Carbon capture and sequestration with in-situ CO2 and steam integrated 3D concrete printing

Abstract

Profound reliance of the building and construction sector on cement exacerbates its immense carbon footprint, accounting for a substantial portion of worldwide emissions. In this paper, we investigate the possibilities of in-situ carbon capture and sequestration to eliminate spatial constraints from a chamber confined curing solution via CO2 and steam integrated 3D concrete printing. The presented technology involves a two-step extrusion-based system that sequesters captured CO2 directly into concrete prior deposition at the nozzle printhead, so as to achieve artificially accelerated carbonation reactions with enhancement of mechanical properties. Accordingly, samples subjected to in-situ CO2 and steam integration showed increases of up to 50.0 % 3D printability, 36.8 % compressive strength, and 45.3 % flexural strength compared to control at its respective curing conditions. The results of said approach demonstrated 38.2 % increase in bulk carbon uptake compared to accelerated carbonation confined curing methods, offering an alternative pathway towards decarbonized construction with 3DCP.