International Cement Review articles tagged under : Environment
The benefits of paper
A comparative study by the Swedish research institute RISE on behalf of the European Paper Sack Research Group (ESG) has found that the carbon footprint of paper cement sacks is 2.5 times lower than the footprint of form-fill-seal polyethylene bags. By CEPI Eurokraft, Sweden, & Eurosac, France. Paper sacks have a significantly-smaller carbon footprint The study by RISE Innventia, ...
Finding a different kind of gold
While coal had been the mainstay of PPC’s energy sources for decades, the company’s current energy policy has called for a steady replacement of the black gold with more sustainable energy sources. This provided the ...
Durability of composite cements with calcined clay
Composite cements are clinker efficient and play an important role in reducing CO 2 emissions from cement manufacturing. To assure their correct application in concrete, their performance in concrete has to be demon...
Achieving AF and NOx goals
With reducing fuel costs and sustainability in mind, Brazilian producer Cimento Nacional is persistently striving to implement innovative methods to increase alternative fuels (AF) utilisation while reducing emission...
Thinking outside the bag
Tailoring its products around its bagging and packaging is just one of the ways in which Cementos Argos is driving innovation in the cement industry, while also focussing on efficiency and the environment. By Cemento...
From waste to co-processing
The route from the waste collection point to co-processing in a cement kiln is not without its challenges and too often, the thermal potential of waste as an alternative fuel in cement production is insufficiently un...
Streamlining China’s cement industry
With China’s cement industry due to reduce its energy use and emissions to levels set out in the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan, South Cement’s Vice Chief Engineer, Chen Yourong, looks at the technological options ava...
Latin America goes low-carbon
Recent months have seen significant progress in the move towards a low-carbon cement industry in Latin America. Building on the Cement Sustainability Initiative’s 2009 Cement Technology Roadmap, the Interamerican Cem...
Water as a valued resource
While seen as a common and “free” resource, this approach to water often leads to wasteful use of this source of natural wealth. Therefore, quantifying and calculating the cost of its use is the first step to truly v...
Bringing on the substitutes
As part of its drive to reduce its CO 2 emissions, Votorantim Cimentos is using a range of clinker substitutes to lower its clinker-to-cement ratio. As a result, around 86 per cent of its product portfolio in Brazil...
LC3: a promising alternative
The drive for a sustainable construction industry has triggered the development of a range of building materials that serve as sustainable alternatives to Portland cement. The development of limestone calcined clay c...
Sustainability 2050
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) has proactively identified, analysed and managed the key issues at stake for the sector. By developing global Key Performance Indicators (K...
Extending quarry life
Although a key part of the cement plant, the quarry has a finite lifetime. Its longevity often depends on which material grades are required and how the faces are worked to quarry such materials. Therefore, a well-de...
Burning used tyres
One way of reducing the fossil fuel requirement in clinker production is through the use of alternative fuels (AFs). Walter Materials handling, part of the ATS Group, looks at one plant that has invested in the burn...
Mercury capture optimisation
Activated carbon injection (ACI) has been an effective approach for reducing mercury emissions in various industries. The US power industry, for example, began implementation of ACI around 2014 with the onset of the ...
Actions not words
Climate change is one of the key issues of our time, but the world is far from achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Like every energy and CO2-intensive sector, the global cement industry is at a crossroad...