Texas Tech engineers have partnered with a university alumnus to provide the surrounding community with an eco-friendly construction material.
Zach Rabon, a 1999 Tech graduate, founded Mason Greenstar, an alternative building company producing Greenstar Blox.
According to the Greenstar Blox website, these “Blox” are insulated, resistant to water, termites, fire, and mold and can absorb the force of a speeding bullet.
There are other benefits to this material besides its structural integrity, Rabon said, like how they are made from recyclable and organic materials.
“The ‘Blox’ is a strong material designed to adjust to all situations. It is environmentally friendly because it adjusts to heat and cold,” he said. “Also, it is made from old phonebooks and lottery tickets. Another great thing is that its creation (saves) 30,000 tons of paper waste (each time we make them).”
The accomplishments of Mason Greenstar go beyond the development of this new material. Members of the Lubbock community have already used the “Blox” in their constructions, Rabon said, such as Jeff Jackson Custom Homes, The National Storm Shelter and the Department of Transportation.
“We will use the ‘Blox’ for the construction of medians in the highways,” he said. “The material has greater absorption of impact. I mean safety is our top priority when developing and using (Greenstar Blox).”
In partnership with Mason Greenstar, the Tech Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Office of Technology Commercialization have become involved in testing the durability, strength and commercialization of the Greenstar Blox, Ryan Reber, the licensing specialist for the Office of Technology Commercialization, said.
“Mason Greenstar approached Tech,” he said, “because the company has Tech alumni. They chose Tech for this project. We are also looking to partner up with the business school to put (Greenstar Blox) in the market. It is a great benefit to have the Texas Tech brand.”
Civil engineering students, as well as faculty, have taken on the challenge of testing the “Blox,” Douglas Smith, the chair of civil engineering, said.
“We just finished the strength-testing and I’m about to begin data analysis,” he said. “It is mostly (civil engineering) students performing the tests and one mechanical engineering student who is testing the thermal characteristics of the ‘Blox.’ So far, all the tests had positive results.”
Tech’s involvement does not stop there, Rabon said.
“Tech is like a part-owner,” he said. “This will put back more money in to Tech to further research. We have also started several deals in Columbia, Nigeria and Israel. This is certainly changing the U.S. industry and regulations because nothing like this has been done before.”
