Carbonation-empowered offshore deep cement mixing for undredged land reclamation: micro-scale to in-situ construction

Offshore deep cement mixing is an essential technique for enhancing marine deposits in undredged land reclamation, tackling the pressing issue of coastal land shortages. This approach relies on a substantial quantity of ordinary Portland cement to produce seawater cement slurry, which stabilizes marine soils in situ at the cost of huge carbon emission. In this study, we propose turning deep cement mixing into a carbon sequestration process, where CO2 is injected into seawater cement slurry to substantially increase the strength, stiffness and density of the improved marine mud. We also evaluate the in situ efficacy of carbonated deep cement mixing for land reclamation, drawing on detailed material properties and on-site construction data from an operational offshore project. We further examine the microstructure, unconfined and confined compression strengths, and shearing characteristics of the stabilized marine soils. These findings are combined with field observations to construct a numerical model, validated by in situ monitoring records, to assess carbonation’s impact. The results demonstrate that carbonation enhances hydration products and creates a denser pore structure, significantly improving compression and shear properties. Consequently, this leads to better settlement control, increased bearing capacity, and an added advantage of carbon sequestration, supporting sustainable construction practices. Kesheng Yin and colleagues developed a carbonated deep cement mixing method by injecting CO₂ into seawater cement slurry and evaluate it using laboratory tests, field data, and numerical modeling. They show that carbonation densifies the microstructure, enhances strength and stiffness, and enables CO₂ sequestration for more sustainable land reclamation.