SOTERIA - Carbon Negative Bioconcrete Unit Production Concept

Default ARPA-E Project Image

Program:
HESTIA
Award:
$1,811,519
Location:
Durham, North Carolina
Status:
CANCELLED
Project Term:
11/09/2022 - 11/08/2024
Website:

Technology Description:

Biomason will develop a carbon negative cementitious materials production process that may replace most product classes now served by carbon-intensive traditional cement. Traditional cement (the binder element in concrete) requires carbon-intensive, fossil fuel kilning (1,400°C) of limestone, leading to carbon emissions from the high temperature and CO2 burned off the limestone. Biocementation, or microbial induced calcite precipitation, is a viable technology for manufacturing concrete materials with significantly reduced energy, carbon, and logistical footprints. Biomason’s retooling of bioconcrete production processes and material combinations will (1) eliminate synthetic urea as biocement carbon source, (2) incorporate carbon-loaded, biomass, and/or recycled base aggregate materials, and (3) tune biocement speciation for enhanced carbon inclusion.

Potential Impact:

HESTIA projects will facilitate the use of carbon storing materials in building construction to achieve net carbon negativity by optimizing material chemistries and matrices, manufacturing, and whole-building designs in a cost-effective manner.

Security:

HESTIA technologies will reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment.

Environment:

Building materials and designs developed under HESTIA will draw down and store CO2 from the atmosphere.

Economy:

A variety of promising carbon storing materials are being explored and commercialized for building construction. Currently these materials are generally scarcer, cost more per unit, and/or face performance challenges (e.g., flame resistance for biogenic carbon-containing materials). HESTIA seeks technologies that overcome these barriers while nullifying associated emissions and increasing the total amount of carbon stored in the finished product.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Laurent Pilon
Project Contact:
Mr. Kent Smith
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
kent@biomason.com

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• Biomason - SOTERIA - Carbon Negative Bioconcrete Unit Production Concept
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• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - Cutting the Carbon from Insulation Cellulose-Mycelium Composite Material
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - High-Performing Carbon-Negative Concrete Using Low Value Byproducts from Biofuels Production
• Northeastern University - 4C2B: Century-scale Carbon-sequestration in Cross-laminated Timber Composite Bolted-steel Buildings
• Oregon State University (OSU) - Cellulose Cement Composite (C3) for Residential Construction
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - The Circular Home: Development and Demonstration of a Net-Negative-Carbon, Reusable Residence
• Purdue University - Strong and CO2 Consuming Living Wood for Buildings
• SkyNano Technologies - CO2mposite: Recycling of CO2, Carbon Fiber Waste, and Biomaterials into Composite Panels for Lower Embodied Carbon Building Materials
• Texas A&M University - Hempcrete 3D Printed Buildings for Sustainability and Resilience
• University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder) - A Photosynthetic Route to Carbon-Negative Portland Limestone Cement
• University of Maryland (UMD) - Modular Design and Additive Manufacturing of Interlocking Superinsulation Panel from Bio-based Feedstock for Autonomous Construction
• University of Pennsylvania - High Performance Building Design with 3D-printed Carbon Absorbing Funicular Structures
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) - Lignin-derived Carbon Storing Foams for High Performance Insulation
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) - Carbon-negative Ready-mix Concrete Building Components Through Direct Air Capture

Release Date:
06/13/2022