FISSAC Project

Industrial symbiosis is today considered one of the most important approaches in the context of sustainability in many countries. The cement and concrete sectors play a critical role in industrial symbiosis applications. In an environment where raw material sources are becoming increasingly scarce, sustainable economic development cannot be achieved without protecting natural resources. In recent years, waste quantities generated have increased along with population growth. Storing these wastes in landfills has over time negatively affected human health and caused environmental pollution. Furthermore, landfills are insufficient to accommodate the increasing quantities of waste. The raw material compositions used in cement production contain CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. The presence of these oxides in generated waste enables their ready use as raw material or additive substitutes in the cement sector. The use of these sources is of great importance for protecting both natural resources and the environment. The cements produced through the use of such materials in the cement sector are generally referred to as eco-cement. Eco-cement can be produced from clinkers with different compositions than Portland cement clinker; one of these is Calcium Sulfo Aluminate (CSA) cement. The main reason these cements are called eco-cement is that they are produced at lower temperatures (approximately 1200-1300°C) compared to conventional clinker and/or waste substitution can be applied. When CSA cements are compared with Portland cements, due to lower carbon dioxide emissions, they offer advantages such as lower energy consumption, reduced consumption of natural resources through substitution with industrial by-products, and sulfate resistance. Another eco-cement, "blended cement," has the advantage of reducing environmental impacts with low clinker content and low natural raw material content. The FISSAC (Promoting Industrial Symbiosis across the Extended Construction Value Chain for Resource Intensive Industries) Project, implemented under the HORIZON 2020 Programme funded by the European Union, aims to reduce environmental impacts and apply a zero-waste approach at industrial scale;

Industrial symbiosis and circular economy are intended to be used between the steel, non-ferrous metals, minerals, cement, ceramics, glass and construction sectors. The FISSAC project includes 26 partners from 9 different countries.

As the Türkiye Çimento Müstahsilleri Birliği (TÇMB) Research and Development Institute, we have been actively participating in the FISSAC project since 2015. In the FISSAC Project, we are responsible for 9 out of 10 work packages, and among our tasks are producing CSA cement and blended cement, which we call eco-cement, using waste materials sourced from different industries. Another targeted work is a 50-meter concrete road application using the blended cement we have produced. As a priority, we conducted characterization studies of waste materials in the TÇMB R&D Institute Quality Control Independent Testing Laboratories. We selected optimal property formulations from CSA and blended cement mixtures prepared in different proportions.

After laboratory-scale production of the cements for our selected formulations, we conducted quality parameter analyses in our laboratories.

We conducted pilot production of CSA cement formulations prepared using aluminum dross, glass waste, ceramic waste and crucible furnace dross as waste materials at the Çimsa Mersin Cement Plant. Producing CSA cement with limited production in Turkey and Europe, especially using waste while achieving desired technical properties, will make a significant contribution to the cement sector. The FISSAC project is very important in this regard as an example that will lead to broader use of CSA cement, which is not widely produced but is highly valuable from environmental and technical perspectives. Additionally, in blended cement production, we used glass waste, ceramic waste and crucible furnace dross as mineral additives. We conducted industrial-scale blended cement production at the OYAK Adana Cement Plant using a formulation selected according to strength and characterization properties. Another important work in this project is implementing a concrete road application using the selected blended cement and electric arc furnace dross as an alternative aggregate. In the FISSAC Project, which will be completed in 2020, eco-cement, one of the most important outputs of the project and developed by the TÇMB R&D Institute, has been produced. A zero-waste vision is targeted through the use of waste as alternative raw materials and mineral additives in production. With this innovative approach, it will help create industrial symbiosis and circular economy, protect natural resources, manage waste disposal and improve energy efficiency compared to conventional production methods. Serkan Türk Quality Control Independent Testing Laboratories Manager Türkiye Çimento Müstahsilleri Birliği (TÇMB)