Supramics
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A low-cost, environmentally beneficial materials system that consumes carbon dioxide as a raw material. Supramics may be used as low-cost replacements for rigid thermoplastics and fired ceramics.
Supramics products are formed from fully-hardened hydraulic cement or plaster shapes that are subsequently altered using supercritical carbon dioxide in a closed container known as a reactor vessel. Supercritical carbon dioxide processing converts the alkali in the product into carbonates (similar to marble), sequestering the carbon and producing ultra-pure water as its sole by-product.
The supramics process was commercially developed in the late 1990's by a private company with the assistance of Los Alamos National Laboratories CST-12.
By offsetting the carbon produced during the manufacture of the hydraulic cements or plasters and also the carbon produced during manufacture of the petrochemicals used to make thermoplastics, supramics may reduce human-caused environmental carbon emissions believed to contribute to global climate change.
Supramics products are recyclable by grinding followed by reheating at high temperatures – a process known as calcining. The calcining process allows for economical recapture of the carbon contained in the product so that it, too, may be recycled and used to make new supramics products.
The supramics system is detailed in U.S. Patent 5,518,540 and various other international patents.
