I-Corps: Transforming Construction by Digital Fabrication of Concrete with Carbonate Cement

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力旨在通过使用碳酸盐基、近二氧化碳中性水泥和混凝土替代品来改造水泥生产，从而推进混凝土施工技术。建议利用烟道气中的CO2作为“成分”来快速矿化数字制造的建筑部件。重新发明的胶结化学和工艺能够比现在更快地生产高质量的建筑构件。它还能够整合各种技术，将碳酸盐基固井解决方案与数字制造技术相结合，以克服当今建筑行业面临的挑战，包括其巨大的二氧化碳足迹，同时还可能提高生产力。通过合理化工作流程、提高自动化程度和开发新材料，该项目开发了创新途径，以颠覆性地改变建筑行业。该I-Corps项目利用了碳酸盐固体在环境温度下快速矿化的新进展。核心技术是采用轻金属碳酸盐隔离烟道气中的二氧化碳。这使得基于碳酸盐的胶结剂，其提供与传统水泥和混凝土相当或上级的性能。最近的研究表明，碳化硬化过程是快速的。 在合适的条件下，它在24小时或更短的时间内完成，比现有的固井解决方案快得多。由于其简单的组成和化学均匀性，碳酸盐水泥前体提供灵活且可控的流变性，这是使用这些材料进行数字制造的重要先决条件。总之，碳酸盐水泥为二氧化碳中性胶结和建筑提供了新的途径。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project seeks to advance concrete construction technology by reinventing cement production with carbonate-based, near CO2-neutral cement and concrete surrogates. It is proposed to utilize flue-gas borne CO2 as an 'ingredient' to rapidly mineralize digitally fabricated construction components. The reinvented cementation chemistry and process enable producing high-quality building elements faster than it is possible today. It also enables the integration of a confluence of technologies, mating carbonate-based cementation solutions with digital fabrication technologies to overcome challenges facing the construction sector today, including its large CO2 footprint, while also potentially improving productivity. By rationalizing workflows, enhancing automation, and originating new materials, this project develops innovative pathways to disruptively transform the construction sector.This I-Corps project exploits new advances made the rapid ambient temperature mineralization of carbonate solids. The central technology is based on approaches for sequestering CO2 borne in flue gases in light metal carbonates. This renders carbonate-based cementation agents, which offer performance that is equivalent or superior to traditional cement and concrete. Recent studies have revealed that carbonation hardening process is rapid. Under suitable conditions it proceeds to completion in 24 hours or less, substantially faster than existing cementation solutions. Due to their simple composition and chemical homogeneity, the carbonate cement precursors offer flexible, and well-controllable rheology, an important prerequisite for enabling digital fabrication using these materials. Taken together, carbonate-cements offer new routes towards CO2-neutral cementation, and construction.