| Project Detail |
HESTIA addresses the need for implementing carbon removal strategies by converting buildings into carbon storage structures. HESTIA is also important for nullifying embodied emissions. The majority of these emissions are concentrated at the start of a building’s lifetime and locked in before the building is ever used. This upfront emissions spike equals 10 years of operational emissions in a building constructed to meet standard code, but increases to 35 years for more advanced, higher operating efficiency buildings, and more than 50 years for high-efficiency buildings operating on a lower carbon intensity grid. These time horizons go beyond 2050 climate targets, which means embodied emission reduction strategies are a high priority.
Project Innovation + Advantages:
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and partners will use bio-derived supplementary cementitious materials and concrete additives generated from low-value byproducts created during sustainable aviation fuel production to develop a carbon-negative, thermally insulating concrete. The team proposes that activated carbon, aerogels, and ash produced from biomass processing, as well as supplemental CO2 adsorption to these materials, can replace a large portion of ordinary portland cement in common concrete ready mix. Using this approach, atmospheric CO2 is permanently sequestered in concrete in the form of solid carbon. Durability studies will ensure these materials have a full lifetime. At end of life, this material can be ground and recycled for use as road base or aggregate with no risk of organic matter decomposition and CO2 secondary release. |
