Near-term pathways for decarbonizing global concrete production

Abstract

Growing urban populations and deteriorating infrastructure are driving unprecedented demands for concrete, a material for which there is no alternative that can meet its functional capacity. The production of concrete, more particularly the hydraulic cement that glues the material together, is one of the world’s largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While this is a well-studied source of emissions, the consequences of efficient structural design decisions on mitigating these emissions are not yet well known. Here, we show that a combination of manufacturing and engineering decisions have the potential to reduce over 76% of the GHG emissions from cement and concrete production, equivalent to 3.6 Gt CO2-eq lower emissions in 2100. The studied methods similarly result in more efficient utilization of resources by lowering cement demand by up to 65%, leading to an expected reduction in all other environmental burdens. These findings show that the flexibility within current concrete design approaches can contribute to climate mitigation without requiring heavy capital investment in alternative manufacturing methods or alternative materials.

Mass, enthalpy, and chemical‐derived emission flows in mineral processing

“…The majority of the materials consumed are produced from mineral resources, including ubiquitous materials such as cement, steel, aluminum, copper, and brick (Matos, 2022), and reducing GHG emissions from such materials production is urgently needed to limit the continued contributions to climate change (Gielen et al., 2016; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014). Simultaneously, there is expected growth in the consumption of critical minerals for renewable energy applications, such as lithium and cobalt (International Energy Agency, 2023), and construction materials to meet the infrastructure needs of a growing population (Olsson et al., 2023). Reductions in GHG emissions from mineral processing are needed to meet both these climate goals and societal material demands.…”

Study of silicon dioxide nanoparticles on the rheological and mechanical behaviors of self-compacting geopolymer concrete

“…Worldwide, concrete is highly utilized and irreplaceable for innumerable significant materials for infrastructure developments that remain pivotal to addressing the growing population demand and economic development [1,2]. Cement is an essential resource for concrete production, but cement manufacturing produces CO 2 that greatly contributes to global warming [3][4][5].…”