Information Article

New Options for Sustainability in the Cement Industry

Overview
Regain HiCal products are a source of cost effective energy and have cement mineralizing properties that can reduce the energy requirements and carbon dioxide emission in cement manufacture. This Information Article has been prepared as an introduction to the benefits from using these Regain products in manufacturing cement.

Summary
Manufacturers of cement are faced increasing energy costs and increasing expectation to reduce the embodied energy in their product and to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Regain has access to a range of carbon and fluorine rich materials. The carbon is a cost effective source of thermal energy. The presence of fluorine means that HiCal products also have cement mineralization properties that can be used to produce a more active cement clinker which allows a higher degree of clinker substitution. Regain products have been used as fuel in cement manufacture in Australia since 1997. HiCal cement fuel and mineralizer products are high quality materials that have proved to provide an economical source of alternate fuel with mineralization and fluxing properties delivering: better clinker factor reduced cost lower energy consumption reduced CO2 emissions.

Experience in using Regain HiCal products in cement manufacture indicates that there are significant economic and environmental benefits available for cement manufacturers including with no negative effects on cement quality. More than ten million tonnes of cement have been produced using HiCal fuel.

Background
Regain provides by-product reprocessing services for the primary aluminium smelting industry. The manufacture of primary aluminium sees production of carbon by-product materials with significant fluorine content. These materials have traditionally been diverted to waste streams. The fuel value and beneficial mineralizing properties of fluorine rich by-products from the aluminium smelting process are well known however the use of such materials has been limited because of safety and environmental concerns. Between 2001 and 2005 Regain developed technology to detoxify the hazardous smelter by-products and, with other materials, to re-manufacture them into high quality mineral products that are safe to use. Regain products are not classified as waste materials in the countries in which they are currently used, Australia and China. The Regain technology is a breakthrough innovation in detoxifying aluminium smelter by-product materials with patents for this technology granted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and South Africa and with patents pending in the Europe and the Middle East.

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Information Article

New Options for Sustainability in the Cement Industry

Clinker Substitution Using Mineralizers
Clinker substitution is a key part of the strategy for CO2 reduction in cement manufacture. By producing clinker with enhanced hydration and final strength characteristics less energy/CO2 intensive clinker is required in a composite cement. This delivers a double benefit in CO2 emission reduction: less CO2 from decarbonisation of limestone in the cement raw feed less CO2 as a result of less energy required per tonne of final cement product.
1

The following figure drawn from data from The International Energy Agency data shows clinker substitution as part of a broader strategy for controlling CO2 emissions.

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Regain 2011 All rights reserved

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Information Article

New Options for Sustainability in the Cement Industry

Fluorine as a Mineralizer
US Patent Number 5,698,027 dated December, 1997 assigned to F. L. Schmidt A/S, Denmark relates 2 to manufacture of mineralized Portland cement using fluorine. A research report in the effect of cement mineralizers on cement production by the Norwegian 3 SINTEF Concrete Innovation Centre found that the effects of adding a mineralizer to the cement

raw mix can be the following: Decreasing burning temperature due to changes in the reactivity and burnability, Acceleration of the clinkerization reactions (higher activity on the clinker minerals) at lower burning temperatures, e.g. fluorosilicates, Alteration of surface tension (e.g. SO4) and viscosity of the melt, Formation of intermediate phases as well as more stable phases when approaching firing temperatures, Controlling the polymorphism of clinker minerals, Influencing properties of the produced cement (e.g. hydraulic activity and strength development).
4

A report for Regain by Hendrik Bekker found that a Cement Kiln Feed material prepared with HiCal 40 as an ingredient has an improved burnability index compared to Cement Kiln Feed without HiCal as an ingredient. The improvement in burnability is considered to be due to the fluxing characteristics of Fluorides (and possibly Sodium) present in HiCal 40.

Regain Mineralizer Fuel Products in Cement Manufacture

Key benefits: Reduction in fuel costs Cost effective supply of mineralizer Increased clinker substitution (in the order of 10%) Increased cement production for a given level of clinker production Reduced CO2 emissions.

References
1 The International Energy Agency
http://www.iea.org/papers/2009/Cement_Roadmap_targets_viewing.pdf
2

United States Patent Document Borgholm et al. Patent Number 5,698,027, 1997

Effect of Mineralizers in Cement Production, SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, Concrete Innovation Centre, Norway, 2007
4

Effect of HiCal 40 Fluoride MineraliserOn Cement Raw Meal Burnability, H Bekker, 2011.

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