Researchers at the University of East London (UEL) have built a school in India out of a new low-carbon building material made from the pith left after sugar cane is processed.
Panchsheel Inter College in Uttar Pradesh was designed in association with the Delhi School of Architecture and Planning.
Researchers will monitor it to assess how well the material resists wear and tear, its thermal and sound insulation properties, and how much moisture it absorbs.
“Sugarcrete” combines bagasse, as the waste is called, with sand to create blocks.
The material is six times less carbon intensive than traditional materials, and has good mechanical, acoustic, fire and thermal properties.
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Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by production volume.
UEL says its use will benefit the global south, where construction materials tend to be imported at high cost.
Tests carried out by the university suggest Sugarcrete can be used in insulation panels, lightweight blocks, load-bearing blockwork and structural floor and roof slabs.
UEL partnered with India’s Chemical Systems Technologies (CST) to establish the first factory producing Sugarcrete blocks for the school.
The material was created by Armor Gutierrez Rivas and Alan Chandler, who are academics at UEL’s Sustainability Research Institute.
Rivas commented that sugarcane absorbs carbon dioxide 50 times faster than trees which makes Sugarcrete “a very sustainable material”.
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