CoRncrete: A corn starch based building material

•A novel material which uses corn starch as a binder and sand as filler.•Rapidly hardening material gaining strength by heating at a relatively low temperature (<=200 °C).•CoRncrete has a compressive strength of up to 26 MPa.•Biodegradable and light-weight compared to traditional concrete and brick.

Starch is a natural polymer which is commonly used as a cooking ingredient. The renewability and bio-degradability of starch has made it an interesting material for industrial applications, such as production of bioplastic. This paper introduces the application of corn starch in the production of a novel construction material, named CoRncrete. CoRncrete is formed by mixing corn starch with sand and water. The mixture appears to be self-compacting when wet. The mixture is poured in a mould and then heated in a microwave or an oven. This heating causes a gelatinisation process which results in a hardened material having compressive strength up to 26 MPa. The factors affecting the strength of hardened CoRncrete such as water content, sand aggregate size and heating procedure have been studied. The degradation and sustainability aspects of CoRncrete are elucidated and limitations in the potential application of this material are discussed.