Ecocem Verifies 60% Embodied Carbon Reduction for ACT Product via ASTM Certification

In late October, Ecocem, an Eire-based supplier of low-carbon cement applied sciences introduced the completion of a screening life-cycle evaluation (LCA) that validated its superior cement know-how (ACT) product is ready to cut back as much as 60% of complete CO₂ emissions related to cement manufacturing, when in comparison with Portland limestone cement.

Ecocem’s ACT low-carbon cement know-how reduces CO₂ from cement manufacturing by changing the creation of clinker for cement with use of supplementary cementitious supplies whereas delivering the mandatory energy, sturdiness and workability required in any concrete it’s used to fabricate. ASTM C1157 certified means it may be utilized in concrete in high-rise development, bridges and different makes use of within the U.S. the place high-strength concrete is important. 

“This certification is greater than a technical achievement. It’s a sign to the U.S. market that we’re able to ship a scalable decarbonization know-how,” stated Steve Bryan, managing director, Ecocem Americas, which relies in Houston. “ASTM C1157 validates that our ACT know-how performs to the best requirements, permitting it to combine simply into current provide chains and provide a strong pathway for the U.S. to decarbonize the cement and concrete industrial sector.”

The ASTM C117 screening LCA for ACT was carried out by Climate Earth, a supplier of  digital Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and enterprise intelligence instruments for the concrete trade, and in conformity with acknowledged trade methodologies and requirements to help the credibility and comparability of the outcomes. Particularly, the screening LCA discovered Ecocem’s ACT know-how achieved an embodied carbon of 345 kgCO₂e/metric ton, representing as much as a 60% discount in comparison with the Portland Cement Affiliation’s trade common of 844 kgCO₂e/metric ton for Portland limestone cement.

ACT reduces cement emissions by chopping clinker content material by as much as 70% and changing it with abundantly accessible supplies, similar to domestically sourced supplementary cementitious supplies (SCMs). Clinker is the important thing reactive part in cement, however it’s liable for over 90% of its carbon dioxide emissions. By optimizing the interplay and efficiency of SCMs and engineered mineral admixtures, ACT lowers clinker content material and in addition permits extra environment friendly use of SCMs. 

Ecocem’s first manufacturing facility opened in Eire in 2002 and is concentrated on utilizing ground-granulated blast furnace slag from electrical arc furnace metal manufacturing as a substitute for clinker however developed ACT in 2018 as a substitute for even that course of. Traders in Ecocem’s know-how embody the worldwide steelmaker ArcelorMittal and multinational concrete provider Saint Gobain. 

“The primary a number of years have been making GGBFs, slag-based merchandise, and it is the seven years or in order that we expanded into extra of a concrete know-how firm, however we have had salesmen within the area and low carbon cements on the market for 25 years, so we’re very aware of what’s required by business and industrial prospects,” Bryan stated.

ACT was not too long ago utilized in a constructing mission in London’s Wembley Park, decreasing embodied carbon by 70% on the general mission. Ecocem has additionally moved ahead with its first North American mission, a proposed Terminal and Milling Operation on the Port of Los Angeles. It’s nonetheless within the early phases of planning and evaluate.