Environmental impact analysis of PCC cement products (Portland Composite Cement) using LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

Abstract

The cement industry has a strategic position in the Indonesian economy. The cement industry, which significantly contributes to the environment due to the use of resources and the resulting emissions, faces challenges in environmental sustainability. Composite portland cement uses less clinker composition and is considered more environmentally friendly. This study attempts to find the hotspots of the cement production process by life cycle assessment (LCA) and evaluates several improvement scenarios in which the best available technologies and energy substitution measures are considered. The assessment was carried out using a cradle-to-gate approach. The potential primary environmental impacts of composite portland cement using the EPD method (2018) are global warming potential (GWP) of 601 kgCO2eq, acidification (AP) of 0.928 kg SO2eq, the potential for eutrophication of 0.385 KgPO4eq, the potential for depletion of the ozone layer. of 0.0000043 Kg CFC-11 eq. Calcination is a critical hotspot for tackling climate change. Hotspots or processes with the largest contribution to the impact of GWP are CO2 emissions from clinkerization operations of 84.80%. The biggest potential impact is GWP which has the largest normalised value among other potential impacts. The biggest impact contribution is at the stages of the production process caused by CO2 emissions of 92%. The recommended scenario to reduce the potential impact of GWP is to increase the thermal substitution rate using alternative fuels and carbon capture technology.