Living Materials Laboratory:
Project
Project:
A Photosynthetic Route to Carbon-Negative Portland Limestone Cement Production
Current Challenge
Most cement-related CO2 emissions are caused by heating CaCO3 to produce CaO, which releases CO2 in the process. The technical premise of the proposed technology is to produce biogenic CaCO3 using coccolithophores, which are calcareous microalgae that sequester and store CO2 in mineral and organic polymer form through biological direct air capture via photosynthesis and calcification.
Research Goal
The overarching goal of this project is to manufacture and commercialize a net-CO2-storing portland limestone cement using biogenic limestone produced from calcifying microalgae. The harvested biogenic CaCO3 will be used to produce portland cement clinker. Biogenic CaCO3 will then be blended with the biogenic portland cement to produce net-CO2-storing portland limestone cements. The economics of CO2-storing portland limestone cement will be optimized by maximizing biomass productivity of coccolithophore cultures through a combination of artificial strain selection, genetic engineering, and growth optimization and through the valorization of non-CaCO3 algal biomass into high-value co-products.
Sponsor
Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)