Carbon Sequestration by Curing in Concrete

Abstract

The growing concerns about climate change and global warming, resulting from the increased concentrations of carbon-di-oxide in the atmosphere have created considerable interest in carbon sequestration. Carbon is usually sequestered in oceans or deep in the earth`s crust. But these processes require a lot of time and need additional energy investments for carbon to be sequestered. It is noted that cement industries contribute to 5% of global CO2 emission and it is estimated that 50% of global cement production will be from India and China by 2050. Also, in the current time, when trees are being cleared for the construction of buildings, which is estimated to release 1.5 billion tons of CO2 into our atmosphere every year, some measures must be taken to give back to the environment. Thus, if carbon is stored in concrete it is likely to stay for longer time, without any changes in its state. An attempt has been made in this study to sequestrate carbon in concrete. The study concentrates on estimating the carbon uptake in percentage in various mixes of concrete under favourable conditions. M15 and M20 mixes are cured by carbonation and the strengths are tested. In addition, the depth of carbonation and the strength gain due to carbonation are determined. Efforts are done to identify the other physical properties of the blocks cured in this manner.