LafargeHolcim project targets reuse of cement plant CO2

8161 LafargeHolcim has launched a project in Canada to build what it claims will be the world’s first full-cycle solution to capture and reuse CO2 from a cement plant while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Project CO₂MENT initiative is a partnership between 725 Lafarge Canada, Inventys and Total. Lafarge says the project is part of its efforts to further improve the carbon-efficiency of its cements.

Over the next four years, Project CO₂MENT will demonstrate and evaluate Inventys’ CO₂ Capture System and a selection of LafargeHolcim’s carbon utilisation technologies at its Richmond, British Columbia, Canada cement plant. The project has three phases and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020. Subject to the pilot’s success, the vision is to scale up the project and explore how the facility can be replicated across other LafargeHolcim plants.

During the first phase the partners will work on purifying the cement flue gas in preparation for CO2 capture. The second phase will focus on the separation of CO2 from flue gas using a customised for cement version of Inventys’ carbon capture technology at pilot scale. As part of the final phase, the captured CO2 will be prepared for reuse and support the economical assessment and demonstration of CO2 conversion technologies onsite, such as CO2 injected concrete and fly ash.

LafargeHolcim says it is also further investing into measures to reduce the clinker-to-cement ratio and consume less energy per tonne of cement by using lower carbon fuels and improving the efficiency of the company’s processes. At its Richmond plant, the company recently launched a new lower carbon fuel (LCF) system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of cement. The company says it will also help minimise landfill waste; specifically, non-recyclable plastics that are creating a backlog for municipalities across Canada.

The C$28m system is expected to replace up to 50% of fossil fuel use with lower carbon fuels and LafargeHolcim says it could result in a 20% reduction of combustion emissions. It also allows Lafarge Canada to divert approximately 100,000 tonnes per year of waste from local landfills, the equivalent of about 8,300 loaded garbage trucks.

René Thibault, LafargeHolcom region head North America, said: “We hope to discover ways to capture emissions from our production processes and reuse them in our products, advancing a circular economy even further than today. The recent launch of the new LCF system at our Richmond plant aims to make the facility the most carbon efficient cement plant in Canada."