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How can the cement industry, which ranks first in carbon emissions, achieve decarbonized production?
Release time:2022-09-23
Recently, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy funded the University of Illinois at Chicago to conduct research on decarbonized cement production.
Currently, chemical engineers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are researching new methods to reduce carbon emissions during cement production.
Cement is one of the most widely used construction materials; however, the carbon dioxide emitted during its production accounts for 8% of global CO₂ emissions, making it a major challenge in the fight against climate change. Although researchers are currently working hard to develop renewable energy sources and new cement-production methods, no clear pathway toward carbon-neutral cement manufacturing has yet been established. With joint funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Pennsylvania State University, and other institutions are conducting further studies on decarbonizing cement production.
“Carbon dioxide emissions are a global issue. If you look at all industrial processes and rank them according to their carbon dioxide emissions—from highest to lowest—cement manufacturing comes in first,” said Meenesh Singh, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “We can’t stop using cement, because it’s essential for constructing buildings, infrastructure, roads, and many other sectors.”
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide the aforementioned research team with funding of $2.3 million to support the development of a carbon-negative material that could replace silicate cement. Silicate cement is one of the most commonly used types of cement. Researchers say they hope to transform the currently widely used, carbon-intensive cement material into a carbon-capture system.
The aforementioned research team employed a method known as distributed direct air carbon capture to extract carbon from the atmosphere. Using the captured carbon, they rapidly carbonize industrial mineral waste—such as coal ash—transforming it into a recyclable substitute for silicate cement.
“We’re working on leveraging a waste material and turning it into a pourable, cement-like substance that not only doesn’t emit carbon dioxide but can actually capture carbon,” Singh said. Currently, researchers are developing a high-throughput system to test various types and concentrations of chemicals and to make it applicable to a wide range of waste materials.
The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded $1.9 million to the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Lewis & Clark College to support the development of a sustainable method for producing calcium hydroxide, a key ingredient in cement manufacturing.
The process currently being developed by researchers is called LoTECH—Low-Temperature Calcium Hydroxide Technology. It uses a low-temperature ammonia cycle to produce calcium hydroxide from industrial waste materials such as crushed concrete and fly ash. Sigh notes that, with this process, cement can be produced into concrete in small, decentralized, portable units. The LoTECH system also holds the potential to shorten the supply chain in the concrete industry and promote sustainable development. “You can think of it as a closed-loop, modular process. This equipment could be placed on the back of a truck, collecting industrial waste and then producing new cement right on site.”
Moreover, sustainable calcium hydroxide can replace traditionally used limestone, offering a viable approach to eliminating the thermal decomposition of limestone and rapidly reducing carbon emissions from the existing cement industry by more than 50%.
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