As reported by Peter Coy (Bloomberg), the cement industry alone is responsible for about 8% of annual emissions of carbon dioxide. For every ton of cement that’s produced, a ton of greenhouse gases is released into the atmosphere. That’s obviously a threat to the planet, but it’s also an opportunity, because it means cement is a big, fat target for technological progress. Source – https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-14/locking-carbon-dioxide-into-concrete-is-a-cool-idea
Concrete is a synthetic rock made from gravel, sand, air, water, and the binder, cement. The most common type is Portland cement, made mainly from limestone and clay. The limestone is heated to break it down into lime (calcium oxide) and carbon dioxide, then the lime and clay are fused. There are traces of other materials in cement, including iron oxides.
One of the coolest green ideas is to offset some of cement’s massive carbon dioxide emissions by putting carbon dioxide to good use in the production of concrete. It usually takes concrete a few weeks to reach maximum hardness, but injecting carbon dioxide speeds up the so-called curing process. The carbon dioxide becomes mineralized—and thus immobilized–by reacting with calcium ions in the cement.
globalcement.com reported in April that cement and concrete products with sustainability credentials have increased in recent years as societies start to demand decarbonisation. In spite of the recent drop in the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) price, there has been a trend in recent years in the construction industry towards offerings with better environmental credentials. Source – https://www.globalcement.com/news/item/10667-a-short-look-at-low-carbon-cement-and-concrete
Aramco are innovating the curing process to revolutionize the way concrete is produced, with its Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage programme looking to recycling carbon and make stronger concrete. Source – https://www.aramco.com/en/making-a-difference/planet/carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage/carbon-curing#