International Cement Review articles tagged under : Environment
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 understood. To use such wastes successfully as alternative fuels in cement pyroprocessing lines, their nature and treatment process needs to be understood. By Dr Hubert Baier, WhiteL...
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...
Changing world, changing industry
How much influence do modern-day global trends such as climate change, shifting economic power and urbanisation exert on the cement sector? This article looks at several key megatrends and their impact on decisions f...
Waste to wealth
Lafarge Africa’s Ewekoro plant, some 50km north of Lagos, in Ogun state, Nigeria, pioneered the use of alternative fuels in the country. The company charts the milestones and looks at the future challenges in transfo...
Playing its part in Paris
In line with the UN’s Paris Agreement on climate change, HeidelbergCement has published its ‘Sustainability Commitments 2030’, which see the cement producer leading the development of carbon capture, utilisation and ...
Turkey seeks alternatives
The concept of a circular economy is growing in influence and as a result the cement production process has begun to evolve. As a large-scale cement producer, Turkey shows considerable potential for the adoption of t...
RDF production and utilisation in India
The production of refuse-derived fuels (RDFs) from municipal solid waste (MSW) offers one solution to address the growing waste issue in countries with increasing populations such as India. At the same time, these RD...