PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tests conducted by engineers at Purdue University and Solidia Technologies® show that concrete cured with carbon dioxide (CO2) performs comparably or better than traditional Portland Cement-based concrete for resistance to cold weather and exposure to extreme conditions.
“On multiple indicators, our findings underscore comparable or favorable performance of the calcium silicate-based carbonated concrete under severe conditions,” said Purdue University Professor of Civil Engineering Jan Olek, Ph.D., P.E., who co-directs the ongoing research with Purdue Professor Jason Weiss, Ph.D.
Included in a white paper released today, results of freezing-thawing tests of performed on two types of CO2-cured concrete show that the product has good freeze-thaw resistance and scaling resistance. Starting with sustainable cement, the CO2-curing technology reduces water consumption in the production of concrete up to 80 percent, carbon emissions up to 70 percent, and the curing time to one day.
Entitled “Performance of Calcium Silicate based Carbonated Concretes vs. Hydrated Concretes under Freeze-thaw Environments,” the paper’s authors include Purdue graduate student HyunGu Jeong, Purdue Professor Jan Olek, Ph.D., P.E., and Solidia Technologies Senior Research Scientist Jitendra Jain, Ph.D., Director of Research and Development Vahit Atakan, Ph.D., and Chief Technology Officer Nicholas DeCristofaro, Ph.D.
Abstract
Solidia Technologies® has developed calcium silicate-based cement (CSC), which emits less CO2 during its production as compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). This CSC is hereafter referred to as Solidia Cement™. Additionally, Solidia Concrete™ made using Solidia Cement cures and hardens through a carbonation reaction and consumes CO2 during this process. The total CO2 footprint associated with cement manufacturing and use can be reduced by up to 70% when Solidia Cement replaces OPC. Although Solidia Concrete can achieve compressive strengths over 10,000 psi, the effect of freezing and thawing exposure and surface scaling in presence of salts needed to be evaluated. This paper presents freezing-and-thawing (FT) results for two types of Solidia Concrete (with and without air entrainment) and a reference (OPC) concrete tested as per ASTM C666 procedure A. The scaling resistance was evaluated as per ASTM C672 for air entrained Solidia Concrete and reference concrete. The values of the Relative Dynamic Modulus of Elasticity (RDME) for both the air-entrained Solidia Concrete and the reference concrete after 300 FT cycles were about 88%. After extended FT exposure (~800 cycles) concrete specimens performed well as indicated by the fact that the RDME values did not reduce further. Similarly, the scaling resistance after 50 FT cycles was very good for both the Solidia Concrete and the reference concrete. In fact, the air entrained Solidia Concrete showed no visible signs of deterioration even after 100 FT cycles, i.e. twice the number of cycles usually administered during the standard test.
The Purdue-Solidia team is conducting long-term investigations exploring “Failure Mechanisms in Concrete: A Comparative Study of the Ordinary Portland Cement and Solidia Cement™ Concretes.”
The white paper can be downloaded at www.solidiatech.com.
About Solidia Technologies®
Solidia Technologies® makes it easy and profitable to use CO2 to create superior and sustainable building materials. Solidia’s patented technology starts with a sustainable cement, cures concrete with CO2 instead of water, reduces carbon emissions up to 70%, and recycles 60 to 100% of the water used in production. Using the same raw materials and existing equipment as traditional concretes, the resulting CO2-cured concrete products are higher performing, cost less to produce, and cure in less than 24 hours. Currently in commercialization for large- and small-scale applications, Solidia’s R&D collaborators include Lafarge, The Linde Group, DOT’s Federal Highway Administration, DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Environmental Protection Agency, Rutgers University, Purdue University, Ohio University, and the University of South Florida. Solidia’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Bright Capital, BASF, BP, Lafarge, Total Energy Ventures, Bill Joy and other private investors. Follow Solidia Technologies at www.solidiatech.com and on LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter: @SolidiaCO2.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a state-assisted doctoral-granting institution founded in 1869. It is a leading research institution with a system-wide enrollment of more than 69,000 students from 50 states and 130 countries. Twenty-three Purdue alumni have become NASA astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and Eugene Cernan, the last to do so. Purdue's engineering program is one of the largest in the nation. Forty-seven Purdue faculty, students, and staff had discoveries that were patented in 2012. The Purdue Research Foundation reported 356 invention disclosures, 446 patent applications worldwide, 95 issued patents worldwide and the creation of five startups from Purdue-licensed technologies.
