Cement production, a key component of concrete, accounts for 8% of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, sand mining, largely unregulated, poses severe threats to river and coastal ecosystems.

Thanks to our high demand for concrete, the world may eventually run out of accessible sand. Scientists at Rice University have now shown that substituting graphene can not only save sand, but ...

The team tested different mixes, replacing up to 40% of the sand in the concrete. After a month of curing, the samples were pressure-tested to determine the breaking point of the composite material.

Desert sand from, say, the Sahara is no good for making concrete because it’s too rounded and uniform. Over millennia, winds push those grains around, polishing them.