The carbon dioxide storage potential of building materials: a systematic literature review

Abstract

This study assesses the carbon dioxide storage ranges within new and innovative building materials. We conduct a Systematic Literature Review and gather data for carbon dioxide storage in building materials from 27 studies. The obtained values are classified into derived Eurostat categories ‘biomass - fast growing’, ‘biomass - slow growing’, ‘non-metallic minerals - industrial’ and ‘non-metallic minerals - natural’ and harmonized to the unit of gram carbon dioxide storage per kilogram of material (gCO2/kg). Based on the systematic review, the mean value of carbon dioxide storage for the category ‘biomass - fast growing’ results in 1758.0 gCO2/kg and for the category ‘biomass - slow growing’ in 1787.0 gCO2/kg, while the mean value for ‘non-metallic minerals - industrial’ results in 137.7 gCO2/kg and for ‘non-metallic minerals - natural’ in 574.1 gCO2/kg. The obtained statistical summaries provide a basis for future research on the path towards a net-zero carbon built environment.