06 Oct 2020
06 Oct 2020
Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019
- 1Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- 2Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
- 4Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA
- 5Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, CE Orme des 14 Merisiers, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
- 6CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Oslo 0349, Norway
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
- 1Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- 2Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
- 4Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA
- 5Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, CE Orme des 14 Merisiers, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
- 6CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Oslo 0349, Norway
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract. Because of the alkaline nature and high calcium content of cements in general, they serve as a CO2 absorbing agent through carbonation processes, resembling silicate weathering in nature. This carbon uptake capacity of cements could abate some of the CO2 emitted during their production. Given the scale of cement production worldwide (4.10 Gt in 2019), a life-cycle assessment is necessary in determining the actual net carbon impacts of this industry. We adopted a comprehensive analytical model to estimate the amount of CO2 that had been absorbed from 1930 to 2019 in four types of cement materials including concrete, mortar, construction waste and cement kiln dust (CKD). Besides, the process CO2 emission during the same period based on the same datasets was also estimated. The results show that 21.12 Gt CO2 (18.12–24.54 Gt CO2, 95 % CI) had been absorbed in the cements produced from 1930 to 2019, with the 2019 annual figure mounting up to 0.90 Gt CO2 yr−1 (0.76–1.07 Gt CO2, 95 % CI). The cumulative uptake is equivalent to approx. 52 % of the process emission, based on our estimation. In particular, China's dominant position in cement production/consumption in recent decades also gives rise to its uptake being the greatest with a cumulative sink of 6.21 Gt CO2 (4.59–8.32 Gt CO2, 95 % CI) since 1930. Among the four types of cement materials, mortar is estimated to be the greatest contributor (approx. 58 %) to the total uptake. Potentially, our cement emission and uptake estimation system can be updated annually and modified when necessary for future low-carbon transitions in the cement industry. All the data described in this study, including the Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis results, are accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4064803.
Rui Guo et al.


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RC1: 'Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019', Anonymous Referee #1, 01 Nov 2020
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AC1: 'Comments on Anonymous Reviewer #1's comments-by section', Rui Guo, 09 Nov 2020
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RC2: 'Ms. Ref. No.: essd-2020-275-manuscript-version2 -peer-review-v2', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Nov 2020
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AC2: 'Comments on the outstanding issues', Rui Guo, 18 Nov 2020
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RC3: 'Interactive comment on “Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019”', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Nov 2020
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RC3: 'Interactive comment on “Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019”', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Nov 2020
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AC2: 'Comments on the outstanding issues', Rui Guo, 18 Nov 2020
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RC2: 'Ms. Ref. No.: essd-2020-275-manuscript-version2 -peer-review-v2', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Nov 2020
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AC1: 'Comments on Anonymous Reviewer #1's comments-by section', Rui Guo, 09 Nov 2020
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RC4: 'Ms. Ref. No.: essd-2020-275 “Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019” Reviewer comments', Anonymous Referee #2, 17 Jan 2021
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AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Rui Guo, 20 Jan 2021
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AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Rui Guo, 20 Jan 2021


-
RC1: 'Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019', Anonymous Referee #1, 01 Nov 2020
-
AC1: 'Comments on Anonymous Reviewer #1's comments-by section', Rui Guo, 09 Nov 2020
-
RC2: 'Ms. Ref. No.: essd-2020-275-manuscript-version2 -peer-review-v2', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Nov 2020
-
AC2: 'Comments on the outstanding issues', Rui Guo, 18 Nov 2020
-
RC3: 'Interactive comment on “Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019”', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Nov 2020
-
RC3: 'Interactive comment on “Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019”', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Nov 2020
-
AC2: 'Comments on the outstanding issues', Rui Guo, 18 Nov 2020
-
RC2: 'Ms. Ref. No.: essd-2020-275-manuscript-version2 -peer-review-v2', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Nov 2020
-
AC1: 'Comments on Anonymous Reviewer #1's comments-by section', Rui Guo, 09 Nov 2020
-
RC4: 'Ms. Ref. No.: essd-2020-275 “Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930–2019” Reviewer comments', Anonymous Referee #2, 17 Jan 2021
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AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Rui Guo, 20 Jan 2021
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AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Rui Guo, 20 Jan 2021
Rui Guo et al.
Data sets
Global CO2 uptake of cement in 1930-2019 Jiaoyue Wang, Longfei Bing, Dan Tong, Rui Guo, and Fengming Xi https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4064803
Rui Guo et al.
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