Carbon reduction for cement

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Cement and concrete have significant sustainability challenges. The production of cement is incredibly carbon and energy-intensive. One tonne of cement generates about the equivalent quantity of CO (1 tonne of cement = 900 Kg of CO2). This CO2 is generated roughly in equal proportions from process emissions (59%) (the CO2 released from clinkering ground limestone) and fuel emissions (41%) (the burning of fossil fuels to achieve the required heat for clinkering) . What's more, once cement is used to make concrete, it is typically not recycled, but down-cycled and thereby failing to abate the demand for virgin cement and its associated carbon footprint. Meam offers a solution on both fronts: reducing the fuel emissions from the production of virgin cement and a solution to truly recycle (and not downcycle) concrete to enable the reuse of cement and abate the chemical carbon footprint associated with the clinkering process. For the production of virgin cement, Meam's microwave-based heating solutions delivers the required clinkering heat without relying on the burning of fossil fuels. What's more, as microwave does not require any physical medium to deliver its heating energy, it does not suffer any transmission losses associated with traditional heating solutions. This results in 30-50% reduction in the fuel carbon footprint of cement production. The second impact vector is around the true recycling (instead of downcycling) cement from concrete. By combining smart crushing techniques with microwave heating, this approach separates the three components of concrete (cement, sand, aggregate) and enables them to be reused. In addition to the fuel carbon efficiencies outlined earlier, this brings additional CO2 benefits through the avoidance of the chemical CO2 footprint associated with clinkering limestone. This means that cement recycled in this way has a 70-80% lower carbon footprint than virgin cement while being of comparable quality. This article highlights this story in a practical context: https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/22/this-ukrainian-company-is-hoping-to-rebuild-from-the-ground-up-with-recycled-concrete