CO2Concrete successor CarbonBuilt fuels curing and sequestering technology

CO2Concrete, an entity incubated at the University of California, Los Angeles, has changed its name to CarbonBuilt to better align with a mission to store significant amounts of carbon dioxide in concrete used for the built environment. Developed over the course of seven years at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering-hosted Institute for Carbon Management, the CarbonBuilt Reversa platform spans…

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Cemex net-zero carbon dioxide concrete offering goes global

The first-ever net-zero carbon dioxide concrete from Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. will soon be available in the producer’s major markets worldwide after a successful launch in Europe. A series ranging from low carbon to net-zero CO2 mixes, Vertua is based on a geopolymer binder solution from the Cemex Research and Development Center in Switzerland. Compared to conventional materials, it has…

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Energy Department extends CO2-cured concrete research commitment

Sources: Solidia Technologies, Piscataway, N.J.; CP staff

The next phase of “Utilization of CO2 in High Performance Building and Infrastructure Products,” a four-year research and development project supporting commercialization of carbon dioxide-reducing cement and concrete processes, will commence with an additional $752,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

 
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CSHub Investments’ Ripple Effect

A new roadmap shows how European Union cement interests, with much customer assistance, can clip carbon dioxide output from 1990 levels by 80 percent at mid-century. The ambitious goal fits the European Cement Association, based in Brussels—ground zero of carbon trading schemes, voluntary initiatives and regulatory pursuits aimed at net CO2 emissions reduction across the business and consumer landscape. It hinges on improvements in fuel- and energy-intensive cement milling, coupled with promotion of the energy or fuel efficiency inherent in concrete building and transportation slabs or structures.

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Pacing LEED v4, Northfield Block issues industry’s premier Health Product Declaration

Sources: CP staff; CarbonCure Technologies Inc., Halifax, Nova Scotia

In a nod to customers aligning project specs with forthcoming U.S. Green Building Council certification guidelines, Oldcastle Architectural’s business serving Chicago and upper Midwest markets has announced a Health Product Declaration (HPD) for its Trendstone Sandstone ground face concrete masonry unit.

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Oldcastle Architectural’s Northfield Block injects CO2 into curing regimen

Source: CarbonCure Technologies Inc., Halifax, N.S.

The Oldcastle Architectural Products Group business serving the largest Midwest market will add a carbon dioxide-sequestering process to concrete masonry curing at its three-machine plant in Morris, Ill., located about 40 miles west of Chicago.

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Coal operator Alpha takes stake in Class C ash-based cement purveyor Ceratech

Sources: Alpha Natural Resources, Abingdon, Va.; CP staff

A major coal producer has acquired a 10.3 percent position in Alexandria, Va.-based Ceratech Inc., whose Ekkomaxx technology can yield concrete binding agents with performance characteristics reportedly matching ASTM C150 Types I–V powder.

Alpha Natural Resources can increase its Ceratech stake to 28.3 percent under certain future terms. It becomes the second coal producer to invest in prospective concrete technology offsetting carbon dioxide emissions from either portland cement production or fossil fuel-fired power generation. In April 2010, market leader Peabody Energy took a $15 million interest in Calera Corp., whose calcium carbonate precipitation processes—applied to power plants’ flue gas streams—are netting concrete-grade fine aggregate.

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