Don’s invention that could bring down building costs
Dr Joseph Mwiti, a lecturer at Meru University of Science and Technology. He and Kebs have established that clay-based cement makes blocks meet building standards.
The cost of building a house in Kenya could go down by more than 40 per cent if technology on the manufacture of cement using clay invented by a lecturer Meru University of Science and Technology is adopted.
Dr Joseph Mwiti, who teaches chemistry at the university, believes using clay in making of cement will revolutionise construction and provide a solution to high costs associated with building roads, bridges and residential and commercial structures.
The university lecturer says clay – which is readily available across the country – will reduce the amount of clinker used in cement-making.
Clinker is an important ingredient in the manufacture of cement and its reduction would see the cost of the building input significantly fall, he says.
Kenya’s cement production capacity is inadequate and is mostly supplemented by imports.
“We can talk about the high cost of building houses and roads but without addressing this significant component, we might not succeed in cutting costs,” Dr Mwiti said in an interview with Higher Education at the university’s main campus in Nchiru, Tigania West constituency.
“Cement constitutes nearly 50 per cent of the cost of building a house, road or other structures,” he said.
Over the past four years, Dr Mwiti – who leads a team of researchers at Meru University of Science and Technology – has experimented with clay to make cement. The results have been remarkable.
The trials, according to Dr Mwiti and his team, have shown that clay-based cement cuts construction cost by more than 40 per cent, giving hope to the building industry and Kenyan families hoping to put up houses.
Dr Mwiti’s team is exploring ways the technology will be adopted by cement manufacturers and commercialise the invention.
“We recently invited stakeholders in cement manufacturing to inform them on the progress of our research and they were impressed,” Dr Mwiti said.
“They expressed interest in adopting our technology. This should be big news to all.”
He added that the researchers mostly used clay from Nyeri and Meru counties.
According to Dr Mwiti, some cement makers are considering modifying their machines to adopt the technology while others putting up new plants have committed to incorporating clay cement in the production line.
The university and Dr Mwiti’s team are in discussions with four major cement manufacturers who are interested in the technology.
“We are looking for strategic partners to deploy this technology in the counties at a piloting stage,” he said.
“We want to demonstrate to community members all over the country that they can make money and reduce the cost of building.”
The team’s major challenge is that the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) does not have a grade for clay-based cement.
“With the knowledge generated from our research, Kebs officials have invited us for talks on how to set the standard for this product,” the Chemistry don said.
According to Dr Mwiti, using clay to manufacture cement would be a step forward towards the country realising the industrialisation goal as many cottage plants would be set up across Kenya.
He says adopting the technology would help the country fight joblessness in urban and rural areas.
“Northern Kenya has a lot of clay. We hope our technology will give us a chance to open up these region for factories and create jobs and new opportunities,” he said.
“Every region that has clay can invest in or promote small factories at a cost of around Sh50 million. We would also blend the clay based cement with the conventional one making, it more affordable.”
With one factory directly employing more than 1,000 people, the spin-off has a huge economic impact on a region, he points out.
And that is besides the supply of raw materials and casual workers.
At the same time, reducing the use of clinker in cement-making, would cut down on carbon emission and address concerns of climate change.
“By adopting this construction technology, we will save on foreign currency and cushion the economy from the shocks of price volatility in a market dominated by trade in the American dollar,” he said.
Dr Mwiti says the resource has the capacity to earn the country foreign exchange by transforming Kenya into an exporter, not an importer, of cement.
“Clay is one of the most underutilised resources in the world. We are standing on a gold mine. This project is unique because it touches on three pillars of the country’s economy – affordable housing, manufacturing and job creation,” he said.
For the brown clay colour that some people do not like, Dr Mwiti says the technology incorporates a feature that enables variation of some properties, enabling one to get the grey in conventional cement.
This was done in a project he and his team consulted for companies in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, the Netherlands and several other countries.
Last month, Meru University of Science and Technology held a forum with housing and construction experts in an effort to address the high cost of building materials through innovation and research.
Royal Academy
Vice-Chancellor Romanus Odhiambo said the institution has partnered with Makerere University in Uganda, the University of Dar es salaam in Tanzania, Padova University in Italy and Upsala University, Sweden in research programmes.
Dr Mwiti’s invention has attracted the attention of local and international players in the construction industry, earning him awards.
Last year, the researcher received the excellence award for post-doctoral research from the Laboratory of Construction Materials, Switzerland.
The Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom recognised Dr Mwiti, awarding him the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship.
He has delivered keynote addresses in many conferences around the country, a construction summit in Ghana and at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.
Locally, the Kenya National Innovation Agency awarded Dr Mwiti with the Best Innovation on ‘Eco-friendly Low-Cost Cement’ in the Built Environment and Housing Technologies Category.
