Sugarcrete Harnesses Agricultural Waste to Build a More Sustainable Future
A team at the University of East London is turning sugarcane waste into a sustainable concrete alternative.
New artificial sweeteners keep being invented, but sugar remains one of the world’s most popular ingredients — an estimated 194 million tonnes were produced between 2023 and 2024. Manufacturing all that sweetness comes with a cost. Along with detrimental health implications, the global sugar production industry has significant impacts on the
environment, contributing to water and air pollution, land degradation and a massive amount of agricultural waste — a main component of that being bagasse, the fibrous material left over from sugarcane after it has been pulverized to extract its juices. While the low-carbon, renewable material is often upcycled into paper and packaging or used as a biofuel, bagasse is still a relatively...
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