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‘Green’ cement may help cut CO{-2}

Engineers believe cement, a vast source of planet-warming carbon dioxide, could be transformed into a means of stripping the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

A new environmentally friendly formulation means the cement industry could change from being a “significant emitter to a significant absorber of CO{-2},” says Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, chief scientist at London-based Novacem, whose invention has garnered support and funding from industry and environmentalists.

Making the two billion tonnes of cement used globally every year pumps out 5 per cent of the world’s CO{-2} emissions — more than the entire aviation industry. A report by the French bank Credit Agricole estimated that by 2020, demand for cement would increase by 50 per cent compared with today. Traditional cement manufacturing results in greenhouse gas emissions from the ovens that cook the raw material, such as limestone, which then releases further CO{-2} as it burns. Novacem’s cement is based on magnesium silicates and not only requires much less heating it also absorbs large amounts of CO{-2} as it hardens, making it carbon-negative. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

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