2009

Vares, Sirje; Häkkinen, Tarja

A tool was developed for life cycle assessment of cements. This tool aids the manufacturer to consider environmental aspects in product development and environmental reporting (for example environmental product declaration). Attention was paid especially to the energy efficiency in the manufacturing processes. This affects not only energy use but also environmental impacts such as the carbon footprint. Cement is an essential material increasingly needed in the production of concrete structures, buildings and the modern infrastructure. However, the production of cement is an energy-intensive process which requires a lot of fuels and releases process emissions, especially CO2 in the calcination process. On the other hand, as calcination is an inevitable process in cement production, attention should be given to energy use - especially the use of recovered energy and combustible wastes. Manufacturing process optimisation and life cycle management are the key issues with regard to lowering environmental impacts caused by cement production. Cement industry belongs to the EU's emission trade systems; they must track and report the CO2 emissions annually. The role of manufacturer is also to identify and improve the CO2 and other environmental impacts incurred by production processes. This can happen with the help of life cycle assessment tool, target-setting, process development and monitoring. The LCA result should be provided for designers, contractors, and users. This information aids them to design eco-efficient use of products and buildings.