Utilizing Concrete at its End-of-Life for Direct Air Capture

The project addresses and discusses environmentally effective ways to deal with greenhouse gas (GHG), a harmful byproduct of cement production. Over 90% of GHG emissions are triggered by the production of conventional cement: the latter involves carbon dioxide (CO2) gas emissions, which can be thought of as the cornerstone problem. To meet the regulatory mandate of California's cement industry, GHG emissions should be net-zero. This requires CO2 uptake by the mechanism of Direct Air Capture (DAC). Due to its effective CO2 uptake, carbonation is known to have good potential to be the DAC mechanism: concrete that is removed at end-of-life (EoL) can be crushed and spread to facilitate carbonation. This project studies how the CO2 uptake can be most successfully carried out. It assesses the current state of technology and develops a pathway to utilize end-of-life concrete as a Direct Air Capture method. The project uses three objectives in the study: (1) A systematic review of the literature to compile parameters to drive carbonation of concrete, (2) A meta-analysis of data to derive initial engineering of EoL concrete as a DAC method, (3) A preliminary experimental investigation and modeling of CO2 uptake. Through these three objectives, the study considers the EoL concrete processing to support carbonation, and includes meta-analyses of reported data for parameters that will drive carbonation. In addition, the project will provide a strong base for the future research that will be required to demonstrate this technology and encourage adoption in industry. Finally, This work leverages the Principal Investigator's expertise in decarbonizing cement and concrete, lifecycle and EoL impacts of concrete infrastructure, and engineering composites as carbon sinks.

• Record URL:
  https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/utilizing-concrete-its-end-life-direct-air-capture

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $119414
• Contract Numbers:

  Caltrans 65A0686 Task Order 077

  DOT 69A3552348319

  DOT 69A3552344814

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95843
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Project Managers:

  Iacobucci, Lauren

• Performing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Principal Investigators:

  Miller, Sabbie

• Start Date: 20230601
• Expected Completion Date: 20240630
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Carbon capture and storage; Carbon dioxide; Carbonation; Cement industry; Concrete; Greenhouse gases
• Subject Areas: Environment; Materials; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01884934
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Contract Numbers: Caltrans 65A0686 Task Order 077, DOT 69A3552348319, DOT 69A3552344814
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 14 2023 3:14PM