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Pantheon in Rome
UT Arlington Associate Professor Warda Ashraf [Photo: UTA]
The Last Word: UTA’s Warda Ashraf on Developing Eco‑Friendly Concrete Based on an Ancient Roman Recipe
by David Seeley | Oct 23, 2024
Ashraf was quoted in a recent New York Times article, "Reinventing Concrete, the Ancient Roman Way," about using 2,000-year-old Roman secrets to create concrete for underwater use in bridges, breakwaters, and artificial reefs. But unlike the volcanic ash used by Roman engineers as a key concrete ingredient, Ashraf and her team are using clay mixed with the mineral kaolinite. The recipe required heating to about 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit—only half the temperature needed to produce modern Portland cement.
