Insight
Microscopic masons: can bacteria and microalgae build a greener cement future?
*Please note that this report only includes an Excel data file if this is indicated in "What's included" below
Report summary
What if the cement industry's biggest climate challenge could be solved by Earth's tiniest workers? The sector faces a massive hurdle: cutting 2.4 billion tonnes of annual CO2 emissions while meeting the global cement demand. Bacteria and microalgae have been managing carbon for billions of years and could hold part of the solution. This Insight reveals how cement plants worldwide are putting these microscopic carbon experts to work. We dive into groundbreaking pilot projects that capture CO2 straight from smokestacks and transform it into valuable products. Our analysis uncovers the costs, performance data and commercial potential of these bio-based technologies. We examine which approaches work, which struggle, and where the cement industry is heading. With cement's unavoidable process emissions proving stubborn to tackle, could these tiny organisms hold the key to decarbonising one of the world's hard-to-abate industries?
Table of contents
- Executive summary
- Cement industry’s dilemma: decarbonising while fuelling global growth
- CO 2 captured, but not solved – transport, storage and utilisation challenges
- CCUS implementation: a necessity for cement sector decarbonisation
- Nature-inspired solutions: innovative approaches to CCUS challenges
- Bacterial CO 2 sequestration is a concept still trapped in the lab
- Microalgae have emerged as promising candidates for utilising captured CO 2
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From laboratory promise to industrial reality
- Pioneering projects lead the way
- Technology advances and cost falls
- Diverse approaches emerge
- Next-generation solutions
- Conclusion: watch this space
Tables and charts
This report includes the following images and tables:
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Cement plant CO2 removal pathwaysTotal planned nominal CO2 capture capacity in the cement sectorCarbonation reaction apparatus from the University of Nanjing (China) [1]
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Potential locations for deep aquifer biomineralisationMicroalgae production value chainGlobal cement industry microalgae pilot projects
What's included
This report contains:
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