Geneva Rock began utilizing a more sustainable cement powder this year in an effort to meet industry demands and help lower its environmental footprint by reducing carbon emissions.
The transition involved moving to a ASTM C595 IL Portland-Limestone cement, which contains an additional 5% inter-ground limestone compared to traditional ASTM C150 II/V cement.
“The difference between IL cement and the historical II/V cement is that there is an additional 5% inter-ground limestone integrated during the final milling process,” said Frank Houston, Geneva Rock’s Area Manager of Quality Control and Technical Services. “By adding 5% more limestone, the cement manufactures are able to increase the plant’s manufacturing capacity to meet the markets increasing demands and decrease the amount of clinker necessary to produce the same volume of material used for concrete production.
“Clinker is the C02 producing component of the cement manufacturing cycle where limestone, aluminosilicates like clay, and other necessary materials are fused at very high temperatures though a cement kiln. The clinker is then ground to the necessary fineness through the final milling process to produce the final product, cement.”
This is a big step, as far as helping move the industry in the direction of generating greener concrete. This transition to Portland-Limestone cement (1L) will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 10% over the traditional Portland cement while maintaining equivalent fresh and hardened performance.
Geneva Rock began due diligence trials with the new cement a year and a half ago in order to investigate the properties of the materials before switching company-wide to the new product at the start of 2022.
“The important thing to note with this change is that we maintain the integrity of everything we do within the company’s vision,” Frank said. “We still produce high-quality concrete while at the same time being more environmentally conscious which helps us in Building a Better Community.”