CO₂ Mineralization Methods in Cement and Concrete Industry

Abstract

Production of Portland clinker is inherently associated with CO2 emissions originating from limestone decomposition, the irreplaceable large-scale source of calcium oxide needed. Besides carbon capture and storage, CO2 mineralization is the only lever left to reduce these process emissions. CO2 mineralization is a reversal reaction to clinker production—CO2 is bound into stable carbonates in an exothermic process. It can be applied in several environmentally and economically favorable ways at different stages of clinker, cement and concrete life cycle. These possibilities are assessed and discussed in this contribution. The results demonstrate that when combined with concrete recycling, the complete circularity of all its constituents, including the process CO2 emissions from the clinker, can be achieved and the overall related CO2 intensity significantly reduced.

Keywords

• recycling
• circular economy
• carbonation
• recycled aggregates
• supplementary cementitious material
• carbon neutrality