A Paint That Absorbs CO2,

sounds almost to good to be true,

but that is the claim of Celour, design graduate Kukbong Kim has developed a paint made from demolished concrete that is capable of absorbing 20 per cent of its weight in carbon, the paint can sequester 27 grams of CO2 for every 135 grams of paint used, "That is the same amount of carbon dioxide that a normal tree absorbs per day," Kim said, the indoor-outdoor paint is made of waste concrete powder, a cement-based residue from concrete recycling that is normally buried in landfills, where it can alkalise the soil and have a detrimental effect on local ecosystems, through a chemical process called mineral carbonation, which takes place when the paint reacts with the CO2 in the surrounding air, Kim says Celour can reabsorb a significant part of the emissions that were generated by producing the cement in the first place, "I think it is too early to describe Celour as carbon neutral," Kim said. "It needs further study but I want to make it a carbon-negative product. That is my goal, it's not enough if we just stop emissions, as we already have high levels of CO2 in the air," she added. "We need to participate in CO2 removal in our daily lives." with her graduate project from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, the designer hopes to show the usefulness of this industrial waste material by maximising its natural ability to capture carbon, studies have shown that cement already reabsorbs around 43 per cent of the CO2 that is generated in its production through the mineral carbonation process, this is set off when concrete is cured by adding water, which reacts with the calcium oxide in the cement and the CO2 in the air to form a stable mineral called calcium carbonate or limestone, how long the paint is capable of storing carbon is dependent on what happens to it after it is no longer needed, but Kim says it could be locked away for thousands of years unless exposed to extreme heat, which would alter the chemical structure of the carbonate, what a neat way for the paint industry to help reduce CO2 levels.