July 20 (UPI) -- In an effort to make new construction greener and stronger, engineers and material scientists are turning to beets and carrots. Researchers have combined Portland cement with nanoplatelets extracted from root vegetable fibers to produce a stronger, more eco-friendly building material.
"The composites are not only superior to current cement products in terms of mechanical and microstructure properties but also use smaller amounts of cement," lead researcher Mohamed Saafi from Lancaster University said in a news release. "This significantly reduces both the energy consumption and CO2 emissions associated with cement manufacturing."