Cement substitution with secondary materials can reduce annual global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by up to 1.3 gigatons.
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Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36180443.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-33289-7 and PMC identifier 9525259.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Population and development megatrends will drive growth in cement production, which is already one of the most challenging-to-mitigate sources of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. However, availabilities of conventional secondary cementitious materials (CMs) like fly ash are declining. Here, we present detailed generation rates of secondary CMs worldwide between 2002 and 2018, showing the potential for 3.5 Gt to be generated in 2018. Maximal substitution of Portland cement clinker with these materials could have avoided up to 1.3 Gt CO<sub>2</sub>-eq. emissions (~44% of cement production and ~2.8% of anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub>-eq. emissions) in 2018. We also show that nearly all of the highest cement producing nations can locally generate and use secondary CMs to substitute up to 50% domestic Portland cement clinker, with many countries able to potentially substitute 100% Portland cement clinker. Our results highlight the importance of pursuing regionally optimized CM mix designs and systemic approaches to decarbonizing the global CMs cycle.