The Ohio State University researchers are pioneering a promising climate change mitigation strategy by exploring the carbon capture potential of concrete weathering in soil. Brittany Multer Hopkins, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, awarded two separate grants from the Sustainability Institute, led an innovative five-month study—conducted in collaboration with renowned soil scientist Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science—that demonstrated how incorporating concrete into soil accelerates chemical weathering, thereby enhancing the soil’s capacity to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

Published in Science of the Total Environment, , the findings reveal that as concrete erodes and reacts with carbon dioxide, it forms stable inorganic carbon compounds. This process offers a viable method to offset emissions from cement production, which is responsible for over 8% of global carbon emissions.  

Co-authors of the study include Byrd Center's Environmental Geochemistry Group Principal Investigator Berry Lyons,  Earth Sciences Professor and University Distinguished Scholar, and former Byrd Center Research Scientist Sue Welch. 

The research not only paves the way for transforming construction practices and advancing sustainable solutions but also sets the stage for further investigations, including field experiments to assess the use of concrete waste as an alternative liming material for combating soil acidification.

Visit Science of the Total Environment or the Sustainability Institute to learn more.