Displaying items by tag: CO2

Australia: RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria, has developed a new method of carbon capture, called the bubble column method. The method uses liquid gallium at 100 – 120°C, through which flue gas is bubbled. This activates the CO₂, leading to oxidation of the metal. The captured carbon accumulates on the surface of the pool.

Gallium is a by-product of bauxite and zinc ores mining. The United States Geological Service (USGS) has estimated its global reserves in these ores alone as 1Mt.

Project co-lead Torben Daeneke said “Turning CO₂ into a solid avoids potential issues of leakage and locks it away securely and indefinitely. Because our process does not use very high temperatures, it would be feasible to power the reaction with renewable energy.” He added “Ideally the carbon we make could be turned into a value-added product, contributing to the circular economy and enabling the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to pay for itself over time.”

The Australian Government plans to invest US$719m in low emissions technologies by 2050 under its Net Zero Plan.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has commenced cement production at its upgraded 2.9Mt/yr Murli cement plant in Maharashtra. The company invested US$125m to install a new fueling system, waste heat recovery (WHR) plant and solar power plant at the facility. It acquired the plant from Murli Industries for US$55.2m in 2020.

The new commissioning brings Dalmia Cement (Bharat)’s total installed capacity to 35.9Mt/yr.

US: LafargeHolcim US has announced the successful transition of two further plants to Portland limestone cement production. The company’s 4.5Mt/yr Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, cement plant and 2.4Mt/yr Alpena, Michigan, plant have begun exclusively producing its OneCem reduced-CO2 Portland limestone cement (PLC).

LafargeHolcim US’ manufacturing North vice president Michael Nixon said "LafargeHolcim is fully engaged in making carbon reduction an urgent priority and 100% dedicated to leading the market transformation needed for climate stability." He added "To achieve net-zero commitments by midcentury, we must start now in accelerating the adoption of low-carbon building solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change."

LafargeHolcim US successfully transitioned its Midlothian, Texas, cement plant to PLC production in 2021.

Costa Rica: Société Générale de Surveillance has awarded Holcim Costa Rica its Positive Packaging certificate for 100% packaging energy recovery in 2021. The company offset the 1500t carbon footprint of its packaging production for the year by sorting and co-processing 14,000t of paper as fuel. It sourced the paper from its customer cement bag return scheme and through municipal recycling services run by fellow Holcim subsidiary Geocycle Costa Rica.

Holcim Costa Rica sustainability coordinator Catalina Mora said “Waste management is a global challenge, so this project has a direct impact on our contribution as a company to the vision of sustainability for the country.”

China: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has secured a Chinese patent for its high performance alkaline activation (H-P2A) geopolymer technology. The patent will enable it to begin to market its clinker-free cement in the country.

Co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "We are very proud to extend the intellectual property of our H-P2A technology to a market with such great potential as China. The achievement of this first milestone marks our commitment to raising the barriers to entry in as many markets as possible around the world."

Montenegro: State-owned energy supplier Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) has proposed the gradual shutdown of its Pljevlja coal-fired plant and its replacement with a new cement plant. The company said that such a plant would eliminate Montenegro’s 750,000 – 800,000t/yr of cement imports.

The first stage of the Pljevlja power plant’s shutdown will only commence once a replacement power facility is online. Currently, the plant supplies 40% of the country’s energy. Its closure is part of Montenegro’s plan to accede to the EU as soon as 2025.

Mexico: Cemex’s total dispatches of its Vertua reduced-CO₂ concrete in Mexico reached 284,000t in 2021. After launching the product in its home country on 8 December 2020, the company supplied it to 3820 sites throughout 2021. Cemex says that it enters 2022 with 1580 orders outstanding.

Switzerland/Germany: Holcim has announced the launch of a strategic partnership with inductive charging technology developer Magment to test and commercialise magnetisable concrete technology for use in roads. The technology will power and charge electric vehicles as they drive on roads fitted with Magment. Another possible application is in industrial floors, to charge robots and forklifts.

Holcim’s Global Innovation Center head Edelio Bermejo said: “At Holcim we are innovating to put concrete at the centre of our world’s transition to net-zero. With Magment, we are excited to be developing concrete solutions to accelerate electric mobility. Partnering with start-ups all over the world, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation to lead the way in sustainability.”

UK: Building materials group Ibstock has announced its commitment to achieving a 40% CO₂ emissions reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2040. The commitment covers scope 1 and 2 emissions, building on the company’s existing sustainability roadmap commitments to create a framework of targets and critical milestones. Ibstock says that these will include investment in more efficient production processes and in high quality environmental projects to offset residual carbon. Additionally, it plans to develop a strategy to reduce indirect scope 3 CO₂ emissions in 2022. It will publish full details of all targets in its 2021 full-year results in March 2022.

During 2021, Ibstock invested Euro138m in the construction of two net zero facilities in West Midlands and West Yorkshire and procured 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. Ibstock is the parent company of Ibstock Concrete, which produces concrete roofing, walling, flooring and lintels at 14 sites across the UK.

China: Huaxin Cement and Hunan University have started a pilot production line that uses flue gas from a cement production line to manufacture concrete bricks. The process, being tested at the Huaxin Wuxue Industrial Park in Hubei Province, absorbs CO₂ from the flue gas and uses the heat of the gas to cure the bricks, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The average compressive strength of the bricks is above 15MPa. It is estimated that a production line with a brick output of 100m/yr could absorb 26,000t/yr of CO₂.