Cuba: A Cuban cement plant has launched industrial trials to produce environmentally-friendly cement, according to the National News Agency.
Gustavo Suarez, director of the Siguaney cement plant in central Cuba reported that the kilns began to burn local kaolin minerals to partially replace the CO2-intensive clinker used to make cement on 4 April 2013. Suarez said the production phase was preceded by a year and a half of testing by researchers at Las Villas University and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, a partner in the project.
The factory is preparing the first 300t of burnt metakaolin needed to make two experimental types of 'green cement,' in which clinker will be replaced by 15% and 45% kaolin respectively. It is estimated that Siguaney will consume only 68% of the energy used in making normal cement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 32%. "(Our) current grey cement production requires a temperature of 1200°C, while the new local formula needs only 750°C," said Suarez.