High environmental standards and rising costs for CO2 emissions are putting the European construction industry under enormous competitive pressure in international comparison. Climate-neutral solutions are required for future economic production. However, established processes for CO2 capture are not feasible in the short and medium term due to enormous energy costs and a lack of infrastructure for CO2 transportation.
The ZEROES project takes an industry-based approach to reducing CO2 emissions in the production of building materials. The focus is on the use of carbonates and building rubble for the production of concrete and sand-lime bricks. Carbonates are carbon-rich materials that are produced through the thermochemical conversion of biomass. Incorporating carbonates into building materials prevents the carbon from being released into the atmosphere as CO2 and can be regarded as a carbon sink. In addition, CO2 hardening reduces the CO2 footprint. The starting point is the availability of regionally available biomass and construction waste in the immediate vicinity of the participating industrial partners in NRW.
Direct integration of CO2
ZEROES focuses on carbonate properties that enable the highest possible use of carbonates in the building material in order to store the largest possible amounts of carbon. In addition, ZEROES also considers the energetic aspects, such as clever integration and thus also thermal and energetic utilization, which enables the conversion of biomass into energy sources and carbonisates in processes in the building materials plant.
In a second research approach, in addition to the use of carbonates, the researchers are also investigating the direct incorporation of CO2 in sand-lime bricks during production in order to compensate for the CO2 emissions that arise during the unavoidable calcination process in the sand-lime brick industry.
Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT
