The 4 Corners Carbon Coalition has awarded $150,000 to Arizona concrete masonry producer Block-Lite, plus California partners CarbonBuilt of Los Angeles and Aircapture LLC of Berkeley, to develop the world’s first fully-integrated direct air capture (DAC)-to-concrete assembly. Based at the producer’s Flagstaff plant, the project has the potential to yield market rate block exhibiting 70 percent lower embodied carbon versus…
Read MoreTag: carbon dioxide
MIT CSHub reviews carbon uptake mechanisms in concrete
Sources: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Concrete Sustainability Hub, Cambridge; CP staff The process by which cement-based products sequester carbon dioxide is key to understanding the life cycle impacts of the world’s most widely subscribed building material. In a three-point question & answer sequence, MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Deputy Director Hessam AzariJafari describes how CO2 uptake is a key lever in the…
Read MoreGlenwood Mason Supply taps Big Apple towers’ CO2 for CarbonCure process
Sources: Glenwood Property Management, CarbonQuest, New York City; CP staff Brooklyn-based Glenwood Mason Supply will source CarbonQuest “Sustainable CO,” processed from New York City apartment building mechanical flue exhaust, for concrete masonry unit (CMU) production incorporating CarbonCure Technologies’ carbon dioxide mineralizing method. CarbonQuest engineers collection and separation assemblies to purify and liquify CO2 from commercial building mechanicals. Stored in high pressure,…
Read MoreFederal agencies trigger a third flourish for Environmental Product Declarations
Our coverage of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for ready mixed and manufactured concrete dates to 2013. The record of producers and their national associations responding to market signals calling for such documents continues to be exemplary. This past month saw a third turning point in EPDs’ evolution from a target of green building practitioners, to data files for the Embodied…
Read MoreNCMA research quantifies CMUs’ carbon dioxide-sequestering capacity
Sources: National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va.; CP staff National Concrete Masonry Association technicians are collecting block from a cross section of producer members for a two-year investigation measuring specimens’ carbon dioxide sequestration characteristics. Findings have the potential to arm the industry with critical CO2 uptake data plus delineate the sequestration rates and net volumes of dry cast versus conventional precast…
Read MoreArgos USA channels carbon dioxide in cement kiln, ready mixed loop
Atlanta-based Argos USA has anchored a five-member consortium targeting a closed loop model of carbon dioxide capture and recycling in cement and concrete production. In an early-2018 demonstration, the company used CO2 from its Calera, Ala., cement plant in commercial concrete produced at its Glenwood, Ga., batch plant. That Atlanta-area ready mixed operation is among nearly 100 sites, primarily in the U.S., equipped with CarbonCure Technologies CO2 storage and injection devices. The CarbonCure process uses the greenhouse gas to promote cement hydration in high to zero slump concrete.
Read MorePCI, CPCI, NPCA release first Sustainable Precast Concrete Plant Program report
Backed by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute and National Precast Concrete Association, the North American Precast Concrete Sustainable Plant Program (NAPCSPP) has yielded its first full-year energy, materials and transportation data benchmarks. PCI’s inaugural Sustainable Plant Program Performance Report presents results in carbon dioxide equivalent (global warming potential), total primary energy and water consumption categories.
Read MorePaying attention to the carbon footprint behind the wood curtain
“Determining the Carbon Footprint of Wood” (PCA R&D 3287) is a valuable work based on Portland Cement Association-sponsored research. The timely report tracks trees and forests’ carbon dioxide-sequestering capacity, one of the value propositions wood building product interests channel to green-building practitioners; paints rationale for the wood industry to document carbon accounting methods transparently, especially when product is not sourced from a sustainably managed forest; and, helps cast-in-place concrete, precast and masonry construction practitioners respond to competitors’ claims of environmental mettle.
Read MoreHolcim improves safety, carbon, water metrics
Holcim Group’s 2013 Corporate Sustainability Report details ongoing activities in sustainable development and discloses data on a number of key sustainability performance indicators. “Reflecting our vision to provide foundations for society’s future sustainable environmental performance and corporate responsibility are firm parts of Holcim’s business strategy,” notes CEO Bernard Fontana. “This mindset has also been part of the foundation of our Holcim Leadership Journey and the performance indicators we release with the report confirm that we are making further progress in reaching our sustainability targets.”
Read More49ers score big with low-carbon footprint facility
The San Francisco 49ers are kicking off the 2014-15 NFL season at a new sustainable stadium thanks in part to West Sacramento-based Clark Pacific as well as Central Concrete Supply Co., a subsidiary of U.S. Concrete. Levi’s Stadium, located in Santa Clara, Calif., is the first LEED Gold certified NFL stadium.
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