Displaying items by tag: Standards
Betolar calls for a global performance-based standard to support low-carbon building materials
03 May 2023UK: Riku Kytömäki, the chief executive officer of Betolar, has called for a global performance-based standard to replace the current building requirements that restrict the use of new low-carbon materials to replace cement in concrete production. He made the comments at the London Concrete Expo. Kytömäki argued that current standards state that concrete manufacturers must use a certain percentage of cement to strengthen the finished product. Betolar’s product Geoprime is an additive designed for use in cement-free concrete production with ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). However, “ageing” standards rule out the use of these kinds of products such as this despite their sustainability advantages.
Kytömäki said “It is time for global concrete industry to step up their sustainability efforts. New material innovation is available. It is cost-effective and helps to meet stricter durability requirements. However, the current regulations across the markets are restricting the use of circular materials allowed in concrete buildings.” He added that his company’s product Geoprime, “does not require large investments, but there is regulation to be developed quickly so that new solutions and materials can be used."
Betolar says it has analysed over 200 side-streams other than slag and fly ash, providing flexibility to process locally available side-streams. It added that there are also significant CO2 savings to be found in logistics when manufacturing processes take place near the source of the industrial side-streams.
Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC), with its members and partners in the concrete sector, has released Concrete Zero, an action plan to help the local cement and concrete sector reach net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The five priority areas it is focusing on include: eliminating the use of coal and petroleum coke as fuel sources for clinker production; reducing the volume of clinker used to produce cement; increasing the use of supplementary cementitious materials; working towards building carbon capture, utilisation and storage capacity; and advocating for performance-based codes, standards and specifications, procurement policies and increased material efficiency in construction. Targets include reaching a 100% fuel mix from non-fossil-based sources by 2050. The latest plant follows the goal of achieving a 40% emissions reduction by 2030 as part of its Roadmap to Net-Zero Carbon Concrete by 2050.
Adam Auer, the president and chief executive officer of CAC, said “Our net-zero action plan is ambitious and cannot be achieved by industry action alone. Working with government, industry, and partners in the design, architecture, and construction industry will be essential for success. Canada’s cement and concrete industry are committed to doing our part to help Canada build a better, cleaner future. Working together, we can deliver Concrete Zero.”
US: ASTM International’s concrete and concrete aggregates committee (C09) is developing a proposed standard specification for a broad range of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). Larry Sutter, an ASTM International member and the principal engineer at Sutter Engineering, commented that this performance specification (WK70466) will ease the adoption of new materials used for SCMs as established sources become less available.
Sutter said “For a variety of reasons, historic sources of SCMs, like coal fly ash from electric power generation, are in short supply and new materials are emerging.” He added, “These new materials do not fall under existing specifications, leading to the need for new specifications. Rather than writing a new specification for every emerging material, we are writing a performance specification that can be used to cover the full range of them.”
Sutter noted that concrete made with SCMs can be less costly, more durable and more sustainable than ordinary Portland cement. New specifications will allow these new materials into more construction projects. This effort relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7 on clean and affordable energy.
Holcim publishes Climate Report 2023
06 April 2023Switzerland: Holcim has published its Climate Report 2023, detailing the company’s progress towards meeting its sustainability commitments up to the end of 2022. The cement producer recorded net specific CO2 emissions per tonne of product of 562kg/t, down by 1.7% year-on-year from 572kg/t in 2021. In line with its 1.5°C climate change-aligned targets, Holcim is committed to 420kg/t specific CO2 emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Overall, the group’s Scope 1 CO2 emissions from cement production fell by 2.5% to 77Mt from 79Mt, while its Scope 2 emissions remained at 5Mt and its Scope 3 emissions fell by 11% to 47Mt from 53Mt. Its cement had an average clinker factor of 73%, down from 73.6% in 2021. Holcim processed 6.8Mt of construction and demolition waste, up by 3% from 6.6Mt. Meanwhile, its thermal substitution rate of alternative fuel (AF) rose to 28% from 26%.
CEO Jan Jenisch and chief sustainability officer Magali Anderson said “With our successful transformation, we reduced our CO2 per net sales by 21% in 2022, and commit to reducing it by over 10% in 2023. Accelerating the shift to net-zero cities requires deep partnerships across our value chain. In 2022 we engaged with public authorities to evolve building standards, with cities to scale up green demand in their projects, and with architects and engineers to specify sustainable solutions in their designs. We did this as a key partner for our customers, bringing solutions that help them achieve their sustainability goals.”
Hanson gains nuclear sector supplier status in the UK
29 March 2023UK: Hanson says it has become one of the first companies in the UK to be certified to the new ISO 19443 standard, for companies supplying products and services that are important to nuclear safety. The subsidiary of Germany-based Heidelberg Materials is a supplier to the nuclear sector and is currently working with three of the delivery teams on the Hinkley Point C (HPC) project.
Stewart Cameron, head of nuclear at Hanson UK said “It has taken our HPC team a year to complete the ISO 19443 process.” He added, “Although it is not a requirement for our supplies to the project, it recognises the efforts we make – and helps others understand – why nuclear needs to be different.”
Canada: The city administration of Langford in British Columbia plans to enact regulations requiring all public and private projects to use reduced-CO2 concrete. It plans to support the rules with parallel measures affecting the design of buildings.
Victoria News has reported that the city authorities previously mandated reduced-CO2 cement for all projects in June 2022, but subsequently relaxed the regulations after only one company – Butler Concrete and Aggregates – completed the transition. Butler Concrete and Aggregates produces its reduced-CO2 concrete using slag cement supplied by Lafarge Canada.
Ivory Coast: The Council of Ministers has approved cement producers to use dolomite in place of limestone to reduce imports from Europe and Asia. The government said that it had conducted the necessary tests supporting the change in the local cement standard, according to the Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. The Ministry of Industry and other related government departments have been instructed to take action to support the change.
Indian government to implement new cement standards
19 December 2022India: The government is planning to introduce new quality standards for cement. Reuters has reported that the central government plans to implement the change before the end of December 2022. A government source said "Better standards help comply with international standards." It hopes that the cement sector will increase its export opportunities as a result.
Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) has obtained a certificate of conformity with European standards (CE) for three types of cement. The certification should allow the company to export more products to Europe, according to the Expression newspaper. It applies to its Gica Moudhad and Gica Béton products. The move follows similar certification of products with the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) from the company’s Aïn El Kebira plant in July 2021. At the same time the Minister of Industry said it was helping the group with its export strategy.
In 2021 GICA exported 2.25Mt of cement to countries including the Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Senegal , Cameroon, Benin, Guinea, Brazil, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and a number of European countries.
Ghana: The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has reported discoveries of Empire Cement brand cement on sale on the open market despite neither it nor the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) having issued permits for Empire Cement to produce cement. Graphic Online News has reported that the suspect products are wrongly labelled with certification marks. GSA director general Alex Dodoo warned that this constitutes an offence.