Scrapped Planes Keep Pavement Dry
By combining two very different problems, scientists from Washington State University have found a common solution. The first problem was to develop a new pavement material. Traditional slabs are too compact for rainwater to pass through, meaning that in many places, streets are flooded after heavy rain. Torrential rain is often sudden, and sewage systems often cannot handle it.
Experiments with porous slabs show they are quickly worn down by the water. So, scientists have developed concrete that is both porous and durable by adding carbon fibre. The latter is expensive, but to keep prices down, scientists have solved another problem. Carbon fibre materials have been made for so many years that the products in which they are included have started to be scrapped, so lots of carbon fibre waste exists, for which we have not yet found good recycling solutions.
That's why scientists used carbon fibre from scrapped Boeing planes, but it might just as well have been from cars or wind turbines. In the process, the scientists also focused on processing the carbon fibre material using methods that neither required chemicals nor much energy. The concrete slabs have been tested in the lab with such positive results that they will now be tested on real pavements.