Oregon State gets grant to explore carbon sequestration in 3D-printed building materials

By Steve Lundeberg, 541-737-4039, [email protected]

Source: Pavan Akula, [email protected]

This news release is available online: https://beav.es/Sci

Photos: https://beav.es/ScU

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University and Sandia National Laboratory have received a three-year, $540,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to explore capturing carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and sequestering it in a mineralized form in 3D-printed building materials.

Pavan Akula, assistant professor of civil engineering in the OSU College of Engineering, will team up on the project with researchers from Sandia, the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and two industry partners, Graymont and Verdant Building Alternatives.

The researchers’ goal is to take a sector of the economy that’s a big emitter of carbon dioxide and make it significantly greener, Akula said.

“The construction industry is responsible for generating 13% of global CO₂ emissions,” he said. “In recent years, 3D-printing technology for concrete has been gaining popularity in building construction as it is a more sustainable alternative – it reduces both waste and transport costs. However, most 3D printing of concrete still relies only on traditional materials that are really carbon intensive.”

Portland cement, developed in England in the early 1800s, is the most common type of binder used in concrete. It is usually produced by mining, grinding, and heating clay and limestone in industrial kilns to temperatures as high as 2,820 degrees Fahrenheit. The process alters the materials’ chemistry and creates “clinker,” cement’s main component, and also generates carbon dioxide.

“We plan to capture CO₂ emitted from the lime and cement industries and develop sustainable binders capable of storing and mineralizing the captured CO₂ in printed building components such as walls,” Akula said. “Our project aims to develop technologies and materials that can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of materials used in 3D printing.”

That’s especially important, he added, as demand for concrete is expected to keep rising as trends toward urbanization continue globally.

“Shrinking the carbon footprint of cement-based construction materials is imperative if we’re to hit decarbonization and climate targets set by the Paris Agreement,” Akula said.

About the OSU College of Engineering: The college is a global leader in health-related engineering, artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing, clean water and energy, materials science, computing and resilient infrastructure. Among the nation’s largest and most productive engineering programs, the college awards more bachelor’s degrees in computer science than any other institution in the United States. The college ranks second nationally among land grant universities, and third among the nation’s 94 public R1 universities, for percentage of tenured or tenure-track engineering faculty who are women.

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