EDMONTON — Lehigh Hanson has released a new carbon cement product.
The EcoCem PLUS product is a blended Portland limestone cement (PLC) that can now be found in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Lehigh stated in a press release its new cement product significantly reduces the carbon footprint of concrete while also being strong and durable. The Environmental Product Declaration for EcoCem PLUS states the product has an immediate reduction in Global Warming Potential versus other types of cement.
The cement is produced by inter-grinding clinker, fly ash, limestone and gypsum at the company’s Edmonton cement plant. Lehigh claims EcoCem PLUS outperforms traditional cement in resisting sulphate attack, a common issue for Prairie builders.
“The motivation behind the EcoCem brand of products is to reduce the embodied carbon of cement and concrete,” said Shawn McMillan, vice-president, cement for Lehigh Hanson’s Canada region, in a statement. “The introduction of EcoCem PLUS to the Prairie market builds on our commitment to providing environmentally responsible types of cement that deliver excellent performance while dramatically reducing CO2 emissions.”
According to Lehigh, the low carbon cement can lower the carbon footprint by more than 22 per cent as compared to Lehigh’s general use cement.
HeidelbergCement, Lehigh Cement’s global parent company, has promised to cut 30 per cent of its carbon emissions by 2025 and offer carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.
How can this truly be low carbon? It uses “clinker” which is the waste from a coal-burning plant.