The world’s most abundant man-made material is becoming Green

Look around. You will be hard pressed not to see something made from concrete. If you’re in a rural area, you may have to work a little harder, but if you’re in a building there’s bound to be a concrete floor. An urban dweller stands a better chance of walking on a sidewalk, enter a building or driving in a tunnel or on a bridge that has been built with concrete.

It’s no wonder that concrete is the most abundant man-made material in the world. It’s been used to build with almost as far back as recorded time. Ancient Egyptians and later Romans are noted for their use of concrete.

Concrete is becoming environmentally friendly!

Today, China is the largest producer of ready-mix concrete in the world with a market share of almost 33%. Worldwide production is expected to grow by nearly 6% in the next 5 years as developing nations continue their efforts to build buildings and infrastructure.

What is concrete? Concrete is made up of 3 basic components: water, an aggregate (rock, sand or gravel) and Portland Cement. This combination can be reinforced with metal or fibers to increase its strength.

The BBC reported that cement is the source of about 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions according to think tank Chatham House. They also reported that if the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest emitter in the world, behind China and the US.

What can be done to “green up” this greenhouse gas emitter? A company called CarbonCure has come up with a solution. They have developed a system that traps CO2 emissions and “mineralizes” them as the concrete hardens. This process strengthens the concrete and allows for the use of less cement. Read and view the CNN article and video here.

CarbonCure is on a mission to reduce CO2 emissions by 500 megatons annually.

• They have more than 130 producer partners across North America and in Singapore.
• On average, 25 pounds of CO2 are saved per cubic yard of ready mix concrete made with the CarbonCure Technology. 
• In total, our ready mix partners have produced more than 2.5 million cubic yards of reduced-carbon concrete, saving more than 75 million pounds of CO2 to date. 

Their patented process involves injecting a precise amount bulk CO2 into the mixing process. The CO2 becomes chemically converted into a mineral which improves the compressive strength of concrete while reducing the amount of cement necessary. It is the reduction in the quantity of cement along with the use of sourced CO2 that improves the greenhouse gas emissions.

According to CarbonCure, this process can be added to virtually any type of production – from ready mix, to precast to masonry. Their mission is to save up to 500 megatons of CO2 every year and they claim to have already saved 76.2M pounds to date. That’s equivalent to 41,501 acres of forestland absorbing CO2 for a year!

Contact us for more details.