A new study suggests that about 0.5% of the world’s carbon emissions could be captured by crushing with CO2 gas during the normal crushing process of rocks commonly used in construction.
The paper, “CO2 trapping by mechanochemical treatment of silicate rocks,” published in Nature Sustainability, states that little additional energy is required to trap CO2. His 0.5% of global emissions is equivalent to planting a forest of mature trees the size of Germany.
The materials and construction industry accounts for 11% of global carbon emissions. Over 50 billion tonnes of rock are crushed worldwide every year, and current crushing processes (standard in construction and mining) cannot capture CO2.
rock dust
Previous research had explored ways to trap carbon in single minerals in the same way, but research from the University of Strathclyde found this to be unstable and leach out of the mineral when placed in water. is shown. This paper documents how the majority of carbon dioxide can be trapped in a stable, insoluble form in rocks composed of multiple different minerals by milling in CO2 gas. The resulting rock dust can be stored and used in the environment for construction and other purposes.
As an example, a calculation of 0.5% was made in Norway. This is because the country publishes annual data on the amount of hard rock aggregate produced for the construction industry and also documents annual domestic CO2 emissions.
Professor Rebecca Lang, principal investigator in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said:
Adapting current settings to capture carbon from polluting gas streams, such as those from cement production and gas-fired power plants, is expected to help the sector reduce emissions.
“The global estimates are based on the assumption that the Norwegian construction industry is reasonably typical. Because they are trying to sell it as a product, they actually produce much more, but other countries may have less.
“If this technology were adopted into total production worldwide, it could absorb 0.5% of global CO2 emissions, or 175 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. , we can optimize the process to capture more carbon.”
Crushing technology
Co-investigator Dr. Mark Stillings said: He then needs to understand how this process can be scaled up from the lab to industry to reduce his CO2 footprint in the world.
“This process, if applied, would significantly reduce the CO2 footprint associated with the construction of housing and public infrastructure, helping us meet the global goal of combating climate change.”
As part of the Paris Agreement, countries around the world agreed to pursue efforts to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
To achieve this, countries need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’ by around 2050.
Professor Lunn added: “Right now, there are many industries without low-carbon solutions. This research will enable him to gas capture CO2 directly from hard-to-decarbonize industries for which there are no solutions by 2050.”
“In the future, we expect that the rocks used in concrete to build skyscrapers and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and coastal defenses will trap CO2 through this process. If not, it will be released into the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise.”
This work was funded in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Training Award grant. EPSRC is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Dr. Lucy Martin, EPSRC’s Deputy Director for Cross Council Programs, said:
Proudly funded by EPSRC, this groundbreaking study from the University of Strathclyde is truly remarkable. It marks a new process for the construction industry that will help significantly reduce global carbon emissions and reach the net-zero target.
Original: New process can capture carbon dioxide equivalent to forests the size of Germany
Than: Strathclyde University
