Evaluation of the Carbon Dioxide Uptake of Slag-Blended Concrete Structures, Considering the Effect of Carbonation

Han-Seung Lee and Xiao-Yong Wang
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Han-Seung Lee: Department of Architectural Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan 426-791, Korea
Xiao-Yong Wang: Department of Architectural Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: During the production of concrete, cement, water, aggregate, and chemical and mineral admixtures will be used, and a large amount of carbon dioxide will be emitted. Conversely, during the decades of service life of reinforced concrete structures, carbon dioxide in the environment can ingress into concrete and chemically react with carbonatable constitutes of hardened concrete, such as calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate hydrate. This chemical reaction process is known as carbonation. Carbon dioxide will be absorbed into concrete due to carbonation. This article presents a numerical procedure to quantitatively evaluate carbon dioxide emissions and the absorption of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) blended concrete structures. Based on building scales and drawings, the total volume and surface area of concrete are calculated. The carbon dioxide emission is calculated using the total volume of concrete and unit carbon dioxide emission of materials. Next, using a slag blended cement hydration model and a carbonation model, the carbonation depth is determined. The absorbed carbon dioxide is evaluated using the carbonation depth of concrete, the surface area of concrete structures, and the amount of carbonatable materials. The calculation results show that for the studied structure with slag blended concrete, for each unit of CO 2 produced, 4.61% of carbon dioxide will be absorbed during its 50 years of service life.

Keywords: carbon dioxide uptake; slag blended concrete; carbonation; hydration; model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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