Researchers at the University of Melbourne recently tested and approved a new low-carbon cement alternative designed by Australian materials company Green360.
Developed from the waste byproduct of kaolin clay processing, the aptly named "Eco-Clay" can successfully and sustainably replace almost half of a standard bag of common Portland cement, according to the West Australian.
While cement is integral to global construction and manufacturing, cement plants — most notably, the production of kaolin and other clinker options for cement — rely on high-heat, energy-intensive processes that release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases into our atmosphere. As it stands, per the World Economic Forum, the cement industry is responsible for close to 8% of the world's total carbon pollution.
In an effort to minimize both financial and environmental costs, Green360 Technologies has found a way to channel the waste residue of kaolin refinement into producing Eco-Clay: a calcined kaolinite that helps enhance the durability and impermeability of concrete just as well as conventional pozzolan substances, like fly ash and metakaolin.
By replacing large portions of cement with Eco-Clay, Green360 can forgo some of the extreme, high-energy conditions that are required in the carbon-intensive production of Portland cement. As a matter of fact, POWER Magazine reported that each metric ton of Portland cement yields carbon dioxide in almost equal proportion — and when released into the atmosphere, this same pollution traps heat onto our planet, drives up our global temperatures, and disrupts our resource and weather security. Even partially substituting Eco-Clay for cement has the potential to forestall millions of tons of carbon pollution.
Since the raw materials in Eco-Clay are diverted from kaolin processing waste, this innovative cement alternative also helps save on costs for Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) amid what the West Australian described as a "tightening SCM market."
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"Eco-Clay represents exactly what Green360 stands for — practical circular economy innovation that creates value from waste, reduces emissions, and delivers real commercial results in the building materials sector," announced Aaron Banks of Green360.
Builders and concrete industrialists worldwide have been testing the waters with various clinker replacements for years. Now that the Eco-Clay product has been scientifically vetted, with only final logistics left to complete, it's only a matter of time before it makes an appearance in the Australian cement manufacturing market.
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