Cement from Waste Glass and CO2

Carbon Upcycling Technologies secures GBP 2.3 million funding to produce climate-resilient cement from waste glass and CO2. Carbon Upcycling Technologies (Carbon Upcycling), a carbon utilisation company producing CO2-enhanced cement and concrete additives, announced it has received GBP 2.3 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). This will be the world's leading commercial-scale cement additive facility combining CO2 capture and waste glass, and Carbon Upcycling's first project in Europe. The commercial pilot project will isolate up to five tonnes per day of CO2 emissions from a post-consumer glass recycling facility, while also extending the life of 50 tonnes of coloured glass waste. This represents a project that eliminates approximately 16,500 tonnes of local crushed glass from entering landfills, sequesters approximately 1,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would otherwise reach the atmosphere, and reduces more than 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions on a lifecycle basis through cement replacement. This funding will support a consortium managed by Carbon Upcycling including CEMEX, Glass Technology Services, British Glass Chief (MKD32) Matthew Demon and others in the glass and cement industries. Gonzalo Galindo, President of CEMEX Ventures, said: "By combining our extensive industry expertise with the most promising and innovative solutions, we are committed to leading efforts to support the decarbonisation of the cement sector. At CEMEX, we aim to reach net zero by 2050, and this project with Carbon Upcycling is an important milestone towards using captured carbon to achieve this goal. This project will help us double the industry's cement replacement usage by 2030 and allow CEMEX to participate in a circular economy initiative." Carbon Upcycling will use its patented carbon utilisation process to activate post-consumer coloured glass powders. From Glass Technology Services: "Generally, recycling this waste from glass in a cost-effective manner is difficult. Isolating CO2 emissions and producing high-performance supplementary cement-based materials for use in low-carbon concrete and blended cement will create a new generation of climate-resilient materials for infrastructure." Apoorv Sinha, CEO of Carbon Upcycling Technologies, said: "The launch of the glass valorisation and low-carbon cement project is a major milestone for Carbon Upcycling on our journey towards real-world impact. By creating a valuable product from one of the most challenging waste streams in the glass industry and directly utilising cement kiln gas in our process, Carbon Upcycling will offer the UK market a low-cost, low-carbon alternative to imported cement-based materials. This project is fundamentally aligned with Carbon Upcycling's vision of a truly circular carbon economy and is one of several exciting projects that underscores the versatility of our technology and the purpose of our organisation."   SOURCE