Giving Compass' Take:

• Jeff Falk discusses a new process can turn bulk quantities of just about any carbon source into valuable graphene flakes for building and manufacturing purposes.

• What are the ways that donors can partner with scientists to drive progress in green innovation?

• Learn about the benefits of green infrastructure for urban cities. 

A banana peel, turned into graphene, could help facilitate a massive reduction of the environmental impact of concrete and other building materials.

“This is a big deal,” says James Tour, chair in chemistry as well as a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University.

“The world throws out 30% to 40% of all food, because it goes bad, and plastic waste is of worldwide concern. We’ve already proven that any solid carbon-based matter, including mixed plastic waste and rubber tires, can be turned into graphene.”

As reported in Nature, flash graphene is made in 10 milliseconds by heating carbon-containing materials to 3,000 Kelvin (about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit). The source material can be nearly anything with carbon content. Food waste, plastic waste, petroleum coke, coal, wood clippings, and biochar are prime candidates, Tour says.

“With the present commercial price of graphene being $67,000 to $200,000 per ton, the prospects for this process look superb,” he says.

Tour says a concentration of as little as 0.1% of flash graphene in the cement used to bind concrete could lessen its massive environmental impact by a third. Cement production reportedly emits as much as 8% of human-made carbon dioxide every year.

“By strengthening concrete with graphene, we could use less concrete for building, and it would cost less to manufacture and less to transport,” he says.

Read the full article about turning banana peels into graphene by Jeff Falk at Futurity.