An 'i' for an 'i' ...  

• Investment combined with innovation drives major positive change in the tradition-bound cement sector
• New technology cuts costs, reduces harmful emissions and paves the way for further improvements

Austria's Kirchdorfer Cement Plant is recognised for its resource efficiency, low-emissions and high safety standards. It credits investment in new technology for this major transformation.

Cement production releases 5-6 % of all carbon dioxide generated by human activities, accounting for some 4 % of global warming. It can release huge amounts of persistent organic pollutants, such as dioxins and heavy metals and particles. Energy consumption in the sector is also considerable. The CO2 footprint per tonne of cement in Austria, for example, is on average 778 kg.

The world's first large-scale plant for exhaust air purification with the new DeCONOx technology was introduced at Kirchdorfer Zementwerk in August 2015. DeCONOx combines low-dust with a regenerative thermal oxidation process which help clean flue gasses, with no additional energy required. This combination can reduce organic carbon compounds, carbon monoxide and, in some cases, odours. Built-in catalysts also reduce NOx concentrations.

Key benefits

The advantages of the system implemented by Kirchdorfer include: 

• Significantly reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), organic carbon compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide (CO)
• Lower operating costs and energy requirements

As the cement industry is one of the most energy intensive industries, improvements in energy efficiency like this translate into major benefits across the global building sector.