Happy Eco News Carbon-Sequestering Building Materials: A Promising Solution for Climate Targets
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Researchers have recently focused on the potential of carbon-sequestering building materials, with cutting-edge developments suggesting that materials like concrete, bricks, and wood could help combat climate change in a previously unrealized way.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that in addition to achieving broad decarbonization of the global economy, removing between 2 and 15 gigatons (billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere every year will be necessary to meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to ideally 1.5°C. While several carbon removal strategies exist, such as capturing CO2 and storing it underground or in the ocean, these methods are often costly, risky, and challenging to scale.
Researchers have now proposed that the built environment could be an alternative, with building materials that store carbon dioxide. The concept of carbon-sequestering building materials hinges on the idea that the widespread use of such materials in construction could provide a substantial, long-term means of capturing and storing carbon.
One of the most significant breakthroughs in this area involves using carbon-sequestering versions of commonly used building materials, such as concrete, bricks, asphalt, plastics, and wood. These materials could be enhanced by incorporating carbon-storing agents such as biochar, a substance made by heating waste biomass in a low-oxygen environment, into concrete or embedding carbon-loaded rocks in bricks and asphalt. This approach could lead to substantial carbon storage within the infrastructure itself, potentially reversing some of the impacts of human activity on the environment.
The new study, conducted by researchers including U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory scientist Elisabeth Van Roijen, shows just how much carbon could be stored in these materials. Van Roijen and her team calculated that by transitioning to carbon-sequestering materials in construction, as much as 16.6 gigatons of CO2 could be stored annually—a figure equivalent to about half of all human-caused carbon emissions in 2021.
Concrete, asphalt, and bricks are the building materials with the most significant potential for carbon storage. Though these materials may only sequester small amounts of carbon per unit of weight, their massive global production volume means their cumulative impact could be significant. For example, replacing traditional cement and concrete aggregates with carbon-storing versions could remove 13.1 gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.
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While some of these technologies are still in the pilot phase, others are ready for widespread implementation. However, scaling up carbon-storing materials globally would require significant changes across multiple industries. A major challenge is sourcing the raw materials needed for such a transition, including bio-based oils, bio-plastics, and biochar for cement production. While agricultural waste biomass is abundant, increasing biochar production from the current 0.4 megatons per year to 600 megatons will be necessary to meet demand.
Similarly, the minerals needed for carbon dioxide-based aggregates for concrete and asphalt could be challenging to source in sufficient quantities. While industrial waste products, such as blast furnace slag and mine tailings, could serve as a resource for this purpose, their availability may diminish as industries reduce their carbon emissions.
Even with these challenges, the potential of carbon-sequestering building materials remains significant. If adopted by 2045, using current resources, these materials could help keep global warming below the median targets for the 1.5°C goal outlined in the Paris Agreement.
One of the main advantages of using building materials for carbon storage is that they offer a stable and long-term solution. Unlike other carbon removal methods, such as capturing CO2 from the air and injecting it underground, the carbon stored in materials like concrete is more likely to remain trapped for extended periods. Research suggests that even if these materials are eventually demolished or recycled, their carbon will likely continue to be stored for many years, as carbonates in aggregates are highly stable.
However, there are still concerns about ensuring that carbon stays out of the atmosphere over the long term. For example, bio-based plastic and wood materials require strict end-of-life regulations to ensure they do not release stored carbon. On the other hand, carbonate-based aggregates are far less likely to leak carbon back into the atmosphere, even when recycled or landfilled.
Transitioning to carbon-sequestering building materials in construction would contribute to global climate goals and open the door to more sustainable building practices. By reducing the construction industry’s carbon footprint, these materials could make buildings more eco-friendly while offering new ways for developers to meet regulatory standards for emissions.
While the use of carbon-sequestering building materials for carbon storage is still developing, its promise is immense. With the potential to remove up to 16.6 gigatons of CO2 each year, this approach could play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. As industries and governments take this solution seriously, it may be one of the most effective and accessible ways to reduce atmospheric carbon in the coming decades.
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