LafargeHolcim has launched the CO2MENT project in Canada with the aim of improving the carbon efficiency of its cements.
Lafarge Canada is working with Inventys and Total to build a full-cycle solution to capture and reuse carbon dioxide (CO2) from a cement plant while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
René Thibault, region head North America, says: “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.
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 cement plant in Richmond, British Columbia. It has three phases and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020. The project will explore how the facility can be replicated across other LafargeHolcim plants.
Initially, 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. 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 on-site, such as CO2 injected concrete and fly ash.
Additionally, LafargeHolcim is also 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 the Richmond plant, the company launched a lower carbon fuel (LCF) system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of cement. It will also help minimise landfill waste; specifically, non-recyclable plastics that are creating a backlog for municipalities across Canada.
The CAN$28 million system is expected to replace up to 50% of fossil fuel use with lower carbon fuels and result in a 20% reduction of combustion emissions. It could also allow Lafarge Canada to divert approximately 100,000 tonnes per year of waste from local landfills, the company adds.
“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,” Thibault continues. “Our investment alongside funding support from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has made the system economically viable and demonstrates a long term commitment to the environment as well as the British Columbia cement market.”
