Scaled-up production of alkali-activated cement in the presence of carbon dioxide for concrete construction

Abstract

The scalability of the mechanochemical processing of an alkali-activated cement was investigated. Mechanochemical Processing of this cement was performed in the presence of carbon dioxide for carbon capture in the course of cement production. Pilot-scale studies were performed in a power plant where the flue gas resulting from the combustion of natural gas was used as a dilute source of carbon dioxide. A theoretical framework was established to guide the scale-up of the mechanochemical approach to the processing of hydraulic cement. The resulting cement was used for industrial-scale production of concrete that was used in a field construction project. The project outcomes validated the scalability of the mechanochemical approach to the production of alkali-activated hydraulic cement. The resulting hydraulic cement was found to be compatible with conventional methods of industrial-scale production. Concrete materials produced with the mechanochemically processed hydraulic cement were found to be compatible with conventional field construction practices.