New Carbon Negative Super Bricks Sucks Up Carbon

A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts has developed a bio-inspired concrete alternative that is carbon-negative, sequestering 6.1 kilograms of carbon per cubic meter during production compared to the roughly 330 kilograms of carbon emitted by conventional concrete. This breakthrough addresses the significant carbon footprint of traditional cement production, largely driven by the heating of limestone—a process responsible for about 66% of cement-related emissions. The WPI team’s innovation focuses on reducing reliance on limestone and lowering the energy-intensive steps involved in cement manufacturing. Earlier efforts by the team involved growing minerals on a polymer scaffold using the enzyme carbonic anhydrase to catalyze the formation of calcite, resulting in a material with moderate compressive strength (12 MPa) and some self-healing properties. However, this material’s strength diminished significantly under humid conditions due to its hydrophilic polymer base, a common issue in bio-based construction materials. To overcome this, the researchers developed a new approach using