SNU College of Engineering (Dean Lee Kunwoo) state on 12^th that Department of Architecture Professor Hong Sung-Gul and his colleagues have developed eco-friendly mortar that is made by mixing only water and no cement and alkali solution.
Conventional mortar is concrete which is made by mixing cement and sand with water and is not mixed with gravel. However, many greenhouse gases are emitted when producing cement and alkali solution (sodium hydroxide) is harmful to human body and environment.
The new environmentally friendly mortar consists of 75% sand and 25% binder (a material that chemically reacts with water to firmly bond the mortar). The binder is an industrial by-product, such as natural materials, blast-furnace slag, and fly ash, which do not emit greenhouse gases because they are not subjected to a high-temperature calcination process.
The compressive strength of eco-friendly mortar is evaluated as a construction material with economic efficiency and practicality in that it has a maximum strength of 60 MPa, which is a high strength concrete level, and can utilize fly ash which has low hydration reactivity.
As the research result has been recognized internationally, it has been published in ‘Materials’ in March this year and registered domestic patents in April.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kwon Yang-Hee, who received her Ph.D. in engineering from SNU this year, is conducting follow-up research as a postdoctoral researcher at the National University of Singapore (NUS).