Topic People, Awards
Date 21 Jul 2023
University of Edinburgh student, Clara Hammersley has been awarded the prize for ‘Best Civil Engineering Thesis of 2022-23’, which is sponsored by Galliford Try, for her dissertation titled Black is the New Green: Biochar and its Carbon Sequestrating Properties within Mortar.
The Best Thesis prize is awarded to one student each year for the most deserving Master of Engineering (MEng) dissertation.
The final decision for the winner of this special award was chosen by Galliford Try Infrastructure’s Engineering Director, Jon Hodgins, who was particularly influenced by the thesis’s concentration on carbon reduction in such a fundamental construction material.
Jon commented: “Decarbonisation is one of the biggest challenges faced by the construction industry which has been set the target of achieving net zero by 2050 by the UK Government. Cement and concrete are widely acknowledged as the biggest contributors to carbon emissions associated with construction activities so any developments which have the potential to mitigate these emissions merit detailed investigation.
“As Clara’s thesis is very topical, I was interested to read about the research carried out to investigate the potential use of biochar, a by-product of sewage sludge pyrolysis, as a cement replacement in mortar and geopolymer mixtures due its reduced carbon output compared to cement. In fact, if cement production was a country, it would rank as third in the list of highest carbon emitting nations on Earth. Therefore, any cement substitutes are of great value to us.
“I would like to wish congratulations to Clara, I wish her every success in her future career and I hope she goes on to continue her research in this field.”
Clara said: “I am delighted to have received the Galliford Try Best Thesis Award, as it is encouraging to know that industry professionals see the environmental benefits of cement replacements and the potential of biochar.
“This was a very rewarding and challenging subject to research. Many unexplored avenues remain, and I hope my research will be continued, specifically looking at biochar within geopolymers (zero cement) and different curing options. My thanks go to my supervisor, Hwa Kian Chai who inspired my passion for the project and to the whole lab team involved in the many hours spent undertaking this rich experimental programme."