Concrete plan to clear the air

DUSSELDORF, Germany, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A California chemist is working on ways to use carbon dioxide emissions to create cement.

Brent Constantz, who teaches at Stanford University, founded the company Calera with a plan to siphon off carbon dioxide from a gas-fired power plant to use in the creation of cement. The carbon dioxide would be conducted through sea water from the Pacific Ocean, the German publication Der Spiegel reported Thursday.

Constantz said carbon dioxide combined with magnesium and calcium dissolved in the water can result in cement.

"Chemically speaking, the same thing happens in coral when it grows," Constantz told the newspaper. The cement, which Constantz developed to repair bone fractures and for use in dental applications, would help the environment by rendering the carbon dioxide harmless.

'"One ton of my cement removes half a ton of CO2 from the environment," Constantz said.

Martin Schneider, director of the Research Institute of the Cement Industry in Dusseldorf, Germany said the plan could revolutionize the cement industry. He warned, however of the difficulty of transferring the process to large-scale production, the newspaper said.