Another carbon capture breakthrough demonstrated

We have demonstrated another ground-breaking carbon capture process, this time at our Ribblesdale cement works in Clitheroe, Lancashire.

The team proved that enforced carbonation of recycled concrete paste (RCP) within the plant’s existing wet scrubber allows for a high CO₂ uptake within less than 30 minutes, preventing emissions entering the atmosphere.

During the trial 15 tonnes of industrial RCP were fed into the scrubber. The result was 100kg of CO₂ being bound within each tonne of RCP, demonstrating another carbon capture breakthrough.

Sustainability director, Marian Garfield, said: “The trial was carried out with Heidelberg Materials’ R&D team and marks another important milestone in our carbon capture journey.

“It confirmed the feasibility of enforced carbonation, which supports the circular economy by using waste recovered concrete fines to remove CO2 emissions from the production process while producing a secondary material that can then be used to replace virgin limestone in cement and concrete production.”

The Ribblesdale trial follows one carried out under semi-dry conditions at Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway and underlines that the company is at the forefront of carbon capture technology to enable its path to net zero. The learning from the two trials will accelerate Heidelberg Materials’ planning and implementation of industrial pilot schemes in the coming years.