Researchers at Auburn University and the University of Alabama have teamed up to devise a new recipe for a concrete, one that has the potential to reuse a form of toxic waste, cut greenhouse gas production and introduce new technology to the world’s most common building material. Jialai Wang at Alabama and Xinyu Zhang at Auburn are perfecting a process that takes a power plant by-product – coal ash – and uses it in place of cement in their recipe for concrete. Their recipe also includes a futuristic ingredient, carbon nanotubes, and a new technique for making them. The nanotubes, which add strength, durability and conducting properties to the concrete, are produced by cooking an iron compound for 10 seconds in a microwave. The researchers have dubbed the result ‘Poptubes’. "It is very much like you cook the popcorn," Wang said.Wang, Zhang and fellow collaborators have received a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to further the development of the concrete alternative. Their method of producing nanotubes also has drawn attention in scientific journals such as Nature. Current methods of producing nanotubes involve high temperatures and special sealed chambers filled with inert gas.Adding carbon nanotubes to coal ash concrete not only strengthens the material, it allows the material to conduct electricity. Electric conductivity could be used to enhance melting of ice on bridges or airport runways. It also could be used to monitor the integrity of the structure, since damage would cause a disruption in conductivity. A start-up company based on the technology, Carbon Nanotube Engineered Surfaces LLC, has been formed and is hoping to win funding through the Alabama Launchpad contest, a competition for start-ups seeking seed money.