Energy is all around us, but not always managed properly. In physics, energy is the capacity for doing work and can be classified as potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear, mechanical, and various other forms. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, and it exists regardless of its environment. What can happen to energy is transformation, from one form to another. That is the basis for all work, all materials, all engineering.
Construction materials contain latent energy and, equally important, energy is expended in the production of those materials. Take concrete as an example. Compared to other building materials in terms of embodied energy and CO2 emissions, concrete is the favorable choice for building and infrastructure expansion. However, concrete has a high carbon footprint due to the energy intensive generation of Portland cement.
In response to ever-increasing market demand for performance and sustainability, the LafargeHolcim family of companies is planning to lead the industry in reducing carbon emissions and shifting towards low-carbon construction. The company seeks to introduce and promote high-quality and sustainable building materials worldwide, to individual homebuilders or developers of major infrastructure projects.
As the largest cement manufacturer in the United States, LafargeHolcim is calling on architects, engineers, contractors, and ready-mix producers to adopt more sustainable products to lower the industry’s carbon footprint. As a start, in the U.S. it has rebranded its portfolio of blended cements and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) as the Envirocore Series.
Products under the Envirocore Series include OneCem Portland Limestone Cement, MaxCem Blended Cement, and NewCem Slag Cement. Many of these products incorporate SCMs, byproducts from other industries that offer sustainability and performance advantages for those who construct buildings. Their use as a partial replacement for Portland cement not only results in more durable, high-performance concrete but also lowers energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. For every ton of clinker replaced by SCMs, CO2 emissions are reduced by approximately 0.8 tons.
While all products from the Envirocore Series benefit project performance and reduce carbon emissions, one product within this portfolio has the potential to be incorporated into a broad spectrum of applications: OneCem, their Portland limestone cement.
OneCem meets the specification requirements of C595/C595M−19 and AASHTO M 240 in which the allowable finely ground limestone within the cement ranges from 5-15%. OneCem has been rigorously tested to verify its concrete strength development, setting time characteristics, durability, and other performance properties. In the U.S., Holcim plants have produced more than 3 million metric tons of OneCem for concrete construction applications throughout the country.
LafargeHolcim is also focused on other energy saving approaches. In the U.S., it opened a new solar field next to its Hagerstown Cement Plant in Maryland. The solar array will provide clean, renewable energy for the facility’s operations. LafargeHolcim’s solar field, built in partnership with Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, began operations in October 2020, and is expected to generate 10 MWac of energy on-peak, which is sufficient power to provide about 25 percent of the plant’s annual requirements. Importantly, the solar addition will prevent the equivalent of roughly 12,375 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the environment. All electricity produced by the solar array will be used by the plant during operations.
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