Carbon storage in Portland cement mortar: influences of hydration stage, carbonation time and aggregate characteristics

This study elucidates the effects of the particle size, carbonation time, curing time and pressure on the efficiency of carbon storage in Portland cement mortar. Using pressure chamber experiments, our findings show how carbonation efficiency increases with a decrease in the particle size. Approximately 6.4% and 8.2% (w/w) carbonations were achieved in the coarse-sand and fine-sand based mortar samples, respectively. For the hydration/curing time of 7 h, up to 12% carbonation was achieved. This reduced to 8.2% at 40 h curing period. On the pressure effect, for comparable curing conditions, 2 bar at 7 h carbonation time gives 1.4% yield, and 8.2% at 5 bar. Furthermore, analysing the effect of the carbonation time, under comparable conditions, shows that 4 h of carbonation time gives up to 8.2% yield while 64 h of carbonation gives up to 18.5%. It can be reliably inferred that, under similar conditions, carbonation efficiency increases with lower-sized particles or higher-surface areas, increases with carbonation time and higher pressure but decreases with hydration/curing time. Microstructural analyses with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) further show the visual disappearance of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) together with the inhibition of ettringite formation by the presence of CO₂ and CaCO₃ formation during carbonation.