Nishant Garg (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

CARBO-CHLORA: To Carbonate Chloroellestadite in Treated WTE Ashes for Low Carbon Concrete Blocks

This team plans to combine the mineralization of waste-to-energy (WTE) ashes and the CO2 curing of precast concrete by partially substituting cement in precast concrete with WTE ashes. The non- carbonate calcium contents in WTE ash, which is abundant based on their preliminary characterization of ~120 different WTE ashes from various states including New York State can act as low-cost calcium sources for mineralization during CO2 curing, and carbonate formation inside pores can improve the strength of the precast concrete. This technology will avoid the space and cost for landfilling of WTE ash and reduce the usage of cement while sequestrating CO2 into carbonate minerals.

Funding Cycle: 2023-2024

Focus Area(s): Waste-to-Energy (WTE), Waste Management, Carbon Sequestration