Comparative life cycle assessment of three 2030 scenarios of the Brazilian cement industry

The cement industry is intensive in energy and feedstock use. It includes three main phases: raw materials and energy supply, transport, and manufacturing. The sector is known for its considerable environmental impacts. The increase in energy efficiency and the use of non-fossil fuels and raw materials are considered mature technologies in cement industries. We evaluate different environmental impacts of the production of 1 t of cement in four Brazilian scenarios. We compare one business-as-usual reference scenario (case 1) to three alternative 2030 carbon mitigation sectoral plan scenarios (cases 2, 3a, and 3b) that assume mature technologies. We analyze all 18 impact categories within the ReCiPe 2016 Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Results show reductions in 17 impact categories, ranging from no change in ozone depletion (case 2) to 39% reduction in fossil resource scarcity (case 3b). The effects on climate change decreased 14% in case 2 and 33% in cases 3a and 3b. The clinkerization process is the greatest contributor to atmospheric impacts, while raw material consumption to toxicity impacts. In contrast, there is no single main process contributing to resource depletion impacts. The changes in cement production lead to carbon emission reductions above expected levels and to reductions in other environmental impact categories modeled in ReCiPe 2016 method.