Displaying items by tag: Study

UK: The government has awarded funding to the planned HyNet North West low-CO₂ industrial cluster. The cluster will reduce industrial CO₂ emissions by 10Mt/yr in North Wales and North West England. It includes a planned 800,000t/yr carbon capture installation at Hanson UK’s Padeswood cement plant in Flintshire. The producer is currently carrying out a feasibility study at the plant. Parent company HeidelbergCement said that the project will play a ‘critical role’ in the UK’s transition to net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

Chair Dominik von Achten called the decision “A well-deserved recognition for the HyNet consortium and our colleagues working on carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the UK as part of this collaborative project. Cutting CO₂ emissions is a key priority for us, and we are delighted to add our Padeswood cement works to our growing range of CCS activities, as a key part of our pathway to reaching net zero.”

US: LafargeHolcim US and ECOncrete Tech have launched a research and development collaboration to design and manufacture a fully structural concrete scour protection unit for offshore wind turbines. The unit’s specifications include seabed stabilisation and promotion of the growth of marine organisms. The collaboration includes a large-scale pilot project to evaluate the ecological performance of units in an offshore environment. The US/Canada Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy programme are funding the project, which will conclude in May 2024.

LafargeHolcim US commercial excellence vice president Josep Maset said “There are many paths to achieving our net zero commitment, and most require innovative partnerships and out-of-the-box thinking. The work we’re doing with ECOncrete Tech is a notable example of searching for solutions that enable increased use of renewable energy in an environmentally responsible way.”

Spain/Norway: A team from Cartagen Polytechnic and Ostfold University College has demonstrated that Cementos La Cruz could reduce the cost of its concrete production by Euro1.45/m3, or Euro29,000/month by curing concrete with captured CO₂. EuropaPress has reported that the use of CO₂ would reduce the amount of cement required by 7 – 8%. This in turn would remove an estimated 4.6% of CO₂ from the concrete’s production.

Germany: Scientists at the University of Kassel in Hessen have launched a study into the use of ash from waste incinerators in precast concrete production. The Hessische Allgemeine newspaper has reported that a waste-to-energy plant in Kassel will provide the ash for concrete production in partnership with local companies Kimm Baustoffe and Gebäudeke Baustoff-Recycling. The study aims to produce pre-cast concrete elements containing at least 30% ash, beginning with paving slabs and noise barriers.

Project leader David Laner said that ash has the potential to help lower concrete’s carbon footprint. He said “So far, it has been put to lesser-value uses; we make a product out of it - upcycling instead of downcycling.”

Belgium: The low-emissions intensity lime and cement (LEILAC) consortium has published the results of its LEILAC-1 carbon capture and storage (CCS) study at HeidelbergCement’s Lixhe cement plant in Visé. The study found the cost of CCS to be Euro14 – 24/t of CO2 captured. It found that full-chain CO2 mitigation projects incur costs are Euro39 – 80/t, depending on transport and storage selections.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) credits currently cost Euro62/t.

UK: Germany-based HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson has received the green light for its planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) study at its Padeswood cement plant in Flintshire after its partner, the HyNet North West consortium received Euro84m in funding. The study will support a design basis and cost estimate for a carbon capture unit at the cement plant and a connection to the planned HyNet North West CO₂ transport and storage system. Euro46m of the funding came from consortium partners while Euro38m came from a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge grant.

Hanson chief executive officer Simon Willis said, “Today’s funding announcement is fantastic news for everyone involved in HyNet North West. Cutting CO₂ emissions is a key priority for us, and we are excited to be one of the first UK cement producers working on carbon capture and storage (CCS) as part of this collaborative project.” He added, “We’ve taken big steps towards reducing carbon emissions and have set ourselves an ambitious target of achieving a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2030, based on 1990 levels, and net zero carbon concrete by 2050. CCS at cement plants is a key part of our roadmap to net zero.”

UK: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson has partnered with the Hynet North West consortium for a study on carbon capture and storage (CCS) solution at its Padeswood, Flintshire, cement plant. The consortium is planning to implement carbon capture and storage installations at industrial facilities across Flintshire, Wrexham, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire. It says that when active the network will constitute the world’s first low carbon industrial cluster, with a total reduction of 10Mt/yr of emissions by CCS. The Padeswood plant would account for 800,000t/yr of this total.

Hanson group chief executive officer Simon Willis said, “Our involvement in the HyNet North West project is the latest example of our commitment to cutting CO₂ emissions. CCS at our cement plants will be a key part of our roadmap to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. The first step would be for us to carry out a feasibility study - this would give us a clear design basis and cost estimate for a capture plant and connection to the planned HyNet North West CO₂ network and storage system.”

The HyNet North West project also includes production, storage and distribution of low carbon hydrogen, which will help to decarbonise other industries whose CO₂ emissions primarily come from fossil fuels. The project, led by Progressive Energy, is being developed by a consortium of regionally located partners including Cadent, CF Fertilisers, Eni UK, Essar, INOVYN and the University of Chester as well as Hanson.

Canada: Lehigh Cement and the International CCS Knowledge Centre are conducting a feasibility study looking at carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The project aims to find out whether capturing 90 – 95% of the CO₂ from the plant’s flue gas is viable. Completion of the study is scheduled for the autumn of 2021.

The Lehigh CCS Feasibility Study will consider an engineering design using carbon capture technology owned by Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHIENG), part of MHI Group. The KM CDR process, which is being deployed at 13 commercial plants globally, will be examined for integration with Lehigh’s plant and output specifications, such as a flue gas pretreatment system and the carbon capture and compression process.

The aims of the study are to: deliver a Class 4 cost estimate; to work with a capture technology provider (MHI Group) to perform engineering design tailored to the Lehigh plant; to manage the process and engage third parties, as necessary; to complete a detailed business case; and to develop the budget for Front End Engineering Study (FEED). The project has received US$1.4m in funding from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) through its Partnership Intake Program.

Norway: Private accreditation body DNVGL has certified Aker Solutions’ 400,000t/yr carbon capture and storage (CCS) system installation at Germany-based HeidelbergCement subsidiary Norcem’s 1.2Mt/yr integrated Brevik plant in Telemark as safe. HeidelbergCement Northern Europe director of sustainability and alternative fuels Per Brevik said, “The promising results from pilot testing in Brevik give us confidence that realisation of the full-scale capture plant will be successful. We trust that the project risk related to novel technology elements is low.”

Following an 18-month test of the partial installation, the certification ensures that the full-scale project will receive government funding.

Australia: A paper published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling has reported that concrete made with treated slag is 8% stronger than standard slag concrete and 17% stronger than concrete made with conventional aggregates. A Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) team produced treated slag concrete using slag that had absorbed phosphate, magnesium, iron, calcium, silica and aluminium during use in wastewater treatment. Researcher Biplob Pramanik said, “The things that we want to remove from water are actually beneficial to concrete.” Pramanik said that the findings have promising implications for the water and concrete sectors within the circular economy.