GHG Emissions Reduced By Changing Product Contents

June 8th, 2007

More organizations every day try to be green. Some do it, as the Vatican will, by installing solar panels on a church roof.

This is a step, but nothing like when a company such as US Concrete decides to change its entire manufacturing process and supply chain.

The company has decided that it will replace Portland cement, which has always been a major ingredient in concrete, the one that binds it together, with a combination of fly ash and slag, to cut down on the emission of GHGs. Apparently, concrete manufacturing is responsible for 6 to 8 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Also, US Concrete says, the creation of one ton of cement releases one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Power plants emit fly ash, and collect it in electrostatic filters to lower their own emissions.

This fly ash used to be deposited in landfills until someone discovered that it had cement-like properties. Now it will be recycled and will replace limestone in concrete manufacturing. Since the process for making concrete had been the same for a long time, this kind of change represents a great step forward for a major worldwide industry player in moving toward sustainability.

Tags: carbon dioxide concrete manufacturing fly ash ghg greenhouse gas emissions sustainability us concrete

Entry Filed under: Sustainability, Greenhouse Gas Emissions