Agri-engineer develops geopolymer cement for sustainable construction

Ludhiana, July 18

An alumnus of the 1966 batch of the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (CoAE), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Manmohan Jain has come up with a novel idea of geopolymer cement, an eco-friendly product which has a potential to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) at a competitive price.

As per Jain, who is also a partner of a Chennai-based firm Kiran Global, geopolymer cement sets faster and does not need water for mixing and curing in contrast to OPC. “Geopolymer concrete is made up of geopolymer cement that gains strength with the passage of time and its production does not emit carbon-dioxide. There is substantial saving in construction on account of speedy execution, superior finish and low maintenance,” he added. Jain said that it had been used in parts of Delhi Metro and now railways were also using precast elements of geopolymer for pavers. Notably, our country is the largest producer of cement and for every tonne of cement, 800 kg of carbon dioxide is generated, he added. Jain called the use of geopolymer cement as a step towards sustainable construction.