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Cited by 50Concrete and Cement Materials ResearchEnvironmental Impact and SustainabilityCO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions

Global carbon uptake of cement carbonation accounts 1930–2021

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Huang, Zi, Wang, Jiaoyue, Bing, Longfei, Qiu, Yijiao, Guo, Rui, Yu, Ying, Ma, Mingjing, Niu, Le +6 more·2023·Earth System Science Data
DOI 10.5194/essd-15-4947-2023

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Abstract

Abstract. The main contributor to the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of the cement industry is the decomposition of alkaline carbonates during clinker production. However, systematic accounts for the reverse of this process – namely carbonation of calcium oxide and other alkaline oxides and/or hydroxides within cement materials during cements' life cycles – have only recently been undertaken. Here, adopting a comprehensive analytical model, we provide the most updated estimates of CO2 uptake by cement carbonation. The accumulated amount of global CO2 uptake by cements produced from 1930 to 2021 is estimated to be 22.9 Gt CO2 (95 % confidence interval, CI: 19.6–26.6 Gt CO2). This amount includes the CO2 uptake by concrete, mortar, construction waste and kiln dust, accounting for 30.1 %, 58.5 %, 4.0 % and 7.1 % respectively. The cumulative carbon uptake by cement materials from 1930 to 2021 offsets 55.1 % of the emissions from cement production (41.6 Gt CO2, 95 % CI: 38.7–47.2 Gt CO2) over the same period, with the greater part coming from mortar (58.5 % of the total uptake). China has the highest cement carbon uptake, with cumulative carbonation of 7.06 Gt CO2 (95 % CI: 5.22–9.44 Gt CO2) since 1930. In addition, the carbon uptake amounts of the USA, EU, India and the rest of the world took 5.0 %, 23.2 %, 5.6 % and 34.8 % separately. As a result of rapidly increased production in recent years, over three-quarters of the cement carbon uptake has occurred since 1990. Additionally, our results show little impact by the COVID-19 pandemic on cement production and use, with carbon uptake reaching about 0.92 Gt CO2 (95 % CI: 0.78–1.10 Gt CO2) in 2020 and 0.96 Gt CO2 (95 % CI: 0.81–1.15 Gt CO2) in 2021. Our uniformly formatted and most updated cement uptake inventories provide coherent data-based support for including cement carbon uptake into future carbon budgets from the local to global scale. The latest version contains the uptake data till 2021, showing the global uptake's increasing pattern and offering more usable and relevant data for evaluating cement's carbon uptake capacity. All the data described in this study are accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7516373 (Bing et al., 2023).

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  • The large amount of cement used in products to date arguably renders recarbonation a sizeable global CO2 sink which is not yet fully accounted for in climate models and mitigation plans.

    “Nonetheless, the large amount of cement used in products to date, arguably renders recarbonation a sizeable global CO2 sink which is not yet fully accounted for in climate models and mitigation plans [12 -16].”

    From Isotope chemistry to trace carbon mineralization in construction materials (2026) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Abstract estimates 22.9 Gt of global CO₂ uptake by cement produced from 1930 to 2021, supporting the description of recarbonation as a sizeable sink. Section 3.3 says IPCC inventory guidelines lacked methods for accounting for this uptake and that global carbon budgets have only started to consider it. The paper does not establish whether climate models or mitigation plans specifically account for it fully. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

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Authors
Huang, Z., Wang, J., Bing, L., Qiu, Y., Guo, R., Yu, Y., Ma, M., Niu, L., Tong, D., Andrew, R. M., Friedlingstein, P., Canadell, J. G., Xi, F., & Liu, Z.
Affiliations
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • Tsinghua University (CN)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • CICERO Center for International Climate Research (NO)
  • University of Exeter (GB)
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
  • University of Hong Kong (HK)
Corresponding author
  • Xi, Fengming
  • Liu, Zhu
ORCID
Venue
Earth System Science Data
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Published
2023-11-07
Volume
15
Issue
11
Pages
4947-4958
ISSN
  • 1866-3508 (ISSN-L)
  • 1866-3516
DOI
10.5194/essd-15-4947-2023
OpenAlex
W4388464034
Cited by
50
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 1
FWCI
5.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Earth system science data (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Informationszentrum Lebenswissenschaften (ZB MED) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
  • Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2020201, Y202050)
  • Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41977290)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAEMP202201)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Concrete and Cement Materials Research
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions
Keywords
ation, CO2 sequestration, concrete, mortar, construction waste, cement kiln dust, global carbon balance, alkali metal carbonates

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