Quantifying CO2 Emission and Sequestration in Outdoor and Indoor Concrete Structures

Seyedmohammad Farnam; Faezeh Zivarimoshfegh; Dan Zhao; Zia Ullah Khan; Reverant Crispin

doi:10.2478/ncr-2026-0006

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Quantifying CO2 Emission and Sequestration in Outdoor and Indoor Concrete Structures

Nordic Concrete Research

Volume 74 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)

By: Seyedmohammad Farnam, Faezeh Zivarimoshfegh, Dan Zhao, Zia Ullah Khan and Reverant Crispin

Open Access

|Jun 2026

Abstract

Accurate quantification of concrete carbonation is critical for Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and structural diagnostics of urban infrastructure. This reality case study at Linköping University’s Norrköping campus utilizes high-resolution ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA) to evaluate CO2 sequestration concrete structure exposed to Nordic climate. Through incremental depth profiling (0-4.5 cm), the study compares an outdoor wall (constructed in the 1950s and 2004) and an indoor parking floor (constructed in 1997).

The TGA results enabled the quantification of calcium hydroxide depletion and calcium carbonate formation, providing a chemically based assessment of carbonation progression. The outdoor wall exhibited significantly higher carbonation levels, reaching a maximum CO₂ uptake of 7.75 %, whereas the indoor parking floor showed limited carbonation, with values as low as 0.70 %. These results indicate that environmental exposure conditions, particularly moisture availability and atmospheric interaction, exert a stronger influence on carbonation kinetics than the chronological age of the concrete.

The depth-resolved thermogravimetric profiles also enabled identification of a partial carbonation zone within the outdoor structure. The study demonstrates that TGA provides a reliable method for assessing carbonation states in existing concrete structures and offers useful insights into the CO₂ sequestration potential of aging urban infrastructure under Nordic environmental conditions.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ncr-2026-0006 | Journal eISSN: 2545-2819 | Journal ISSN: 0800-6377

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Language: English

Page range: 55 - 72

Submitted on: Mar 24, 2026

Accepted on: May 19, 2026

Published on: Jun 30, 2026

Published by: Nordic Concrete Federation

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

Keywords:

Carbonation,

CO2 sequestration,

Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA),

Nordic climate,

Urban infrastructure.

Related subjects:

Materials sciences,

Materials processing

© 2026 Seyedmohammad Farnam, Faezeh Zivarimoshfegh, Dan Zhao, Zia Ullah Khan, Reverant Crispin, published by Nordic Concrete Federation
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 74 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)