A ‘Concrete’ Mystery

Researchers have enlisted the resources of one of the world’s leading X-ray facilities at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill. to help discover what lies inside German-born artist Wolf Vostell’s “Concrete Book #83.”  The results of the X-ray scans, which will be published in an unnamed journal, hope to uncover a short book by…

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DOE funds cement pre-calcining heat demonstration

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Pasadena, Calif.-based Heliogen $4.1 million to demonstrate a concentrated solar power (CSP) process for heating limestone to 950°C, applicable to the calcining phase in portland cement production. CSP technologies deploy mirrors to beam sunlight onto a receiver, and can be used to deliver heat for energy-intensive industrial processes or generate electricity using…

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Energy Department funds cement pre-calcining heat demonstration

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy; CP staff The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Pasadena, Calif.-based Heliogen $4.1 million to demonstrate a concentrated solar power (CSP) process for heating limestone to 950°C, applicable to the calcining phase in portland cement production. CSP technologies deploy mirrors to beam sunlight onto a receiver, and can be used to deliver heat for energy-intensive…

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Building Energy Efficiency in Roofing and Walls

According to the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, homes and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the energy used in the United States. The average American spends at least $2,000 annually paying for energy, with about $200 to $400 of that bill going towards regulating temperatures caused by drafts, air leaks around openings and…

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Shaping the future, sharpening the carbon focus

BY JOSEPHINE PATTERSON Within a year of the California Nevada Cement Association’s release of an industry-wide roadmap to attain net zero carbon operation by 2045, a rare alignment of state government, industry stakeholder and environmental group initiatives is validating some of the lowest hanging fruit in the action plan. CNCA envisions three major pathways for the industry to attain the…

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Cement, concrete, and carbon conversation turns to intellectual honesty and plausibility

A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) survey of cement and concrete production builds on U.S. General Services Administration measures, noted here last month, to guide federal construction procurement policy toward lower embodied carbon levels in finished structures. Along with the Departments of Defense and Transportation, General Services stands to favor material or product specifications backed by carbon data presented in…

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Energy Department, Meritage Homes probe walls’ thermal mass

Sources: Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.; CP staff A $65 million Department of Energy (DOE) program will support technologies enabling energy-efficient homes or buildings to interact with one another and the electric grid, potentially lowering greenhouse gas emission levels and improving power infrastructure. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announced the funding commitment during an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)…

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Feds enter suit charging defective rebar, quality control lapses in nuclear waste facility

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice; CP staff

The Justice Department has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit, alleging Energy & Process Corp. (E&P) of Tucker, Ga., knowingly failed to perform required quality assurance procedures and supplied defective steel reinforcing bars in connection with a Department of Energy nuclear waste treatment facility contract.

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Department of Energy issues final rule updating EISA legislation

WEG Electric Corp.

From Atlanta-based WEG Electric Corp. … A coalition of NEMA electric motor manufacturers and energy advocates have been working with the U.S. Department of Energy for the past three years in order to provide maximum energy benefits for all users of low voltage motors. The DOE is required by law to review the appropriateness of the energy regulations based on current materials and manufacturing technologies.

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Building agency promotes STEM-wise workforce, code compliance

NBIS

The National Institute of Building Sciences 2013 report, Moving Forward: Findings and Recommendations from the Consultive Council, spans five key areas: The Building Workforce; Guidance on the Use of Non-Potable Water; Understanding the Energy/Water Nexus; Supporting the Existing State and Local Building Regulatory Infrastructure; and, Developing the Business Case for Private Sector Investment in Hazard Mitigation.

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