A team of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich(ETH) has developed construction elements that can be used to dehumidify rooms. According to a press release, the elements are able to bind moisture and thus temporarily store it. The wall elements consist of a hygroscopic moisture-binding material. This is able to absorb a higher level of humidity in an interior space if required and then release it back into the environment by ventilating the room. “Our solution is recommended for heavily frequented rooms for which the installed ventilation systems are inadequate,” said the supervisor of the research project, Guillaume Habert, Professor of Sustainable Building at ETH Zurich, in the press release.
The construction elements are made from reusable materials, using waste from marble quarries. These are finely ground and processed with a binding material, a so-called geopolymer, to form a solid building material. The geopolymer consists of an aqueous potassium silicate solution and metakaolin, which is traditionally used in the production of porcelain. It is produced using 3D printing technology. In this technique, the marble powder is applied in layers and bonded using geopolymer. “This process allows components to be produced efficiently in a wide range of shapes,” says Benjamin Dillenburger, Professor of Digital Construction Technologies at ETH. So far, the team has been able to produce prototypes of a wall and ceiling element measuring 20 by 20 centimetres and 4 centimetres thick. Following this proof of concept, the researchers see opportunities to scale up the technology to an industrial scale.
