Scientists debut innovative technology to transform seawater into next-gen building materials: 'We can fully control their properties'

Scientists have found a way to turn seawater into construction materials that store carbon instead of releasing it, reported Interesting Engineering.

The team at Northwestern University has developed a process that uses electricity, seawater, and carbon dioxide to create materials for concrete, cement, and other building supplies.

These materials can store over half their weight in carbon dioxide, locking away a gas that warms our atmosphere.

The construction industry produces enormous amounts of carbon dioxide worldwide. This new method flips the script by creating building materials that capture carbon instead of generating more.

Taking inspiration from nature, the process mimics how coral and mollusks create their shells. 

"We showed that when we generate these materials, we can fully control their properties, such as the chemical composition, size, shape, and porosity. That gives us some flexibility to develop materials suited to different applications," said Alessandro Rotta Loria, who led the study.

The process starts by splitting seawater with electricity to create hydrogen and hydroxide ions. When carbon dioxide is added, it reacts with calcium and magnesium found in seawater, forming solid minerals that trap carbon.

These minerals replace sand in concrete, which is usually obtained through harmful mining practices.

"In collaboration with Cemex, we have devised an alternative approach to source sand — not by digging into the Earth but by harnessing electricity and CO2 to grow sand-like materials in seawater," Loria explained.

The production process offers an additional bonus: clean hydrogen gas that can be used like fuel.

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Companies like Trashie have explored waste reduction in other areas, but this approach goes straight to one of our most significant carbon sources: building materials. By replacing traditional construction components with these carbon-storing alternatives, we reduce mining damage while actively removing carbon from the air.

"We could create a circularity where we sequester CO2 right at the source," Rotta Loria said. "And, if the concrete and cement plants are located on shorelines, we could use the ocean right next to them to feed dedicated reactors where CO2 is transformed through clean electricity into materials that can be used for myriad applications in the construction industry. 

"Then, those materials would truly become carbon sinks."

The findings, published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems, show promise for implementation at coastal manufacturing facilities in the near future.

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