Construction is a significant source of pollution, accounting for around 37 percent of global emissions. While some companies are looking for ways to cut down on pollution by creating cement-free concrete, others are finding new ways to use 3D printers, like these new 3D-printed recycled glass bricks, which can be connected together like LEGO pieces.
The new bricks are part of a study run by an engineering team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The team was helmed by Kaitlyn Becker, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, and Michael Stern, the founder of Evenline, an MIT spinoff.
The team used a Glass 3D Printer 3, the latest machine offered by Evenline, to create recycled glass bricks that were made by melting crushed glass bottles in a furnace to turn them into a molten, printable material. The material was then used to print individual bricks, which have round pegs on the ends, allowing them to be interlocked together.
The bricks were also based on the circular construction principles, which are an attempt to reuse and repurpose construction material to help limit embodied carbon within the industry. The bricks are so strong, though, that the researchers say they could even be used in construction for buildings.
Of course, using glass as a structural material might sound crazy. After all, when you put a lot of pressure on glass, it tends to crack and eventually break. However, the researchers believe that these recycled glass bricks could be a great opportunity to prove just how valuable glass is as a construction material.
It is unclear how long it will be before we see these glass bricks actually being used to construct buildings. It is more likely we’ll see things like hollow concrete getting more usage first, though I could definitely see the appeal of a building made out of glass bricks. Whether or not that will replace concrete, though, is unlikely.
