Cement manufacturer Hanson aims to deploy CCS system capable of capturing 800,000 tonnes a year of CO2
Hanson’s plan to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at its Padeswood cement works in North Wales have taken a major step forward, with the manufacturer awarding Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering a preliminary design contract for the industry-leading project.
The company, which is the UK-arm of global cement giant Heidelberg Materials, is planning to develop a CCS system capable of capturing 800,000 tonnes per year of CO2 from the Flintshire cement factory, with a view to having the system up and running from 2027.
The captured CO2 would be transported and stored under the seabed in spent gas fields off the coast of Northwest England, according to Hanson, which claims the project would constitute the UK cement industry’s first adoption of CCS technology.
As part of the project, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Engineering – part of global conglomerate the MHI Group – was last week handed a preliminary front end engineering design contract for the CCS system, which is set to use technology developed in Japan alongside the Kansai Electric Power Company.
It marks MHI’s third CO2 capture project involving a cement plant, with the firm having previously worked on a CCS feasibility study for Lehigh Cement Company in Alberta, Canada, and a CO2 capture demonstration testing program currently underway on behalf of the Tokuyama Corporation in Japan, it said.
Decarbonising the global cement and concrete sector is a crucial hurdle on the pathway to net zero emissions, as the sector is one of the world’s biggest sources of CO2, accounting for up to eight per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
As such, a host of researchers and developers are increasingly focused on developing solutions that can deliver greener concrete and cement.
In releated new, academics from Teesside University last week announced they are collaborating with industry partners on a £7.6m project to develop low carbon cement made from by-products from the steel and chemical industries.
The scientists and developers behind the building material, which they call ‘Mevocrete’, claim it can result in up to 85 per cent less carbon dioxide compared to traditional concrete made from Ordinary Portland Cement, the production of which remains a highly energy-intensive process.
The new approach harnesses a “revolutionary” construction material made using waste steel slag patented by Middlesbrough-based company Material Evolution, Teesside University said, following the award of government funding from Innovate UK to work with Material Evolution on the project.
The new project aims to scale up the technology to create a full-scale facility for cement production using waste steel slag at Teessworks.
The University’s project lead, Dr Sina Rezaei Gomari, said: “For the UK to meet its net zero targets it is imperative that new ways to decarbonise the construction industry are found, and this project has the potential to have a major impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Source BusinessGreen
December 20, 2022
By reducing electricity consumption or turning to renewable energy, households now can not only do their part to save the Earth — but also go easy on their wallets.
China will plant 36,000 sq km of new forest a year - more than the total area of Belgium - from this year to 2025 as it bids to combat climate change.
Innovate UK is providing support for the Berrow-Zeice hydrogen fuel system, a hydrogen-based fuel system that has the potential to revolutionize traditional combustion engines. This unique fuel system has patent-pending technology that could be applied to any petrol or diesel engine, providing an innovative and emission-free solution.
Waitrose is set to move most of its small wine formats from glass bottles to aluminium cans, claiming that the packaging shift will improve resource efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
