Sustainability in the construction industry is more than a buzzword, and it's a technical and logistical challenge that requires rethinking material sourcing, manufacturing processes, and product performance. This project, conducted in partnership with Torggler, an Italian concrete and sealants manufacturer, is a comprehensive exploration of sustainable materials innovation, team leadership, and cross-cultural collaboration.
Project Scope and Structure
The project runs for a full academic year and focuses on two parallel streams: developing sustainable concrete substitutes and creating bio-based sealants. As the technical lead, I manage seven team members distributed across Finland and Italy, coordinating research, experimentation, and mechanical testing.
The team is intentionally interdisciplinary, bringing together expertise in mechanical engineering, design, and business strategy. This diversity creates opportunities for innovation but also introduces management complexity. Different experience levels, cultural backgrounds, and communication styles require adaptive leadership approaches.
Concrete Substitutes: Rice Husk Ash as a Pozzolanic Material
One of the most promising sustainable alternatives to traditional Portland cement is rice husk ash (RHA), a pozzolanic material that can partially replace cement in concrete mixes. RHA is a byproduct of rice milling, making it both abundant and cost-effective. However, its effectiveness depends on achieving a high degree of carbon burn-off, leaving behind pure silicon dioxide (SiO₂).
The Challenge of Sourcing RHA in Finland
Pre-processed rice husk ash is difficult to source in Finland, with limited suppliers and high shipping costs. Rather than compromise on availability, we decided to produce our own RHA by purchasing raw rice husks and developing a custom combustion process. This required building a furnace capable of achieving and maintaining the precise temperature range needed for complete carbon burn-off.
Building a Custom Rice Husk Furnace
Our furnace design is based on a forced-air blast furnace concept. The core structure is a steel tube with a lateral fan that forces air through the combustion chamber. However, early tests revealed a critical inefficiency: the incoming air was too cold, reducing the internal temperature and preventing complete combustion.
Thermal Optimization Strategy
To solve this, we are implementing a preheating system using a gas burner positioned at the air intake. The goal is to preheat incoming air to 300–500°C before it enters the furnace. This allows the rice husks to sustain combustion at 700–800°C, the optimal range for producing high-purity silicon dioxide.
The challenge is balancing airflow, fuel consumption, and heat retention. Too much airflow cools the system; too little starves the combustion process. We're iterating on burner placement, air intake geometry, and insulation materials to achieve stable, repeatable results.
Mechanical Testing Infrastructure
To evaluate the performance of our concrete substitutes, we built custom testing equipment in-house:
- Tensile testing machine: Measures the tensile strength of cured concrete samples to assess crack resistance and structural integrity.
- Compression testing machine: Evaluates compressive strength, the primary metric for concrete performance in load-bearing applications.
- Optimizing the rice husk furnace to achieve consistent 700–800°C combustion temperatures.
- Zein-Tannic Acid Complex: Zein, a corn-derived protein, cross-linked with tannic acid to improve water resistance and mechanical strength.
- Chitosan-Tannic Acid Complex: Chitosan, derived from crustacean shells, combined with tannic acid for enhanced adhesion and moisture barrier properties.
- Alginate-Ferric Chloride Adhesive: Sodium alginate, extracted from seaweed, cross-linked with ferric chloride to form a gel-like sealant with waterproofing capabilities.
- Experience level variation: Team members range from undergraduates with limited lab experience to graduate students with specialized knowledge. Balancing task assignments to build skills while maintaining momentum requires careful planning.
- Interdisciplinary communication: Designers think in terms of user experience and aesthetics; engineers prioritize material properties and testing protocols. Bridging these perspectives requires translating technical constraints into design opportunities and vice versa.
- Geographic coordination: With team members in both Finland and Italy, time zone differences and asynchronous communication create coordination overhead. Establishing clear documentation standards and regular check-ins has been essential.
- Baseline skill development: Early in the project, I identified knowledge gaps and organized targeted training sessions on experimental design, data analysis, and safety protocols.
- Adaptive communication styles: Engineers respond well to data-driven discussions and technical problem-solving; designers benefit from visual references and iterative feedback loops. Tailoring communication to the audience improves engagement and productivity.
- Progress tracking and accountability: We use shared project management tools to track tasks, deadlines, and experimental results. This creates transparency and allows team members to see how their work contributes to the larger project.
- Selected and acquired materials for concrete substitute testing (rice husk ash, supplementary cementitious materials).
- Built functional tensile and compression testing machines.
- Constructed a prototype rice husk furnace and are refining the thermal control system.
- Identified three candidate biopolymer sealant formulations and begun experimental synthesis.
- Established testing protocols and baseline data for comparison against commercial products.
- Thermal process control is critical: Small variations in furnace temperature dramatically affect RHA quality. Precision instrumentation and feedback control are necessary for repeatable results.
- Biopolymer cross-linking chemistry is complex: Achieving the right balance of mechanical strength, water resistance, and curing time requires iterative testing and careful formulation adjustments.
- Testing infrastructure is a force multiplier: Building our own testing machines gave us complete control over experimental protocols and eliminated reliance on external labs with limited availability.
- Interdisciplinary teams require translators, not just managers: My role is often to bridge technical and non-technical perspectives, ensuring designers understand material constraints and engineers appreciate user-centered design.
- Experience level diversity is an asset if managed well: Pairing experienced members with newer team members accelerates learning and distributes expertise.
- Documentation scales collaboration: Clear, structured documentation reduces bottlenecks and enables asynchronous work, which is essential for distributed teams.
- Optimizing the rice husk furnace to achieve consistent 700–800°C combustion temperatures.
- Conducting long-term durability testing on concrete samples with varying RHA content.
- Finalizing biopolymer sealant formulations and testing water resistance, adhesion, and mechanical performance.
- Collaborating with Torggler's engineering team to assess manufacturability and scalability.
- Preparing a comprehensive final report with technical recommendations and business case analysis.
Sustainable Sealants: Biopolymer Alternatives
The second research stream focuses on replacing petroleum-based sealants with bio-derived polymers. Traditional construction sealants are durable but environmentally persistent. Our goal is to develop alternatives that maintain water resistance and adhesive performance while being biodegradable or derived from renewable sources.
Candidate Biopolymer Systems
We are investigating three primary formulations based on literature review and material availability:
Each formulation is being tested for water resistance, adhesion to concrete surfaces, curing time, and mechanical durability. The challenge is achieving performance comparable to synthetic sealants while maintaining biodegradability and low toxicity.
Team Management: Leading Across Disciplines and Geographies
Managing a distributed, interdisciplinary team has been one of the most valuable aspects of this project. The team includes mechanical engineers focused on testing, designers working on sealant packaging optimization, and business-focused members analyzing market viability.
Challenges in Team Leadership
Management Strategies
Current Progress and Results
Six months into the project, we have achieved several key milestones:
The project is progressing from the research and prototyping phase toward systematic material testing and performance validation. The remaining months will focus on optimizing formulations, conducting durability testing, and preparing final recommendations for Torggler.
Key Learnings
Technical Insights
Leadership and Project Management
Next Steps
Over the next six months, we will focus on:
This project represents the intersection of material science, engineering innovation, and strategic consulting. It's a hands-on demonstration of how sustainable product development requires not just technical expertise, but also leadership, adaptability, and a systems-level understanding of manufacturing and market constraints.
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