A review on development of Portland limestone cement: A step towards low carbon economy for Indian cement industry

Abstract

Globally we are concerned for the sustainability of civilization and every nation is working in accordance with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). According to SDG 13 (Climate Action) year 2019 was the second warmest year and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission was reported as the major responsible factor for global warming. Many Countries agreed to reduce the emission of CO2 and India has also taken target to reduce emission by 33–35% by 2030 from 2005 levels. Up to 7% CO2 of the total world CO2 emission goes into atmosphere by cement and concrete industries only. Cement and concrete industries are facing issues related to the use of supplementary cementing materials (SCM), designing of concrete mixtures using optimum cement content, and augmentation of concrete durability toward sustainability. India is now heading towards development of Portland-limestone cement (PLC) with the utmost advantage of introducing limestone into cement. By doing so the amount of clinker needed for the production of specific amount of cement would decreases and overall volume of cement would increase. If we can reduce the clinker factor, it would eventually lead to significant amount of fuel and energy saving and saving of our natural resources. In this graphical review, we provide an overview of the benefits and challenges of mixing limestone in cement. We briefly summarize effect of limestone on various physiochemical properties of cement and the contribution of PLC development towards green economy.