The construction industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions, and urgent innovation is needed to mitigate its environmental impact. This paper provides a comprehensive review of scalable approaches for CO2 uptake in construction materials, including the injection of CO2 into fresh concrete, the CO2 curing of precast concrete, and the use of ceramics as CO2 sinks. Among these three approaches, CO2 curing methods for concrete represent the most advanced and widely adopted strategies within industrial practice, with substantial research supporting their effectiveness and scalability. The comparison of carbonation mineralisation across three distinct material groups reveals that the direct injection of CO2 into fresh concrete mixes results in CO2 uptake of less than 3 kg/m3. For the precast concrete elements, the CO2 uptake ranges from 30 to 350 kg/m3, while ceramics can achieve uptake efficiencies up to 23 wt.% under pilot-scale conditions. Achieving efficient CO2 uptake in fresh and precast concrete without compromising mechanical properties relies on precise control over the CO2 dose, a tailored mix design, and optimised curing conditions, while avoiding excessive carbonation that could reduce alkalinity or durability. Valorisation of carbonated materials as supplementary cementitious components or aggregates is identified as an important circular solution, though further research is needed to address regeneration, performance, and standardisation. The review highlights ongoing gaps in life-cycle assessment and industrial-scale validation, and recommends future work on durability and techno-economic optimisation for robust decarbonisation in the cement and concrete industries.
Attaei et al. (Thu,) studied this question.