Concrete is one of the most robust building materials ever invented by humans, and most of the buildings in the city are concrete. However, the production process of concrete has great environmental pollution.
First of all, the basic components of cement in the manufacturing process of calcium carbonate or limestone need to be heated, and added to the concrete can be made strong glue, the process will release a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. According to data from the International Energy Agency (International), greenhouse gases generated in the cement manufacturing process account for around 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it the world's second largest source of carbon dioxide industrial gas emissions.
According to another data from the United States Geological Survey, the global cement production in 2017 alone resulted in about 4 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
To address this problem, a Canadian start-up has developed a new type of concrete additive that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, and this concrete also drastically reduces the demand for cement components.
The technology company, known as carbon Cure, says their cement mixes to absorb carbon dioxide from the air and locks it in concrete. Once the concrete is hardened, the carbon dioxide is permanently sealed in concrete blocks.
Even after years of demolition of buildings, the carbon dioxide contained in concrete blocks will not disappear because they have reacted with concrete to form special minerals. ' This mineral helps to improve the compressive strength of concrete, ' Carbon Cure Sustainability director Christie Gamble said in a foreign media interview: ' In fact, carbon dioxide helps make concrete stronger, Therefore, concrete manufacturers can produce different hardness products according to their own needs, and reduce the use of raw material cement in the production process.
' According to news, Thomas Concrete, a concrete producer based in Atlanta, USA, has been using carbon cure technology products since 2016.
Thomas Concrete says Thomas Concrete has prevented nearly 10 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere thanks to the use of carbon Cure's new products. Justin Lazenby, technical operations Manager at Thomas Concrete, said the shift to greener technologies was a long-term decision that the building industry should accept. He said: ' The industry is always trying to solve today's problems with yesterday's technology, but those outdated technologies have no way of really solving the problems we face.
' Carbon Cure is not the only company dedicated to making concrete greener, but it is one of the first companies to bring products to market.
Carbicrete and Carbon upcycling are another two start-ups dedicated to improving concrete sustainability solutions.
"These types of technologies will help drive the concrete industry towards a more sustainable future," said Gregg Lewis, strategic executive vice president of National Ready-Mix Concrete Association. ' It will provide a huge advantage for our entire building industry, ' he said. ' If the entire building industry is able to reduce the overall carbon footprint by 5%, it will be a huge number. If this technology is deployed globally, we can reduce carbon dioxide by about 700 trillion tonnes per year.
