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In Quebec, cement production represents ~16% of Quebec's industrial GHG emissions, i.e. 3.9 Mtéq. CO2 in 2019 (MELCC, 2021). While these emissions are considerable, decarbonizing Portland cement production is a major challenge. On the one hand, we need to eliminate the fossil fuels used for heating up to 1450°C, which enables limestone decarbonation and cement clinkerization (~35% of emissions). On the other hand, the CO2 released by limestone decarbonation needs to be captured from a low-concentration effluent and sequestered (65% of emissions).
The proposed project aims to develop a method for producing Portland cement with zero CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, using microwave technology. The approach is to electrify the process on an industrial scale, enabling: (a) the replacement of fossil fuels with hydroelectric power and (b) the production of a compressed CO2 off-gas for sequestration (in the absence of combustion, the off-gas is virtually pure in CO2). Since the microwave cement will be a Portland cement meeting Canadian standards, it can be rapidly adopted by the industry.
The spin-offs for Pyrowave are a unique intellectual property enabling it to commercialize a technology targeting a global market of over 300 billion USD and generating around 3 Gt CO2 eq. annually. The spin-offs for Quebec are economic, through the development of a Quebec company, and environmental, with a potential reduction of up to 3.9 Mt CO2 eq. annually.
Assistant Professor
Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS)
$ 751 516
Pyrowave Inc.
Université de Sherbrooke