C’est ce qu’ont expérimenté les ingénieurs et les chimistes américains de l’Institut des technologies du Massachusetts et de l’université de Riverside en Californie. Cette substance synthétique, au départ semblable à un gel, imite la faculté qu’ont les plantes à métaboliser le CO2 de l’air afin de fabriquer leurs tissus et d’assurer ainsi leur croissance.
Le polymère absorbe le CO2 environnant grâce aux rayons du soleil et peut ainsi croître et se transformer en un matériau solide. Et la substance a un avantage non négligeable : les fissures dues à l’usure se résorbent automatiquement grâce au CO2 ambiant. Ainsi, toutes sortes de constructions peuvent être imaginées grâce à ce matériau ! Selon les chercheurs responsables du projet, le dioxyde de carbone, « ne doit pas être uniquement un fardeau et un coût pour nos sociétés ainsi que pour la planète », mais représente « une grande opportunité » dans le domaine de la construction de bâtiments.
https://www.bouygues-construction.com/blog/fr/materiau-construction-absorbe-co2/
Référence
Building materials could store more than 16 billion tonnes of CO2 annually
Elisabeth Van Roijen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8605-0636 , Sabbie A. Miller https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6888-7312, and Steven J. Davis https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9338-0844Authors Info & Affiliations
Science 9 Jan 2025 Vol 387, Issue 6730 pp. 176-182
- Editor’s summary
The quantity and relative longevity of structural materials used in the built environment could make them attractive for carbon dioxide removal. Although many of these materials are currently net carbon dioxide emitters, Van Roijen et al. outline how several of them could help lock up carbon for decades (see the Perspective by Bataille). Transitioning to carbon storage can be accomplished with relatively minor changes to the composition, such as using carbon-rich aggregates in concrete or biomass fiber–based brick. Implementing all of the modifications suggested by the authors could sequester roughly half of yearly carbon dioxide emissions and may be an important tool for getting to net zero emissions. —Brent Grocholski
Abstract
Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions likely entails not only lowering emissions but also deploying carbon dioxide (CO2) removal technologies. We explored the annual potential to store CO2 in building materials. We found that fully replacing conventional building materials with CO2-storing alternatives in new infrastructure could store as much as 16.6 ± 2.8 billion tonnes of CO2 each year—roughly 50% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions in 2021. The total storage potential is far more sensitive to the scale of materials used than the quantity of carbon stored per unit mass of materials. Moreover, the carbon storage reservoir of building materials will grow in proportion to demand for such materials, which could reduce demand for more costly or environmentally risky geological, terrestrial, or ocean storage.
Europe Solidaire 