Startup develops technology to produce cleaner cement at commercial scale — here’s how it could revolutionize construction industry
Concrete, according to one study, is the second most used material in the world after water. It also accounts for 8% of all planet-overheating pollution. In order to reduce that second statistic, one California-based startup has developed an inventive new method of reducing carbon dioxide emissions during the concrete manufacturing process.
Fortera’s proprietary technology is able to harvest carbon dioxide exhaust from the kilns in which concrete is made, and, instead of simply releasing it into the air, redirects it back into the cement-making process, the AP reported.
The technology is about to be put to use for the first time in a commercial setting, at one of the largest cement plants in the western United States, located in Redding, California. Initially, the plant will use a Fortera blend that reduces carbon pollution by about 10%, although the company also produces blends that reduce carbon by 40-50% and 70%, setting the stage for even cleaner cement manufacturing in the future.
The process is somewhat similar to that of another startup in Australia that is building a plant that integrates carbon capture into the manufacturing process.