Life Cycle Assessment of Cement Production with Marble Waste Sludges

Antonio Ruiz Sánchez, Ventura Castillo Ramos, Manuel Sánchez Polo, María Victoria López Ramón and José Rivera Utrilla
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Antonio Ruiz Sánchez: Department of Structure Mechanics and Hydraulic Engineering, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Ventura Castillo Ramos: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Manuel Sánchez Polo: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
María Victoria López Ramón: Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Experimental Science, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
José Rivera Utrilla: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: The construction industry has a considerable environmental impact in societies, which must be controlled to achieve adequate sustainability levels. In particular, cement production contributes 5–8% of CO 2 emissions worldwide, mainly from the utilization of clinker. This study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to investigate the environmental impact of cement production and explore environmental improvements obtained by adding marble waste sludges in the manufacture of Portland cement. It was considered that 6–35% of the limestone required for its production could be supplied by marble waste sludge (mainly calcite), meeting the EN 197-1:2011 norm. Energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data were obtained from the Ecovent database using commercial LCA software. All life cycle impact assessment indicators were lower for the proposed “eco-cement” than for conventional cement, attributable to changes in the utilization of limestone and clinker. The most favorable results were achieved when marble waste sludge completely replaced limestone and was added to clinker at 35%. In comparison to conventional Portland cement production, this process reduced GHG emissions by 34%, the use of turbine waters by 60%, and the emission of particles into the atmosphere by 50%. Application of LCA methodology allowed evaluation of the environmental impact and improvements obtained with the production of a type of functional eco-cement. This approach is indispensable for evaluating the environmental benefits of using marble waste sludges in the production of cement.

Keywords: marble waste sludge; life cycle assessment (LCA); CO 2; emissions; greenhouse gases (GHG); cement; limestone; environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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