CEMENTING POSSIBILITIES

After water, cement is the most widely used material on the planet. It is also the second largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide. Little wonder the sector is a priority target for decarbonisation to meet India' climate commitments. But the very nature of cement production makes elimination of carbon emissions a difficult, if not impossible, task. Here is a step-by-step strategy to turn this carbon-intensive industry into a carbon-lean one.

- PARTH KUMAR

What water is to life, cement W is to the modern world. Since it was developed two centuries ago during an experiment by British bricklayer Joseph Aspdin, who heated a mix of limestone and clay to form a fine powder that hardened when exposed to water, cement has become the foundation of modern civilisation. Today it is the second most used material after water. Globally, a person uses 530 kg of cement on average in a year. The dependence on this robust and versatile construction material can be gauged from the fact that an individual in India consumes more than double the amount of cement than the staple food, rice-240 kg of cement in a year against 102 kg of rice.

The problem is that this staple of the modern life is also a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Production of 1 kg of cement releases almost an equal amount up to 0.8 kg-of carbon dioxide (CO₂). According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the sector is considered to be the second largest industrial emitter in the world, and contributes about 7 per cent of CO₂ emissions globally. To put it in perspective, if the cement industry were a country it would be the third-largest emitter of CO,, after the US and China.