MIN CO2
CO2 Mineralisation: Conversion of Waste to New Building Materials
ERC Proof of Concept
The problem:
Society urgently needs sustainable solutions for carbon capture and storage, to mitigate the effects of climate change. Current solutions for carbon capture, storage and use are expensive, require extensive infrastructure and in many cases, they only put an additional loop in the carbon cycle. They “store” CO2 rather than converting it to a stable solid and they generate additional sustainability problems through their high energy consumption and their need for long term monitoring because the CO2 remains in fluid form. We need an easy, cheap, environmentally friendly way to take CO2 out of air and water and put it away, permanently as a solid, that is stable long term.
New technologies create fossil free energy and convert some forms of waste to valuable commodities. However, inorganic and noncombustible waste, such as from demolished buildings, bridges and roads, is often simply used as roadfill or dumped in landfills, taking valuable land out of production. Both as landfill and roadfill, burial precludes reuse as a resource. Society needs a technology that can create higher value from noncombustible solid waste.
Concrete is made from gravel, sand, water and cement (the stuff that sticks the other components together). Cement production is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions. More sustainable materials are available but they are not suitable for all types of construction so concrete use will continue. The construction industry needs lower CO2 footprint concrete.
The goal:
MIN CO2 tested the potential for innovation and commercialisation of an idea for solving all three challenges, namely sustainable carbon capture, reuse of noncombustible waste and production of lower CO2 footprint concrete, with a single solution, that would work at the factory chimney – and generate income from the product.
