Concrete may have found it's killer app in graphene, a form of carbon that may have some unique properties that make it particularly attractive for use in applications that currently rely on the brittle materials silicon or carbon fiber. Some industries are still using carbon fiber for some structures. The material is stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum and has an amazing resistance to heat. It's expensive, but the demand for it grows annually. The application could be found in large parts of the wind turbine, the airplane and the automobile industry. The researchers behind this study used the knowledge from the graphene to create a new type of concrete. The resulting concrete is up to 12 times lighter and stronger than the ordinary concrete. The result can be applied in buildings, construction material or transport industry. The concrete is actually made out of cement and graphene as a replacement for the sand used in traditional cement. This doesn't mean that we'll be replacing all cement with graphene in concrete, but instead add it in small fractions in regular concrete. The fact that the newly developed concrete will have a lighter weight is beneficial to both the environment and the industry. The study shows that graphene can be beneficial in various industries and that, when added in large quantities to concrete, will improve the durability and conductivity. The researchers from MIT were not satisfied with making the new material, so they want to make it work with other materials and produce lightweight concrete, which might have fewer flaws than regular concrete. These findings may have an impact on how future generations build and manufacture things for the future. The future could be about building in ways that actually contribute to a greener, more eco-friendly planet. The new study is on PNAS and was a joint effort of MIT and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The results can be read here. Sources: PNAS, MIT This article was written by David P. Barron for the DTN Water Power website