Role of the Japanese Cement Industry in the Establishment of a Sustainable Society

摘要

Cement is widely produced and used. However, cement production significantly consumes energy and natural resources and globally accounts for approximately 5% of man-made CO2 emissions. The cement industry in Japan has continuously conducted research and development in the pursuit of low-carbon energy technologies. As a result of adoption of such technologies the industry achieved world-leading standards of energy efficiency for clinker production in the 1990's. Furthermore, in 1996 the industry set a sector target for a 3% reduction in the total energy intensity for cement production by 2010 compared to the 1990 level. In spite of shrinkage in cement demand due to the recent economic circumstances, the industry managed to achieve a 4.4% reduction between 2008 and 2012.Additionally, the industry recently is at the heart of the recycling-based society by utilizing many types of wastes such as used tires, plastics and sewage sludge, and also by-products such as blast furnace slag, as alternative fuels and raw materials. In 2012 total consumption of those wastes and by-products reached 30 million tonnes which is equivalent to 6% of the total wastes disposed in Japan and, as a consequence, the remaining capacity of existing landfill sites is estimated to have been extended by 7.7 years. This paper describes how the cement industry contributes to the establishment of a sustainable society where a recycling-based society is integrated with a low-carbon society.