Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

Switzerland: The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has informed policymakers that the best current route to reduce carbon emissions from cement production is through the increased use secondary cementitious materials and by encouraging the development and uptake of carbon capture. Alternatively, the development of new chemistries for building materials could help the situation but this is not expected in the short to medium term.

The report noted that 12Gt of CO₂ equivalent was released directly and indirectly in 2019 from buildings and emissions from cement and steel use for building construction and renovation. These emissions included indirect emissions from offsite generation of electricity and heat, direct emissions produced onsite and emissions from cement and steel used for building construction and renovation. In sections of the IPCC report yet to be finally approved the authors said, “Cement and concrete are currently overused because they are inexpensive, durable, and ubiquitous, and consumption decisions typically do not give weight to their production emissions.”

Overall, the report concluded that average annual global greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 to 2019 were at their highest levels in human history but the rate of growth had slowed. The IPCC has called on “immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors” for any chance for society to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To do this global greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030. However, even if this did occur, it would take until the end of the 21st century for the temperature threshold to be stabilised.

African cement producers have confirmed their interest in calcined clay over the last month with two new projects. The big one was announced last week when FLSmidth revealed that it had received an order from CBI Ghana. This follows the launch of a Limestone Calcined Clay (LC3) project in Malawi in mid-March 2022 in conjunction with Lafarge Cement Malawi.

FLSmidth says that its order includes the world’s largest gas suspension calciner system and a complete grinding station. The kit will be installed at CBI Ghana’s plant near Accra in the south of the country. The new clay calciner system is expected to substitute 30 - 40% of the clinker in the final product, resulting in a reduction of up to 40% CO₂/t of blended cement compared to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Overall the equipment manufacturers reckon that the grinding plant will reduce its CO₂ emissions by 20% compared to its current output. There has been no indication of how much the order costs but CBI Ghana expects energy and fuel savings, as well as lower overheads from clinker imports.

The public announcement of the Ghana project was also foreshadowed by the visit of Professor Karen Scrivener to the Ghana Standards Authority in February 2022. This was significant because Scrivener is the head of the Laboratory of Construction Materials at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and has been one of the key instigators of the LC3 initiative since the early 2000s. Other calcined clay cements are available such as Futurecem or polysius activated clay (see below) but LC3 is arguably the most famous given its promotion in developing countries.

The Malawi project is at a much earlier stage. The government launched the public private partnership LC3 project in mid-March 2022 in conjunction with Lafarge Cement Malawi and Terrastone, a brick manufacturer. The Ministry of Mining is currently developing a memorandum of understanding with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a Germany-based development agency. India-based Tara Engineering has also been linked to the scheme.

One thing to note about the Malawi project is that it is the first calcined clay project in the cement industry based in East Africa. All the other African ones are based in West Africa. The other two projects in this region are run by Turkey-based Oyak Çimento and its subsidiary Cimpor. The first of these is a 0.3Mt/yr calcined clay and a 2400t/day cement grinding production line that was commissioned in mid-2020. This plant is based at Abidjan in Ivory Coast. The second is a new plant that Germany-based ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions is building for Oyak Çimento at Kribi in Cameroon. This unit has a 720t/day calcined clay and a 2400t/day cement production capacity and it will use the supplier’s ‘polysius activated clay’ technology. ThyssenKrupp’s involvement came to light in early 2020 and commissioning was scheduled for late 2021. However, no update on the state of the project has been issued so far in 2022.

As the above examples show, Sub-Saharan Africa has at least one live calcined clay plant, two plants are being built and there’s one more at the development stage. This puts the region neck-and-neck with Europe, which has a similar mixture of current and developing projects. This column has been covering the wider trend of the growing usage of various types of blended cements recently, particularly in Europe and the US, with slag cements, Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) and more. With PLC, for example, note the transition of another two North American cement plants to PLC this week alone. As for calcined clay cement, it is fascinating to see the focus move to a different part of the world. Several commentators have predicted that the future looks set to be dominated by blended cements using whichever supplementary cementitious material (SCM) is most available for each plant. The growth in calcined clay confirms this view.

Global Cement is researching clay calcination use in the cement industry for the next edition of the Global Cement Directory. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any information on new industrial and research installations.

South Korea: Seven cement producers have agreed to produce 3.77Mt of cement in the second quarter of 2022, up by 36% quarter-on-quarter from first-quarter 2022 levels, to alleviate a shortage. 380,000t of cement which would previously have been exported will now supply the domestic market instead. The Yonhap News Agency has reported that bituminous coal supply issues have hampered the domestic cement industry's ability to increase its production in line with demand growth. In the first quarter of 2022, South Korea's coal imports consisted of 54% Russian coal and 46% Australian coal, compared to 75% Russian and 25% Australian coal in 2021.

The government plans to invest US$764m between 2023 and 2030 in improving the sustainability of South Korean cement production, including moving it away from reliance on coal through increased alternative fuel use.

Norway: HeidelbergCement, agricultural cooperative Felleskjøpet AGRI and shipping company Egil Ulvan Rederi plan to build what they say will be the world's first zero-emission bulk carrier. The project has also received support of around Euro12m from the Norwegian government-owned sustainability company Enova. The vessel is scheduled for completion and commissioning in 2024. Once operational the ship will be used to transport aggregates products for HeidelbergCement and grain for Felleskjøpet between west Norway and east Norway using hydrogen powered transport.

Egil Ulvan Rederi was selected following a tendering process in 2021. The ship is intended to be highly energy efficient, using rotor sails and has a streamlined design to reduce energy consumption. It will be powered by hydrogen from Norwegian energy supplier Statkraft but will also have small auxiliary batteries and a fuel cell on board to maximize flexibility.

Giv Brantenberg, general manager HeidelbergCement Northern Europe, said “The project addresses emissions from the transport part of our value chain. It is unique, ambitious and future-orientated. It is fully in line with HeidelbergCement Group's target to be the leading actor in our industry on the path to carbon neutrality." HeidelbergCement estimates that the carbon footprint of the aggregates products can be reduced by 50 - 60% by using the zero emission vessel, as transport accounts for a significant part of the total carbon footprint of these products.

Malawi: The Germany-based Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has launched the construction of a clay calcination plant in Malawi, called the Limestone Calcined Clay Project. The Nyasa Times newspaper has reported that the government has said that increased calcined clay use can reduce domestic cement production’s carbon footprint by a third.

France: Sustainable concrete producer Materrup has shared plans for its upcoming Bordeaux precast concrete elements plant. The L’Usine Nouvelle newspaper has reported that the facility will produce precast elements from Materrup’s cement-free concrete, which it produces from uncalcined clay, an activator and a precursor at room temperature. The technology, called Clay Cement 1 (MCC1), reduces CO₂ emissions by 50 – 80% compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), according to the producer. It previously opened a Euro7m 50,000t/yr plant in the Atlantisub Business Area in Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

US: Cementos Argos subsidiary Argos Florida Cement has won the Slag Cement Association (SCA)’s Durability and Infrastructure awards at its 2022 Sustainable Concrete Project of the Year Awards. The producer won the awards for its supply of slag cement to two projects in Florida in 2021. Its involvement in the American Bridge Company’s SR 679 Pinellas Bayway Bridge – Structure E replacement won it the Durability award, while its involvement in Superior Paving’s State Road 52 realignment. Argos Florida Cement congratulated its customers, who also received the awards.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement plans to install a 34MW solar power plant at its Pezu power plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Balochistan Times newspaper has reported that the 48GWh/yr installation will be equipped with a 5.59MWh Reflex energy storage system. Both the power plant and energy system will be the country’s largest when commissioned. Fossil fuel generation will remain online, but be shut down in the daytime, saving 26,600t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

US: Summit Materials subsidiary Continental Cement’s 1.1Mt/yr Davenport, Iowa, cement plant has become the latest US cement plant to transition to 100% Portland limestone cement (PLC) production.

Summit Materials executive vice president Tom Beck said "Our transition to PLC at Davenport aligns with the Portland Cement Association (PCA)'s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality.” He continued “It is critical that the industry comes together and acts now to create sustainable building solutions for decades to come. The US cement and concrete industries can collectively address climate change, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate barriers that are restricting environmental progress through the continued adoption of product and manufacturing innovations."

Canada: Lafarge Canada has converted its Richmond, British Colombia, cement plant to 100% OneCem Portland limestone cement (PLC) production. OneCem cement’s CO₂ emissions per tonne are 13% below the Canadian PLC average. The Richmond plant has supplied OneCem cement to the Western Canada and US Pacific Northwest customers since 2011. Since that time, it has eliminated 1.18Mt of CO₂ emissions, according to the producer.

President and CEO Brad Kohl said "Collaborating with local government and stakeholders was key to ensuring OneCem PLC’s uptake in the market, and conversion away from traditional high-intensity cement products. As industry leaders, we want to facilitate access to low carbon cements across Canada, and starting with Richmond is a big step towards making that happen."