January 23, 2014

Athena’s latest technical brief investigates not only the potential CO2 savings of Portland-Limestone Cement (PLC), but also a larger set of potential environmental impacts, using life cycle assessment (LCA) to better understand the merits of incorporating PLC relative to using Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in common concrete mix designs.

Results of the study indicate that, relative to OPC, PLC shows a 10% to 12% improvement in environmental performance across similar concrete mix designs. These improved results were found to be proportional to the quantity of cement required in the mix design, suggesting that greater improvements are possible, especially if Canadian concrete standards were to allow greater PLC substitution levels as European standards do.

Jamie Meil, Athena’s Managing Director, while acknowledging that the Canadian cement and concrete industry has come a long way in terms of energy conservation, states that, “The ability to further displace clinker in the cement recipe could be a fundamental game changer for improving the industry’s overall environmental footprint.”

To read the Technical Brief, click here .