Researchers Turn Carbon Dioxide into Concrete

Tech Briefs INSIDER

A new system developed by UCLA researchers captures carbon from smokestacks and processes the C0₂ into a new building material that could replace concrete. The tiny cones of the "CO₂NCRETE" material are fabricated using 3D printers.

J.R. DeShazo, left, director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, and Gaurav Sant, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering, hold a a sample of the new building materials they have created to replace concrete.

“What this technology does is take something that we have viewed as a nuisance — carbon dioxide that’s emitted from smokestacks — and turn it into something valuable,” said J.R. DeShazo, professor of public policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.

The UCLA team demonstrated a process of combining lime with carbon dioxide to produce the cement-like material.

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