Building Green: New Technologies to Create Less Polluting Cement
greenhouse emissions, as the literal building blocks—concrete and cement—of the construction projects are extremely polluting. Roughly 7% of all carbon emissions today come from cement production, making it one of the highest-emitting industrial sectors, according to the consulting firm McKinsey. “Concrete is an essential building material," said Claude Loréa, director of cement, innovation and ESG at the Global Cement and Concrete Association.
“Three-quarters of the infrastructure that will exist in 2050 has yet to be built." About 90% of the emissions in traditional portland cement come from producing clinker—the binding agent that holds the water, gravel and sand together—that makes up nearly three quarters of the final product. Typically, clinker is made by heating limestone and clay in a rotating kiln to temperatures above 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. Coal is often used to power these kilns.
About two thirds of the clinker emissions are released by the limestone when heated while the rest come from the combustion of fuels to create the heat. That process has been replicated for millennia but companies now are looking to change it. Approaches to the problem include improving energy efficiency, using cleaner fuels, capturing the carbon emissions produced and switching to alternative raw materials.
Increased efficiency One way the industry is looking to improve sustainability in cement production is by targeting efficiency gains. British startup Carbon Re is aiming to optimize the use of fuel by employing artificial intelligence and machine learning. One of the industry’s main issues is fuel wastage, according to Carbon Re co-founder Aidan O’Sullivan, who said that differing qualities of coal mean most producers often use
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