CCC – Physical mechanisms in acetate-activated carbon-capturing concrete
Project information
Project duration
-
Funded by
Academy of Finland - Academy Project
Funding amount
885 055 EUR
Project coordinator
University of Oulu
Unit and faculty
Contact information
Contact person
Researchers
Project description
The Problem
Cement is a key material to consider in the carbon cycle due to its massive volumes and entaglement with carbon cycle; cement production is currently responsible for 5-8% of annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
Challenges
Current limitations include poor long-term durability, which may be improved using ligands such as acetate. However more information on the function of acetate is needed.
The Solution
CCC project will shed light on the fundamental workings of the acetate ligands when used in the HMC cements. Methods include laboratory investigation using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and synchrotron-enabled methods, accompanied by a variety of computer modelling tools in order to paint a clear picture of the nano-scale function of the acetate ligands in HMC cements. The work will be done at the Fibre and Particle Engineering research unit at the University of Oulu, and the results will bring us closer to enabling carbon capturing concrete.
See the video from the seminar "C1 Value”, 4th September 2020: "9 Physical mechanisms in acetate activated carbon capturing concrete CCC"
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Research groups
Collaboration network
Prof. John Provis’ research group at the University of Sheffield. The group has wide expertise in cementitious materials, including themodynamical modelling and glass dissolution.
Prof. Hegoi Manzano Assistant Professor at the Department of Condensed Matter Physics from the UPV/EHU. PhD in Chemistry in 2009 (UPV/EHU), and 2 year postdoct (MIT). His research focuses on seeking relationships between the molecular scale structure and the macroscopic properties in a wide range of materials using molecular scale simulations.
Prof. Wei Cao has been dedicated in materials physics at the University of Oulu. By using various synchrotron radiation-based techniques and DFT computations, physical mechanisms enabling functionalities of engineering and functional materials are elucidated down at quantum mechanical levels.
The NMR Research Unit, lead by Prof. Ville-Veikko Telkki. The focus of the experimental subgroup of the NMR Research Unit is developing and applying NMR to create new tools for characterizing materials.
The project is planned to benefit from synchrotron radiation spectroscopy/microscopy infrastructure at MAX-IV facilities in Lund, Sweden. This research will be done in collaboration with Marko Huttula (NANOMO), and the work is facilitated by a University of Oulu-funded Beamline Scientist at the MAX IV Laboratory. The core research of NANOMO is on studying the electronic structure and dynamics of atoms, molecules and clusters (small nanometer sized aggregates of matter). The group has done pioneering research especially in the rapidly developing field of synchrotron radiation physics.