Impact of carbon neutrality on structural concrete-Not a risk but an opportunity

Cement used in structural concrete accounts for 60% of all cement. Thus, the amount of CO2 emission by cement in structural concrete in a year is about 5% of the amount emitted by mankind. However, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of structural concrete emits CO2 not only at the product stage but also at the use stage after construction. In this paper, carbon neutrality is viewed from an economic point of view. Then a rough indicator is presented to grasp the CO2 emissions of structural concrete. This paper also shows that LCA of structural concrete should consider not only the materials but also the maintenance phase. And low-carbon technologies currently in use is introduced. Then the need for multi-cycle structural concrete with a circular economy is presented. Moreover, it is estimated that CO2 emissions due to disasters in the use stage could be enormous. The carbon neutrality of concrete is not a risk but an opportunity for us.

Automated summary

Cement used in structural concrete accounts for 60% of all cement and its CO2 emissions make up about 5% of mankind's total emissions. This study highlights the need to consider both the production and use stages when assessing the carbon footprint of structural concrete. It also explores the importance of incorporating low-carbon technologies and adopting a circular economy approach.