Concrete and climate change

The second most used substance on the planet is one that might surprise you – it’s concrete. Just look around. The roads we drive on, the bridges we cross, the buildings we live and work in – all of it concrete. The world uses more than 10 billion tons of concrete every year.

Concrete and CO2

Problem is, concrete production is a huge source of climate-warming carbon emissions because cement, the key ingredient in concrete, is a huge source of carbon dioxide. If you produce a pound of cement, you produce a pound of carbon dioxide. The International Energy Agency estimates that cement production accounts for about 7% of the world’s total CO2 emission, which is a really big number, and it’s expected to get bigger as the world’s population grows.

Normal cement is made by super heating limestone. The limestone itself emits carbon dioxide during that process, and getting it to the right temperature usually means using a carbon-heavy heat source, something like coal. So it’s a lose-lose in terms of CO2 emissions.

New experiment to curb the production of CO2

Scientists at UCLA experimented with a concrete-like substance that uses CO2 in its production. Instead of creating more CO2 during the process, scientists are looking to use carbon dioxide to kick-start the hardening process. This process would produce less than half of the carbon dioxide of normal concrete. This technology would take something that is viewed as a nuisance and turn it into something valuable. These scientists are tackling a much needed problem with very possible solutions. I’m rooting for these scientists.