{"id":55388,"date":"2025-11-11T16:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/?p=55388"},"modified":"2025-11-25T10:13:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T15:13:47","slug":"greener-drywall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine\/changemakers\/greener-drywall\/","title":{"rendered":"Greener Drywall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Taein Lee, Engr \u201922\u00a0(PhD), inspiration struck\u00a0when a pipe burst in his\u00a0downtown Baltimore\u00a0rowhouse one winter.\u00a0\u201cThe whole ceiling, the\u00a0insulation, everything\u00a0just fell,\u201d he says. As Lee\u00a0cleaned up the damage,\u00a0he realized all that soggy\u00a0drywall would have to\u00a0be thrown away and\u00a0replaced. Was there\u00a0a way to make more\u00a0sustainable construction\u00a0materials, he wondered?\u00a0\u201cBeing an engineer, I try\u00a0to take things into my\u00a0own hands,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And so he did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Lee formed a company, JJ Innovative Materials, with two other Johns Hopkins alumni: Mark B. Wo, Engr \u201916, who serves as chief operations officer, and Chu Ding, Engr \u201920 (MSE), \u201922 (PhD), director of compliance. Lee is CEO. Their goal is to make construction materials that are better for the planet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. generates 600 million tons of construction and demolition waste each year. Most of it ends up in landfills. Traditional drywall is mostly made from gypsum, which, under certain conditions, can decompose into toxic chemicals over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee\u2019s idea was to develop a plant-rock bonding technology that integrates plants and cementitious materials to make a more sustainable drywall product. \u201cRecycled waste materials currently make up over 65% of our drywall,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want to boost that to 95%. Our goal is to make our drywall carbon negative.\u201d This means that the materials and process not only reduce carbon emissions, but actually remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than is emitted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make their drywall cost-effective as well as sustainable, Lee\u2019s company uses plant waste called \u201chemp hurds\u201d from industrial hemp farms. \u201cThere are tons of bales of these rotting away on farms,\u201d he explains. The plants are used not just as filler but also processed to be completely physically and chemically integrated into the materials matrix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JJ Innovative Materials is currently scaling up its manufacturing capacity in a warehouse in Baltimore\u2019s Hampden neighborhood to serve its first customers\u2014residential construction firms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cRecycled waste materials currently make up over 65% of our drywall. We want to boost that to 95%. Our goal is to make our drywall carbon negative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Taein Lee<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While Lee\u2019s PhD focus\u00a0was on organic electronic\u00a0materials, he\u2019s happy with\u00a0the unexpected turn his\u00a0career has taken. \u201cI wanted\u00a0to get my hands on more\u00a0immediate problems\u00a0that I could tackle with\u00a0my specialty. I wanted\u00a0to make tech that could\u00a0really have an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2014 ABIGAIL GREEN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

illustration by Joe Kimmel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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