Increasing Demand for Cement Triggers Air Pollution
The cement industry has an important role in the development of housing and infrastructure. It is also quite critical in the overall economy with the level of employment it provides, as well as being effective for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, the cement industry is energy intensive. As global urbanization and economic development increase the demand of new buildings and infrastructure, the demand on cement will also increase and will trigger urban air pollution by its excess amount of production.
While cement production creates a significant amount of dangerous gases in the air; the industry can be considered as one of the main sources of anthropogenic air pollution, with dust dispersal at many stages of production. Cement will continue to be the essential building material for expanding global economies facing growing housing and modern infrastructure needs (Abu-Allaban & Hani, 2011). The Global Economic and Climate Commission estimates that $90 trillion will be invested in infrastructure by 2030, with two-thirds of this investment in developing countries (Lehne & Preston, 2018). Therefore, the cement industry can be considered as the primary field of study in the development of green manufacturing.
Reducing carbon emissions is of great importance in order to minimize the impact of climate change. It is one of the most fundamental global problems of today and future. With the Paris Climate Agreement ratified by the European Union and 179 countries, businesses are obliged to change in this direction. Emissions from cement production are one of the major contributors to global warming and climate change (Devi, Lakshmi, & Alakanandana, 2017). To bring the cement industry into line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, its annual emissions will need to decrease by at least 16% by 2030 (Lehne & Preston, 2018).
The cement sector is also included in the first 5 sectors to be evaluated within the scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), announced by the EU with Fit for 55. The export of the cement sector from Turkey to the EU is of significant size (URL 2). This is likely to have serious implications for cement manufacturers’ overall business planning and growth strategies. However, only limited progress has been made so far. Cement manufacturers can take advantage of being a pioneer in the sector by taking “green” actions with technological developments.
Industrial plant chimneys of cement and construction companies are some of the major contributors to poor air quality. As of 2007, it was reported that the cement industry alone produced 5% of the total greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Zimwara, Mugwagwa, & Chikowore, 2012). In 2015, it produced approximately 2.8 billion tons of CO2, equivalent to 8% of the global total.
If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest emitter after China and the USA (URL 3).
Cement industry face many challenges due to environmental concerns and sustainability issues. In order to mitigate its effects and advance environmental issues arising from the operations should be well known and its footprint on the environment should be minimized throughout the production cycle. As regulations on emission limits continue to tighten, manufacturers need to be vigilant in reducing their gas and particulate matter emissions. It is necessary to continuously monitor the air by automatic control systems in order to detect and reduce the emission pollution sources in the production facilities.
The industry standard of cement is one of its type called Portland cement. With 4 billion tons produced each year, it is used in 98% of concrete worldwide today. The production of Portland clinker, which acts as a binder, is a crucial step in making the Portland cement. Limestone (CaCO3) is “calcined” at high temperatures in a cement kiln to produce lime (CaO), leading to the release of waste CO2. About half of the emissions from cement are process emissions from this reaction (Lehne & Preston, 2018).
In the cement industries, dust is emitted from stockpiles, quarries, transport of raw materials, operation of kilns, cooling and grinding of clinker. Oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur are mainly produced by the combustion of fuel for power generation (Abu-Allaban & Hani, 2011). Dust emissions constitute a large part of the air pollution problem in production. Workers in these manufacturing facilities and citizen living in the region are exposed to the harmful effects of dust and particulate matter (PM).
As a result of exposure to particulate pollution, people are more likely to develop various diseases such as heart (non-fatal heart attack, irregular heartbeat) and lung (severe asthma, decreased lung function, irritation of the airways, increased respiratory symptoms such as coughing or difficulty breathing). Children and the elderly are identified as the individuals most likely to be affected by particulate matter exposure. Considering the negative environmental effects of dust particles, they can be carried by wind over long distances and mixed with the ground or water. It can cause acid rain by affecting the damage of sensitive forest and vegetation and the diversity of the ecosystem (Duran, Erdem, & Doğan, 2021).
Continuous monitoring of air emissions in production facilities in the Regulation on Control of Industrial Air Pollution is also of interest to the cement industry. The costs of the measurements required to be made according to the legislation are covered by the enterprises. In order to provide the validated air quality data at minimum cost low-cost, cloud-based sensors that are strongly correlated with reference stations should be employed. In this direction, as a result of continuous measurements made with sensors that can be placed at many points, a high-resolution spatio-temporal pollution map can be created. A healthy environmental monitoring system can be established with intelligent data correction and calibration process through state-of-the-art artificial intelligence models.
Cement is one of the basic inputs of concrete, which is described as the second most consumed material in the world after water (Hasanbeigi, Price, & Lin, 2012), and will continue to be in our lives in the coming years due to its versatile, flexible, ease of production, low cost and durability (Lehne & Preston, 2018). Alternative materials often have a higher carbon footprint. (Lehne & Preston, 2018). Making these materials more sustainable remains critical. Thus, the energy efficiency of cement plants can be increased, fossil fuels can be replaced with alternatives and the CO2 can be captured and stored. Air quality management is required to effectively manage air pollution concerns in production facilities. Increasing the service quality by protecting the health of employees and the public will also increase competitiveness and profitability.
Author: Ayşe Güleç
References
Abu-Allaban, M., & Hani, A.-Q. (2011). Impact Assessment of Ambient Air Quality by Cement Industry: A Case Study in Jordan. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 11(7), s. 802–810.
Devi, K., Lakshmi, V., & Alakanandana, A. (2017). Impacts of Cement Industry on Environment-an Overview. Asia Pacific Journal of Research 1, s. 156–161.
Duran, Z., Erdem, B., & Doğan, T. (2021). Particle Material Release in Open Mining Operations: Literature Research. Journal of Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, 29(3), s. 450–465.
Hasanbeigi, A., Price, L., & Lin, E. (2012). Emerging Energy-Efficiency and CO2 Emission-Reduction Technologies for Cement and Concrete Production: A Technical Review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(8), s. 6220–6238.
Lehne, J., & Preston, F. (2018). Making Concrete Change: Innovation in Low-carbon Cement and Concrete. Chatham House Report Series.
Zimwara, D., Mugwagwa, L., & Chikowore, T. (2012). Air Pollution Control Techniques for The Cement Manufacturing Industry: A Case Study for Zimbabwe. CIE42 Proceedings, 37, s. 1–13.
URL 1: https://www.mir.no/sgf9twwh1cepk287w8sz76pa3axpy0 Cyprus Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects. 9 February 2022.
URL 2: https://www.iso.org.tr/haberler/diger-haberler/iso-surdurulebilirlik-yol-haritalari-maden-tas-ve-toprak-urunlerinde-sinirda-karbon-duzenlemesi-yukumlulukleri-one-cikiyor/ ICI Sustainability Roadmaps: Border Carbon Regulation Obligations Come to the Fore in Mineral, Stone and Soil Products. 17 February 2022.
URL 3: https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-why-cement-emissions-matter-for-climate-change Q&A: Why Cement Emissions Matter for Climate Change. 9 February 2022.
URL 4: https://www.stendustri.com.tr/haberortak/cimento-uretimi-ilk-2-ayda-yuzde-33-artti-h113892.html. Cement Production Increased 33 Percent in The First 2 Months. 9 February 2022.
