Cemex has received a grant from the US Department of Energy to develop a carbon capture unit at its cement plant in Victorville, California.
Cemex says the project will also contemplate cost-competitive solutions to close the loop on current carbon emissions.
Non-profit research institute RTI International is leading the initiative. Cemex is working with UK-based Carbon Clean and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The consortium will seek to increase efficiencies in Cemex’s overall building material fabrication process, while significantly reducing its carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint through the leverage of technological upgrades.
The project is seeking to develop, optimise and scale-up specific CO2 capture process components, as well as incorporate next-generation non-aqueous solvents.
Integration aspects of the low-cost process intensification capture technology with Cemex’s cement plant are also planned to be covered, together with cost evaluations and technical considerations for the transformation of captured CO2 into new marketable products.
Paul Mobley, research chemical engineer at RTI, says: “With Cemex being a project partner and technology stakeholder, the design and integration of the capture system with its cement plant, and subsequent use of the CO2 at its concrete plants are set to align with the industry’s needs. The development of this highly disruptive CO2 capture technology could accelerate industry adoption and thereby significantly reduce industrial emissions.”
Aniruddha Sharma, CEO of Carbon Clean, says: “Cemex shares our mission to enable the net zero transition by developing affordable modularised carbon capture solutions. This latest grant from the US Government endorses the importance of such work.”
