Scientists have developed concrete that does not leave a carbon footprint during production. Reported by the University of Washington.
In recent years, governments of developed countries have decided to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions as it has a greenhouse effect on planet Earth and contributes to climate warming. In this regard, scientists and engineers are trying to replace many traditional technologies with “carbon-free” technologies, in which carbon dioxide is not emitted and ideally absorbed. A simple example of such a transition is considered to be replacing diesel with biodiesel produced from biomass.
Xianming Shi and colleagues decided to make “green” concrete because conventional cement production from limestone releases a lot of carbon dioxide. To do this, the authors tried to replace some of the cement in the concrete with biochar, but even the addition of 3% charcoal significantly reduced the strength of the product. Later, scientists tried to immerse the coal in a solution of waste concrete (“dirty water”). Coal processed in this way was added to the concrete mix at 30% instead of cement.
The putty, made of cement with the addition of biochar, was able to achieve compressive strength comparable to that of conventional concrete in 28 days at around 300 kilograms of force per square centimeter. According to scientists, the water left over from the production of concrete is a valuable source of calcium, which absorbs coal. Calcium carbonate settled on top of the biochar, hardening it and enabling it to trap carbon dioxide in the air. Concrete made from this material is expected to continue to sequester carbon dioxide throughout its life.
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