Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada (members of Holcim Group), recently announced the completion of a pilot project at Lafarge’s Brookfield Cement Plant in Nova Scotia. The project aims to produce clinker, the basis of cement production, from recycled materials, reducing CO2 levels by 60 percent per tonne of clinker.
Cement is one of the essential components of concrete, which is by far the most widely used building material in the world. The cement industry is responsible for up to 8 percent of total global CO2 emissions so reducing these emissions can go a long way towards helping the environment.
The project aims to ensure that cement production is 100 percent circular. By sourcing fuels that were destined for landfill and by substituting virgin raw materials with lower carbon options, the group managed to achieve their goal of using all recycled components.
While there are two Canadian companies leading the project in Nova Scotia this is actually Holcim group’s second attempt at generating clinker from recycled materials. They had already produced 100 percent recycled clinker in one of their plants in France in 2022 so the company already had evidence that the project could succeed.
Andrew Stewart, Vice President, Cement at Lafarge Canada, is hopeful that this new recycled concrete mix will help reduce the carbon emissions produced by the entire construction industry in Nova Scotia over the next few years. “This new clinker product will be used to produce a 100 percent recycled cement during this pilot,” he recently mentioned, which will in turn be employed in ready mix concrete operations to produce a 100 percent recycled concrete product – advancing decarbonization and circular construction in Nova Scotia,” he stated.
