The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has verified that ready-mix concrete made with CarbonCure is compliant with its standards as an admixture for concrete.
The verified compliance will give state transportation agencies, contractors, and engineers the confidence to integrate CarbonCure's CO2-injected concrete admixture into their projects. The technology can help advance infrastructure construction with reduced CO2 emissions.
This evaluation of CarbonCure concrete was performed by SGS TEC Services — an independent, accredited laboratory in Lawrenceville, Georgia — following the Unique, Patented, Proprietary Products (UP3) testing protocol managed under the AASHTO's Product Evaluation & Audit Solutions. The concrete batching took place at Thomas Concrete's facility in Doraville, Georgia, and the AASHTO testing program focused on the effect of injecting CO2 into concrete.
Concrete properties of three control mixtures and three CarbonCure mixtures were tested in accordance with AASHTO M194 (ASTM C494) by the independent laboratory, evaluating slump, temperature, density, yield, air content, compressive strength, flexural strength, and resistance to rapid freezing and thawing. In short, the CarbonCure mixes performed similarly to the control mixes and met or exceeded the job requirements specified by AASHTO. Additional durability testing also resulted in no negative impact on hardened concrete properties and confirmed the efficacy of CarbonCure in meeting and, in some instances, exceeding industry standards.
Five U.S. state departments of transportation have already added CarbonCure to their approved product lists. These include Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Hawaii's HDOT was the first to approve CarbonCure in 2019.
"This validation not only highlights the quality and safety of CarbonCure but also affirms our commitment to sustainable infrastructure development," added Robert Niven, CarbonCure's CEO. "We are excited about the huge volume of DOT projects and new business opportunities for our concrete producer partners. We look forward to many more state DOTs adding CarbonCure to their own approved product lists and the positive impact our technologies will have on transportation projects nationwide."
The compressive strength gain resulting from CarbonCure's carbon mineralization solution has enabled more efficient use of cement. CarbonCure says that this results in a more sustainable concrete product that meets the surging demand for greener building materials from both the government and the private sector.
CarbonCure's technologies have already been used to produce more than five million truckloads carrying more than 44 million cubic yards (33 million cubic metres) of lower carbon concrete, saving more than 348,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking more than 77,000 gas-powered cars off the road for a year.
