A company in Netherlands has developed a cement substitute that acts as a carbon sink and claims it makes concrete carbon-negative.
The start-up is chemically bonding CO₂ gas with naturally-occurring minerals to produce a cement substitute.
Established in 2021, Paebbl, takes crushed magnesium silicate rock (olivine) and mixes it with water in a specially-designed reactor vessel and adds CO2 along with some chemical catalysts.
This process causes the CO₂ to bond with the rock to produce a material that can be used to replace cement in a concrete mix, according to a report in the UK’S The Construction Index.
Paebbl has already supplied its product for use in a number of trial applications, most recently in the restoration of a 1917 building, the Veerhuis (Ferry House) in Rotterdam, and a footbridge (pictured) that the company claims to be the first-ever to be built with “carbon-neutral” concrete.
To demonstrate Paebbl’s suitability for structural applications, contractor Heijmans built the 7-metre footbridge, which also incorporates recycled aggregate and biochar.
Cement is still required as an ingredient along with Paebbl, but because its product is made using sequestered CO₂, the resulting concrete can become a carbon sink rather than a net carbon emitter, it says.
Paebbl’s process is classified as carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) because it uses captured CO₂ from industrial emissions sites, permanently stores it as a stable solid carbonate mineral through accelerated mineralisation, and uses the material to partially replace cement in concrete mixes.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia, at the helm since December 2013, and our weekly news writer since 2016. Focused on concrete and construction for more than 11 years, her expertise in this field forms part of a journalism career spanning three decades. To get in touch please email desi@corbettcomms.com.