Concrete, Cement, and Algae

It seems that many people do not know the difference between concrete and cement, so here is the hard truth. There are several stages involved in making concrete, the porous stuff that people drive on or live in. It begins with limestone, which is thought to take millions of years to form.

Limestone and a silica source are heated, then the result is ground to powder. Other ingredients are added. When this mixture is going to be turned into concrete, cement, water, and other things are mixed in to make the concrete. Algae is turning those deep-time assumption upside-down.

Coccolithophore bloom SW of Ireland, Flickr / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (CC BY 2.0)

Coccolithophores are marine algae that build protective shells around themselves. The shells of these bad boys make chalk (a form of limestone) deposits, and uniformitarian scientists say chalk takes millions of years to form. Not in this case! Further, coccolithophores could have been producing huge quantities of the stuff during the Genesis Flood.

Farmed algae for rapid concrete production is much better on the environment than current methods. Instead of "Paradise City," folks may be singing, "Take me down to Algae City..."

Researchers have discovered how they could produce the cement used in concrete quickly, efficiently, and in a much more environmentally friendly way—by growing the marine planktonic algae known as coccolithophores.

You can read the rest of this short article at "Concrete from algae challenges millions of years." Aside from the obligatory "millions of years" remark (it's not "science" without those, you know), this short video is informative: