Global decarbonization potential of CO 2 mineralization in concrete materials

Abstract

CO 2 mineralization products are often heralded as having outstanding potentials to reduce CO 2 -eq. emissions. However, these claims are generally undermined by incomplete consideration of the life cycle climate change impacts, material properties, supply and demand constraints, and economic viability of CO 2 mineralization products. We investigate these factors in detail for ten concrete-related CO 2 mineralization products to quantify their individual and global CO 2 -eq. emissions reduction potentials. Our results show that in 2020, 3.9 Gt of carbonatable solid materials were generated globally, with the dominant material being end-of-life cement paste in concrete and mortar (1.4 Gt y –1 ). All ten of the CO 2 mineralization technologies investigated here reduce life cycle CO 2 -eq. emissions when used to substitute comparable conventional products. In 2020, the global CO 2 -eq. emissions reduction potential of economically competitive CO 2 mineralization technologies was 0.39 Gt CO 2 -eq., i.e., 15% of that from cement production. This level of CO 2 -eq. emissions reduction is limited by the supply of end-of-life cement paste. The results also show that it is 2 to 5 times cheaper to reduce CO 2 -eq. emissions by producing cement from carbonated end-of-life cement paste than carbon capture and storage (CCS), demonstrating its superior decarbonization potential. On the other hand, it is currently much more expensive to reduce CO 2 -eq. emissions using some CO 2 mineralization technologies, like carbonated normal weight aggregate production, than CCS. Technologies and policies that increase recovery of end-of-life cement paste from aged infrastructure are key to unlocking the potential of CO 2 mineralization in reducing the CO 2 -eq. footprint of concrete materials.