Raw materials for  Xiriton

  C4 grasses

As a ‘carbon sink’ and for soil improvement (erosion stop, humus, biodiversity).

The function of the grass fibres is a) Reinforcement b) Insulation, c) Diffusion, d) Carbon storage.
Stem structure, A chip size together with the binders determine the material properties.

Xiriton-types: XM Miscanthus, XR Riet, XB Bamboe, XA Arundo, XS Spartina, etc.

  Binders

Lime and natural pozzolana are preferred in principle.
OPC ( Ordinary Portland Cement ) can exceptionally be added.
Binder variants 1 – 5 (so far).

  Additives/additives

Preferred additives (for extra density/weight) are: (sea) sand, shells (grit).
Also possible: Fine fraction of recycled concrete, glass, building ceramics, brick grit, olivine.

  Water

No clean water needed, use ditch water or seawater!
Seawater with its minerals can penetrate through the grass fibres into the core of Xiriton and promotes the curing of the hydraulic lime and also ‘brines’ the grass fibres.
This allows “exotextile” Xiriton constructions to build directly “offshore”
(Use natural fibre textiles and “bagger” for design/construction, preferably from the region).

Although the grass fibres in the mineral matrix eventually ‘stone’, the unprotected fibres on the surface, up to a certain intrusion depth, become food for microorganisms, creating a tuff-like structure, aesthetically interesting but also suitable for the adhesion of algae, corals, oysters etc.

An ecological bonus is the CO2 reduction by the grass and the use of seawater in production.
For example, an average of 800 litres or 120 kg of dry miscanthus is processed per m3 Xiriton XM type.
Of these, about 48% is carbon, which corresponds to about 200 kg of CO2 reduction per cubic metre of building material to offset the CO2 emissions of the production process.