Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials in High Performance, CO2 Sequestering Construction Material
EPA Contract Number: EPD13022Title: Use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials in High Performance, CO2 Sequestering Construction Material
Investigators: Atakan, Vahit
Small Business: Solidia Technologies
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: May 13, 2013 through November 14, 2013
Project Amount: $80,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (2013) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , SBIR - Green Buildings
Description:
The worldwide manufacture of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) for use in concrete accounts for approximately 5 percent of global CO2 emissions. Recognizing the need to lower its CO2 footprint, the cement industry has pursued a number of strategies, including the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to reduce cement usage.
Through a patented process, Solidia Technologies has developed a low-lime cement product that reduces the CO2 emissions during cement production by 30 percent compared to high-lime OPC. This low-lime cement is hereafter referred to as Solidia CementTM. Additionally, while OPC-based concretes cure by reaction with water, concrete products made with Solidia Cement cure by reacting with gaseous CO2. When the reduced CO2 emissions associated with Solidia Cement production are considered, along with the CO2 sequestered during concrete curing, the CO2 footprint associated with the manufacturing and use of cement in concrete can be reduced by as much as 70 percent. This reduction can fast-forward the industry towards achievement of the CO2 2050 reduction goals articulated by the Cement Sustainability Initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Solidia Cement is fully compatible with the existing raw materials supply chains and manufacturing systems currently in place within the cement and concrete industries. For example, Solidia Cement is produced from the same raw materials and uses the same manufacturing equipment as OPC. Similarly, concrete products made with Solidia Cement use the same aggregates and concrete manufacturing equipment as their OPC counterparts. This compatibility distinguishes Solidia's product from many other sustainable cement and concrete technologies.
The question exists as to whether the CO2 footprint associated with the manufacture and use of Solidia Cement can be further reduced by using SCMs.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The recently concluded Phase I EPA/SBIR program has demonstrated that SCMs such as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), class C and class F fly ash can be used to partially replace Solidia Cement in the same manner that they are used to replace OPC. In doing so, the CO2 footprint associated with the manufacture and use of Solidia Cement can be reduced by as much as an additional 40 percent.
It was demonstrated that GGBFS can easily replace up to 40 percent of Solidia Cement. The primary function of GGBFS in concretes made with Solidia Cement is that it carbonates in a manner comparable to Solidia Cement. By contrast, Class C and class F fly ash improve concrete workability, thereby reducing water demand and yielding denser concrete parts. Class C and class F fly ash can typically replace up to 20 percent of Solidia Cement.
Thus, the use of SCMs can reduce the CO2 footprint associated with the production and use of Solidia Cement by an additional 6 to 12 points.
Conclusions:
The successful demonstration of Solidia Cement/SCM in precast concrete applications offers the potential to save up to 14 million tonnes of CO2.
This is based on the following statistics:
- Approximately 100 million tons of OPC is used annually in the United States.
- The precast concrete market constitutes approximately 20 percent of the total OPC usage, which corresponds to 20 million tonnes of OPC.
- On average, the production of one tonne of OPC emits about one tonne of CO2.
- Thus, the production of OPC for the precast concrete market will emit 20 million tonnes of CO2.
- Conversion of the precast concrete market to Solidia Cement/SCM will reduce the CO2 footprint associated with the production and use of cement up to 70 percent, or up to 14 million tonnes.
Supplemental Keywords:
supplementary cementitious materials, industrial waste, CO2, green buildings, mineral carbonation, constructionThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.