Carbon Captured

Apr 27

Build Better

We are destroying our habitat. We are actively laying waste to the very environment we live in. The creation of buildings plays its part. 40% of all greenhouse gasses emitted in the US are related to carbon production during the construction of buildings, their heating and cooling, lighting, and operation.

One of the biggest culprits is concrete. Concrete is responsible for 8 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. The issue here is the production method, a major by- product being carbon dioxide. Concrete is currently made out of sand, gravel, water, and Portland cement. The chemical process of creating that cement, which is effectively the grinding, heating, and cooling of limestone, currently releases carbon dioxide. For every ton of cement, one ton of CO₂ is going into the atmosphere. Not to mention the carbon energy used to run the process. Every year, four billion tons of concrete are used in the world. Changing the production methods will have an impact.

Carbon Capture

One way to do so is called carbon capture. The process aims at using CO₂ as one ingredient in the making of cement. By this means, carbon is taken literally from smokestacks and captured within the concrete as an essential part, embedding excess CO₂ within the concrete.

Using CarbonCure In The Carolinas

The best part: the technology is readily available to you in the Carolinas. For the construction of our Cohen Davis Residence in Charlotte, NC - sporting concrete footings and an exposed concrete slab - our builder Spoke & Hammer ordered the concrete from Concrete Supply Co. They are using a system called CarbonCure.

It was as simple as asking for it when we ordered in the trucks - one call and they cranked a lever at the plant.

In the words of Concrete Supply Co.: “The process improves the concrete’s strength, which enables us to reduce the cement content in our mixes, further reducing our embodied carbon footprint. On average, every cubic yard of concrete we produce with CarbonCure removes 25 pounds of CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere.”

In addition: “The use of the CarbonCure Technology has no impact on the fresh or hardened properties of ready mix concrete, including durability, finishing, workability, pump-ability, temperature, pH or appearance; and it will not impact the construction schedule.”