VIDEO: “CO2 Inhalation of Concrete Structures: The Case of Carbon Uptake
in the U.S. Pavement Network”
MIT CSHub: “Believe it or not, concrete is alive. In fact, it breathes…”
Click to go to Video on YouTube
For the video, please go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyxfY_ONlX8
This MIT-Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) webinar is presented by Hessam AzariJafari, Postdoctoral Associate-CSHub, the CO2 inhalation of concrete. In this webinar video, so-called carbonation—or carbon uptake—is discussed. The concrete carbon uptake depends mostly on 3 factors, including:
• Mix design constituents
• Concrete structure temperature
• Environmental conditions.
Concrete used in the US pavements (including concrete and composite segments) factors can be quite different from one region to another. Each road segment undergoes several maintenance and repair actions, and the exposure conditions of the pavements are quite different. Therefore, a network-level model was jointly used with a carbon uptake model to estimate the total amount of carbon uptake during the end of life and use phase of pavements over the next 30 years. CSHub results show that 5.8 Mt CO2 can be sequestered by concrete materials used in the pavement network. This value is equivalent to 5.5% of the total carbon emitted by cement used for streets and highways. The developed carbon uptake model can be used for roughly estimating the CO2 absorbed by any concrete elements and the results of this can provide insights towards the inclusion of carbon uptake in the calculation of the environmental impact of concrete structures.
The MIT CSHub webinar series offers information of general interest to members of the building, paving, and construction communities, as well as to educators, students, journalists, and law and policy-makers interested in the environmental and economic impacts of decision-making concerning infrastructure. Videos of all of CSHub’s recent webinars are posted to their YouTube channel, and a schedule of upcoming webinars is posted to the website: https://cshub.mit.edu/news/public-webinars