EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON CARBON DIOXIDE POLLUTANT REDUCTION CHARACTERISTICS OF CONCRETE BY ZEOLITE AIDED CHEMICAL PROCESS

Abstract: The construction industry is a significant contributor to global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and only cement industry contributes about eight percentage of global carbon dioxide emissions, exacerbating the challenges of climate change. To address this issue, research has focused on environmentally friendly concretesolutions that can mitigate CO2 emissions during production and use. One area of investigation is the utilizationof zeolite in concrete, which has shown promise in reducing CO2 emissions. Zeolite, with its unique crystallinestructure, could capture CO2 from the atmosphere. By analyzing the compressive strength of concrete mixed with different zeolite ratios, as well as conducting Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis to examine the microstructure of the CO2 captured concrete surface. CO2 test was conducted in a glass observation chamber using CO2 gas cylinders and gas analyzer. Maximum CO2 reduction was observed about 25%. This study demonstrates that incorporating zeolite can enhanceboth the compressive strength and CO2 reduction capacity of the concrete. From the visual inspection of SEMimages, a noticeable difference has been observed between the surface microstructure of conventional concrete and zeolite-based concrete. Additionally, a cost comparison is performed for different concrete mixes, providing insights into the economic feasibility of incorporating zeolite. This research highlights the potential of zeolite as a sustainable solution for the construction industry, offering a way to reduce CO2 emissions whileimproving concrete performance and can be sustainable solution for ever increasing global air pollution problems.