According to a press statement, researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed calcium carbonate concrete that is the output of mixing waste concrete with C02. It can be sourced using carbon capture technologies. It was published in a new paper called the Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology.
This method is inspired by the mechanism followed by the aquatic lifeforms that solidify into fossils over time.
“Our concept is to acquire calcium from discarded concrete, which is otherwise going to waste,” said Professor Ippei Maruyama, one of the study’s authors. “We combine this with carbon dioxide from the industrial exhaust or even from the air. And we do this at much lower temperatures than those used to extract calcium from limestone at present.”
The calcium carbonate concrete made is very stable for functioning as a building material. It is sustainable as it uses waste concrete and C02 that are taken from the air with the help of carbon capture technologies. However, currently, it can only be used to support minor construction projects. The team is working to upscale the product.
“It is exciting to make progress in this area, but there are still many challenges to overcome,” Professor Takafumi Noguchi, another one of the authors, said. “As well as increasing the strength and size limits of calcium carbonate concrete, it would be even better if we could further reduce the energy use of the production process. However, we hope that in the coming decades, carbon-neutral calcium carbonate concrete will become the mainstream type of concrete and will be one of the solutions to climate change.”
Besides this mechanism, researchers from the Technical University of Dresden announced that they are developing the world’s first carbon concrete building and their method will reduce the emission to 50 percent. Further, UK started working on its 3D printed concrete method that would also cut emissions in half. This project will further add to the list of projects being used to reduce emissions in the world.