The present invention concerns a process for oxidizing lignin at alkaline conditions. This oxidized lignin can be used as a dispersant in various end-products, for example as a renewable plasticizer in cement-containing products, such as concrete, where the ability of the oxidized lignin to endure alkaline conditions is an advantage. Further, the invention concerns a concrete mixture containing aggregate, cement, water and a plasticizer formed of oxidized lignin, and a process for producing such a concrete mixture. The oxidized lignin can be manufactured using a process, where the lignin starting material is reacted with an oxidizing agent in solution in alkaline conditions.

Disclosed are asphalt binder compositions and methods for making such compositions with pure sterol:crude sterol blends. The sterol blends improve various rheological properties.

Disclosed are asphalt binder compositions and methods for making such compositions with pure sterol:crude sterol blends. The sterol blends improve various rheological properties.

Cement and concrete additives and related methods of making and using such additives are disclosed and described. An additive can include molasses and a carrier. An enhanced Portland cement composition can comprise about 97 wt % to 99.9 wt % of the composition and the above described additive comprises about 0.01 wt % to about 3 wt % of the composition.

A method for making the cocoa pod husk-containing hardening-retarder from cocoa pod husks includes: fragmenting cocoa pod husks into husk fragments; drying the husk fragments under a temperature that ranges from 95 C. to 105 C.; grinding the husk fragments which are dried into a soluble powder; mixing the soluble powder with water to form a liquid mixture, wherein the liquid mixture contains from 20% to 40% of the soluble powder by weight and 60% to 80% of water by weight, based on 100% of the liquid mixture by weight; and filtering the liquid mixture with a filter having a pore size that ranges from 5 microns to 20 microns to obtain the cocoa pod husk-containing hardening-retarder.

An eco-friendly and sustainable paving blocks with considerable recycled waste contents is provided herewith. By various physical and/or chemical treatments, recycled materials are incorporated into the paving blocks which show remarkable mechanical strengths and durability ensuring pedestrians' safety in use and capability in prolonged use, indicating the immense potential for the eco-friendly and sustainable paving blocks to be mass-produced and applied. By incorporating recycled waste tyre rubber, plastic and glass into the formulations, the paving blocks in the present invention are capable of achieving compressive strength levels qualified for pedestrian use, thereby providing an innovative solution to address both the increasing demands of waste recycling and paving blocks usage with large-scale applicability.