CO<sub>2</sub>-Mineralised Nesquehonite: A New “Green” Building Material

oleh: Anthony Kastrinakis, Vasilios Skliros, Petros Tsakiridis, Maria Perraki

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-12-01

Deskripsi

Synthetic nesquehonite with a Mg(HCO<sub>3</sub>)OH·2H<sub>2</sub>O chemical formula is a solid product of CO<sub>2</sub> mineralization with cementitious properties. It constitutes an “MHCH” (magnesium hydroxy-carbonate hydrate) phase and, along with dypingite and hydromagnesite, is considered to be a promising permanent and safe solution for CO<sub>2</sub> storage with potential utilization as a supplementary material in “green” building materials. In this work, synthetic nesquehonite-based mortars were evaluated in terms of their compressive strengths. Nesquehonite was synthesized by CO<sub>2</sub> mineralization under ambient conditions (25 °C and 1 atm). A saturated Mg<sup>2+</sup> solution was used at a pH of 9.3. The synthesized nesquehonite was subsequently studied by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Impurity-free nesquehonite formed elongated fibers, often around a centerpiece, creating a rosette-like structure. The synthesized nesquehonite was mixed with reactive magnesia, natural pozzolan, standard aggregate sand and water to create a mortar. The mortar was cast into 5 × 5 × 5 silicone mold and cured in water for 28 days. A compressive strength of up to 22 MPa was achieved. An X-ray diffraction study of the cured mortars revealed the formation of brucite as the main hydration crystalline phase. Carbon dioxide mineralized nesquehonite is a very promising “green” building material with competitive properties that might prove to be an essential part of the circular economy industrial approach.