Displaying items by tag: Emissions
Dalmia Cement sets carbon negative target of 2040
18 September 2018India: Mahendra Singhi, the group chief executive officer (CEO) of Dalmia Cement, says that the company aims to be carbon negative by 2040. Singhi made the announcement at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, US, according to the Indo-Asian News Service. The cement producer is planning to increase its low-carbon product portfolio and use more ‘green’ fuels and raw materials in all of its 14 plants in India.
Dalmia Cement is the first Indian cement company to join RE 100 and it is committed to a target of 100% renewable electricity use. Singhi said that the major challenge is to convert the climate risks into business opportunities while sustaining business growth for the benefit of present as well as future stakeholders. Singhi was previously the Indian co-chair of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).
Singhi said that Dalmia Group has been able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 526kg/t of cement on a group average and to 342kg/t in its eastern operations. According to the CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) cement sector report in April 2018, Dalmia Bharat achieved the first rank in CDP's low carbon transition league.
Carrots could be used in low emission cement
16 August 2018UK: The Times has reported on preliminary tests at Lancaster University, Lancashire, UK, which indicate that adding nanoplatelets from carrots and/or sugar beets to concrete significantly enhances its strength.
Including nanoplatelets is reported to increase the concentration of calcium silicate hydrate, leading directly to stronger cement. The researcher reported that, when platelets are added, 40kg less cement is required to make a cubic metre of concrete with the same strength as a sample that does not contain nanoplatelets. This leads to lower CO2 emissions.
The team added that nanoplatelets performed better than other additives, such as graphene. The concrete made also had a denser microstructure, which helps to prevent corrosion, extending concrete life.
Vietnam: The government of Quang Ngai has threatened to shut the Dai Viet-Dung Quat cement plant if it does not improve its dust emissions. 107 households living within 50m of the unit have been moved but more than 1600 households remain close to the site, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The 0.5Mt/yr cement plant started operation in 2015.
Germany: Two cement plants are installing selective catalytic reduction (SCR) units ahead of new environmental emissions limits that will start in 2019. CRH Opterra Zement’s Karsdorf plant has started a Euro23m upgrade project to its emissions systems. The plant will install SCR units on each of its production lines. Work on the upgrade is scheduled to be completed by the start of 2019.
Holcim WestZement is also installing a SCR unit purchased from Yara at its Beckum cement plant. The Euro14.2m project will start trial operation by the end of 2018.
Irish Cement fined for dust emissions
09 July 2018Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined for dust emissions at its Limerick plant. The subsidiary of CRH was convicted by a local court of breaching its industrial emissions licence in April and May 2017 due to ‘fugitive dust emissions,’ according to the Limerick Leader newspaper. The cement producer pleaded guilty to the charges brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it has been fined Euro1250.
During the court session it was revealed that on one of the days of the dust emissions there were dry conditions with a north-easterly wind that exacerbated the situation. There was also a dust leak as a result of a missing bolt from one of the chutes in a clinker silo as well as a number of infrastructural issues. Irish Cement says it has implemented a number of remedial measures such as replacing the missing bolt and replacing gravel around the site with grass or concrete. It has also conducted a risk-assessment of the whole site. The producer committed a similar offence in 2006.
Switzerland: 2016 data published by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) from its Getting the Numbers Right (GNR) report shows no change in CO2 emissions in recent years. Gross specific CO2 emissions from cementitious products rose slightly from 2014 and net specific emissions have remained the same. However, the data shows considerable improvement since a baseline in 1990 with both metrics falling by over 15%.
Other notable figures from the latest report include an 11% year-on-year drop in clinker volumes to 606Mt in 2016 from 680Mt in 2015 and a 12% fall in cementitious volumes to 818Mt from 916Mt. Kiln fuel use, specific electricity use and the percentage of clinker in cement all rose slightly. However, the percentage of alternative fuels used increased to 16.7% from 15.9%.
The GNR report presents information on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions from the worldwide cement industry. Participants use the CSI CO2 and Energy Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Cement Industry to provide information and 80% of the data provided is independently assured. The report uses information from 849 cement manufacturing plants around the world, both integrated and cement grinding units, representing 19% of global cement production.
Kunda Nordic Tsement to spend Euro2.2m on upgrades
05 June 2018Estonia: Kunda Nordic Tsement plans to spend Euro2.2m on upgrades to its operations. The investment will be used for emission improvements, updating its plant’s power distribution system, starting to use clinker dust in cement grinding and dredging the port of Kunda, according to the Virumaa Teataja newspaper.
The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement increased its output of clinker and cement by 20% and 60% respectively in 2017. Its plant relaunched its second kiln in 2017 but this increased its CO2 emissions. It produced 1081kg of CO2 per ton of clinker compared to the European target of 766kg. The plant operates two wet process kilns but it plans to switch to a dry production process in the future as this would help it reduce its emissions.
HeidelbergCement holds a 75% stake in the company with the rest belonging to Ireland’s CRH.
Holcim Midlothian air pollution settlement closes
18 April 2018US: A US$2.3m air pollution settlement in 2006 from the Holcim US Midlothian cement plant in Texas has ended. The Sue Pope Pollution Reduction Fund has made its last donation of about US$75,000 to the Midlothian school district’s special needs programs, according to the Dallas Morning News newspaper. The final payment came from interest remaining from the original settlement between Holcim US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Downwinders at Risk environmental group. As part of the deal Downwinders at Risk agreed to stop fighting Holcim’s plans to expand cement production at the site in return for US$2.25m funding towards local projects and an understanding that the cement plant would upgrade its emission filters.
Russia: Local residents have protested against a cement plant being built at Zueovo near Novgorod. Over 800 residents demonstrated against the project and sent a letter to the regional governor, according to the Kolmovo newspaper. The protestors object to potential health concerns related to the plant such as poor air quality due to dust emissions.
CDP report says cement producers need to double emissions reductions to meet Paris Agreement
10 April 2018UK: A report by the CDP looking at some of the largest multinational cement producers says that they need to double their emissions reductions in order to meet the 2°C global warming target outlined in the Paris Agreement. The report, entitled ‘Building Pressure,’ analysed 13 large cement companies including LafargeHolcim, HeidelbergCement and Cemex from data in a questionnaire. However, two major Chinese cement producers, Anhui Conch and China National Building Materials, and other producers including Siam Cement and Dangote Cement did not respond.
The report argues that regulation is the key driver to helping the cement industry reduce its emissions, through tightening building regulation and a rise in low carbon cities. However, it concedes that the sector faces a technology barrier, as ‘significant innovation’ is still required. “With potential pressure coming from multiple sources, including down the value chain in the form of building and city regulation, cement companies need to invest and innovate in order to avoid impending risks to their operations and the wider world. This may see m challenging at first, but every year it is delayed, the cost becomes greater, so management teams, regulators and investors need to think long term. There is a solution - cement companies just need to invest properly in finding it,” said Paul Simpson, the chief executive officer of CDP. The CDP report assessed companies across four key areas aligned with the recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Indian companies toped its league table in part due to better access to alternative materials from other carbon-intensive sectors. They also benefited from
newer cement plants driven by high market growth in the region compared to older plants in Europe. Dalmia Bharat, Ambuja Cement and Cementos Argos were the best performing companies on climate-related metrics and Taiheiyo Cement, Cementir Holding and Asia Cement Corporation ranked lowest.