Multinational building materials company, CEMEX, has successfully tested a process that converts CO2 emitted by its cement making process into carbon nanomaterials.
Due to their unique mechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical properties, carbon nanomaterials have several potential applications in a wide array of industries, the company said in a press release.
The technology was born out of Smart Innovation, CEMEX’s internal open innovation platform, and was one of the winners of the 2019 innovation competition.
Recently, the team has achieved promising results – a carbon conversion rate of 50% in a lab setting. The next step is to scale the technology in a cement plant pilot within a year.
Fernando A. Gonzalez, CEO of CEMEX, said: “This breakthrough technology is significant for CEMEX, not only because it offers the potential to commercialise carbon emissions, but because it demonstrates the value of our Smart Innovation platform.”
Nanomaterials include high-tech materials such as nanofibers, nanotubes, graphene, and carbon black, that have applications in several industries including electronics, automotive, refractory ceramics, agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textile, and construction materials.
CEMEX is also exploring and evaluating different applications of carbon nanomaterials to develop cement-based materials with novel and advanced performance, such as mechanical, chemical resistance, or thermal and electrical properties.
Image credit: CEMEX
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