Researchers are constantly on the look-out for new materials that can store or use up CO2, or new methods to sequester it. Carbon Sense Solutions has created an accelerated curing process for the creation of precast concrete, which it claims will suck up as much as 1% of all CO2 emissions in the atmosphere annually.
Concrete carbonation – the sucking up of CO2 by concrete as it cures – occurs naturally, but Carbon Sense Solutions says its faster curing method gets concrete to suck up more CO2 in a way that uses off-the-shelf technology that can be slapped on to their existing equipment. The process also uses 30% to 40% less energy to manufacture. The lower amount of energy used and the avoidance of expensive new equipment makes the wonder-concrete cheaper, and more profitable. Additional positive byproducts of the method are that the concrete is more durable, and more resistant to shrinking, cracking and water absorption.
While it sounds miracle cure-ish, it isn’t, necessarily. The company says that a plant could have a line of concrete not suitable for this carbonation process, and so the CO2 emitted to create it can be pumped into their CO2 sequestering concrete line, potentially becoming a net-zero CO2 emitter. The numbers for that don’t seem to easily line up, though it’s a nice dream. Concrete production creates about 5% of global CO2 emissions. This new process only soaks up about 1% percent of that. So, it’s really more of an off-set process than a carbon storage solution. Even so, off-setting 1% of global CO2 emissions annually – or looking at it another way, sequestering 20% of the CO2 created by the concrete production industry – while still creating a material that is the most abundant human-made material on earth is pretty great.
The process is still unproven, but holds a lot of potential for making an impact on CO2 emissions. A pilot plant is planned to go up in Nova Scotia this summer, and we should hear by the end of the year preliminary results.
Provided by ecogeek.org
Concrete carbonation – the sucking up of CO2 by concrete as it cures – occurs naturally, but Carbon Sense Solutions says its faster curing method gets concrete to suck up more CO2 in a way that uses off-the-shelf technology that can be slapped on to their existing equipment. The process also uses 30% to 40% less energy to manufacture. The lower amount of energy used and the avoidance of expensive new equipment makes the wonder-concrete cheaper, and more profitable. Additional positive byproducts of the method are that the concrete is more durable, and more resistant to shrinking, cracking and water absorption.
While it sounds miracle cure-ish, it isn’t, necessarily. The company says that a plant could have a line of concrete not suitable for this carbonation process, and so the CO2 emitted to create it can be pumped into their CO2 sequestering concrete line, potentially becoming a net-zero CO2 emitter. The numbers for that don’t seem to easily line up, though it’s a nice dream. Concrete production creates about 5% of global CO2 emissions. This new process only soaks up about 1% percent of that. So, it’s really more of an off-set process than a carbon storage solution. Even so, off-setting 1% of global CO2 emissions annually – or looking at it another way, sequestering 20% of the CO2 created by the concrete production industry – while still creating a material that is the most abundant human-made material on earth is pretty great.
The process is still unproven, but holds a lot of potential for making an impact on CO2 emissions. A pilot plant is planned to go up in Nova Scotia this summer, and we should hear by the end of the year preliminary results.
Provided by ecogeek.org
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