Carbon Dioxide Uptake by Concrete Modified With Carbon Nanotube

CO2 emission from fossil fuel fired power plants contributed 30% of global emissions in 1990. In the same year, the cement industry contributed about 5% of the total. According to Kyoto Protocol, a tremendous effort is required to reduce the carbon dioxide emission. One potential technology in CO2 mitigation responses is the use of concrete products as carbon sink through the early age fast curing. The cement compounds C3S and C2S are instantaneously carbonized into calcium carbonate and silica gel, once cement is mixed with water and exposed to the carbon dioxide gas. The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of adding carbon nanotubes in cement paste matrix on the capacity as CO2 sink. Adiabatic temperature was determined for different carbon nanotubos content on the cement paste. The microstructure was studied by scanning electronic microscopy. The calcium carbonate and calcium hydroxide content were determined by a thermogravimetric analysis. The storage modulus was measured for the specimens of cement paste before and after the immersion in CO2. Carbon nanotubes act as nuclear agent of the calcium carbonate and increase the maximum temperature and decrease the time of hydration. The incorporation of carbon nanotubes to Portland cement paste could modify the transport properties of the matrix. In fact, it was shown that interfacial interactions between the hydration products and multi-walled carbon nanotubes occur; and it was observed the insertion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes between the hydration products.