According to one study, concrete is the second most used material in the world after water. It also accounts for 8% of the total overheating pollution of the planet. To reduce this second statistic, a California-based startup has developed an ingenious new way to reduce carbon emissions during the concrete manufacturing process.
Fortera's proprietary technology can capture carbon dioxide emitted from the kilns that make concrete and put it back into the cement manufacturing process, rather than simply releasing it into the air, the Associated Press reported.
The technology is about to be used for the first time in a commercial setting at one of the largest cement plants in the Western United States in Redding, California. Initially, the plant will use Fortera blends, which reduce carbon pollution by about 10%, but the company also produces blends that reduce carbon by 40-50% and 70%, and plans to use even cleaner cement production in the future. I'm getting ready.
The process is somewhat similar to that of another Australian startup building a plant that integrates carbon capture into manufacturing processes.
Such new technology should be welcomed by the cement industry, which has struggled to curb its own pollution in the face of growing criticism.
Global pollution from cement production “is an existential threat to the world and our industry,” said the president and CEO of the Portland Cement Association, the national trade association of U.S. cement manufacturers. Mike Ireland said.
For those with vested interests in cement production, cleaning up the process and making it greener is more attractive than the alternative of phasing out cement in favor of less polluting construction materials. There is no doubt that there is. Recent advances in this field include skyscrapers made of bricks made from wood, ferlock, and even sugar cane.
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