ECO-EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF LOW-CARBON CEMENT PRODUCTION BY REPLACING CLINKER

Abstract

This work carries out the environmental evaluation of the cement production in Siguaney Factory as well as the calculation of the Eco-efficiency indicators according to the ISO 14045 norms; the Recipe methodology was used including 18 impact categories and the SimaPro 8.1 software was also used. In order to evaluate the eco-efficiency indicators according to the ISO 14045 norm, the results of the impact categories are related to the monetary value indicators, allowing the evaluation of the current situation as well as the consequences of the suggested modifications. As a result, the environmental profiles of P-35 cement (base case) were obtained as well as those of the low carbon ones (LC3-35 y LC3-50) resulting from the clinker substitution by kaolinitic clay after some studies carried out by CIDEM researchers; and the eco-efficiency profiles. The comparison made between P-35 cement and the low-carbon cements showed positive results in eight weather impact categories, however, toxicity-related ones rise due to the increase in electricity consumption connected to the grinding of materials to obtain burnt clay bringing about a greater amount of emissions of volatile organic compounds to the air. An improvement in the eco-efficiency of 6 out of 8 calculated indicators is observed due to a simultaneous decrease in the production costs and the environmental impacts. LC3-50 cement shows the best results. The methodology used permits to evaluate alternatives related to the material substitution in the construction sector.