The life cycle inventory study of cement manufacture in China

To make clear the environmental damages and potential improvements of Chinese cement industry, the detailed life cycle inventory (LCI) of cement manufacture with direct input and output in the boundary of cement plant as well as corresponded transport is conducted. The functional units are 1 t of Portland Ordinary cement and 1 t of clinker. The input data contain not only the traditional items such as raw materials (limestone, sandstone, ferrous tailings and gypsums), energy (coal and electricity), and admixtures (fly ash and furnace slag), but also fresh water which is not paid attention in other literature. The output data contain not only greenhouse gas (CO2) and primary pollution (NOx, PM, SO2), but also the hazardous air pollutants (HCl, NMVOC, PCDD/Fs, PAHs and fluoride) as well as noise and heavy metal emissions (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu) which are usually neglected by others. The data were measured on-site. The applications of reducing pollutants and waste heat recovery technologies, and AFRs usage in cement industry are evaluated. The three steps of developments of LCI study for China cement industry are discussed.