Producing environmentally friendly building materials from coal
- Wits University
Prof. Samson Bada and his team are putting coal waste to good use.
Meet Professor Samson Bada, who has found a way of putting coal waste to good use. As South Africa’s coal industry generates more than 60 million tonnes of coal waste each year, it is important to find sustainable ways to use this waste. Currently, the unwanted left over from mining coal is dumped into landfills, adding to pollution and taking up valuable land that could be used for housing.
Professor Bada’s research group has made environmentally friendly building materials, like bricks and tiles, by mixing suitable coal waste with a chemical compound. This not only helps to reduce environmental pollution but could also create alternative employment opportunities for some of South Africa’s 93,000 coal miners.
With the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, the demand for more housing and more energy will increase. As South Africa’s electricity is mainly produced from coal, coal mining and coal waste production will also increase. Coal-based building materials promise to put coal waste to good use and produce bricks to build houses as the need for permanent dwellings in towns and cities increases while preserving the environment.
Are these bricks strong and durable? Professor Bada claims they are of the highest quality and meet international building material standards.
Why does this matter? South Africa is committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, aiming to improve the livelihood of its citizens and reduce CO2 emissions. Part of this Agenda involves transitioning energy, as highlighted in a recent international workshop co-hosted by Eskom.
There is a way to go to ensure the best product. Professor Bada’s research group is working towards pilot-scale production trials for various building materials and conducting environmental and economic analyses.
This research was highlighted as research into new coal materials at the recent South African Coal Processing Society (SACPS) Conference.
One of Professor Bada’s PhD students, as an awardee of the DAAD scholarship, proudly represented WITS University when he was hosted by the Materials and Earth Sciences Department at the Technische Universität Darmstadt (TUD), a public research university in Darmstadt, to gain experience in furthering the research.
Professor Bada and his research team have several scientific publications available in the public domain: