement manufacture will have to give way to greener alternatives.”