How much cement can we do without? Lessons from cement material flows in the UK

Abstract

Cement manufacture is responsible for 5-7 % of world CO 2 emissions. Cement is primarily used in concrete, the most used material on the planet and a critical part of any analysis of emissions reduction strategy. To estimate the potential for reducing demand, this work analyses material flow in the cement industry, using the uk in 2014 as a case study. Combining published data, analytic assumptions, and interviews we estimated the material flow of cement from the production to a breakdown of its use in applications. Having broken down the demand for cement into 25 applications, multiple material efficiency techniques were considered: substituting cement for calcined clay and limestone, reducing the cement content of concrete, post-tensioning floor slabs, using more precast building elements, reducing construction waste, and reducing the overdesign in construction. We produce a final estimate of the total reduction in emissions achievable from material efficiency: 51.3 %. Due to overlap and interactions between the methods, the attribution of the carbon abatement depends on the sequence of application. In this analysis, we have applied the reduction of overdesign last, because it is independent of the others, and would require a cultural change. We show then that cement demand from floors, repairs and maintenance, concrete beams, and applications within the transport sector should be targeted. The substitution of cement with calcined clay and limestone has the biggest potential to reduce cement demand (27 %) and carbon emissions in the uk. Reducing the amount of cement in concrete has the next highest * Corresponding author Preprint submitted to Elsevier today potential (10 %), followed by post-tensioning floor slabs (3 %).

The sponge effect and carbon emission mitigation potentials of the global cement cycle

“…The range of stock saturation levels across scenarios represents a modest level of effort (~17%; see Supplementary Table 2) given to material efficiency strategies. In contrast, a pilot study in the UK shows that material efficiency strategies could potentially deliver a 50% reduction in cement use 41 , indicating that significant CO 2 savings remain untapped. The significance of material efficiency strategies is also examined in a special report led by International Energy Agency, in which a bottom-up analysis of the building sector shows that material efficiency improvements in the buildings sector can reduce~26% of its annual cement demand in 2060 (see Fig.…”

Documentation of part IV of the RECC model framework: Open Dynamic Material Systems Model for the Resource Efficiency-Climate Change Nexus (ODYM-RECC), v2.2

“…While the number of product-level life cycle assessments that include some kind of material efficiency or other circular economy strategies abounds (e.g., for material substitution in vehicles as reviewed by Kim and Wallington (2013)), there are only some examples of detailed technology-based assessments of material efficiency at the large scale. These include a detailed assessment of material efficiency in the global steel cycle , a case study for reducing cement demand in the UK (Shanks et al, 2019), and a study on the material efficiency-climate change mitigation link for the climate-relevant bulk materials in the EU (Enkvist and Klevnäs, 2018). Hertwich et al (2019) provide a comprehensive review of these studies and their findings.…”

Investigation of the Effect of Larestan’s Pipeline Water on the Mechanical Properties of Concretes Containing Granite Aggregates

“…is is about 560 kg for every person [24]. Generally, the increase of cement in the concrete and consequently decrease of w/c ratio in the mix will produce stronger concrete [3,25,26].…”