Cement production is the second-largest industrial contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, but its carbon footprint could be dramatically reduced with a new low-cost, scalable approach demonstrated at the University of Michigan.
The approach could neutralize the most carbon-heavy step in cement production without changing the manufacturing process, according to a study recently published in Energy & Environmental Science.
While traditional cement production gets its necessary calcium carbonate from limestone that releases carbon dioxide when heated in a kiln, the U-M researchers can make the calcium carbonate through an electrochemical process that captures CO2 from the air and binds it with abundant minerals or recycled concrete.