Concrete

Concrete as a Carbon Sink for Reducing Global Warming

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2024

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Dr Anjan K Chatterjee, Managing Director, Conmat Technologies, Kolkata, presents a comprehensive analysis of the intricate dynamics of the carbon cycle and its implications for global climate change, particularly focusing on the role of the cement and concrete industry. Examining the interplay between carbon sources and sinks, he explores the potential of concrete as a carbon sink, shedding light on its carbonation process and the implications for CO2 sequestration, in the first instalment of this two-part series.

The ‘Carbon Cycle’ that interconnects the natural carbon sources and carbon sinks is a critical life-support process in our planet (Figure 1). The most abundant greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), is continuously recycled on the earth. Carbon sources refer to the processes that release CO2 to the atmosphere, while carbon sinks are the processes that absorb it. As we know, forests, soil, oceans, the atmosphere, and fossil fuels are the important stores of carbon and it moves between these different stores that act either as sinks or sources. It is also understood that a sink absorbs more carbon than it gives off, while a source emits more carbon than it absorbs. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere at any time depends on the balance that exists between the sinks and sources.

Figure 1: Carbon sources and sinks constituting the carbon cycles

Before the Industrial Revolution the carbon cycle was relatively balanced but it has been tilted later towards higher concentration of carbon in the atmosphere due to the increasing industrial activities on the planet (Figure 2). This has been happening because humans produce the greenhouse gases (GHG), and more particularly CO2 and CH4 (methane), much faster than the natural sources can absorb them. The production-based global generation of GHG, and the top eight GHG emitting countries in 2018 are shown below:

China: 11,706 MT CO2-e
USA: 5,794
India: 3,347
EU + UK: 3,333
Russia: 1,992
Indonesia: 1,704

Brazil: 1,421
Japan: 1,155
Total World: 48,928
Among the industrial activities, the production of Portland cement ranks high in generating CO2, creating up to 8 per cent of worldwide man-made emissions of this gas. This is identified as a major contributor to the probable rise in average global temperature exceeding 20C. In recent years, a school of thought has emerged whether it is justified to consider the amount of CO2 emitted directly from the cement manufacturing process as the total cement industry emissions to affect the global temperature rise. This is due to the fact that cement is used mainly in the form of concrete, mortar and plaster in built structures, which over time undergo carbonation involving reverse penetration of CO2. The knowledge about carbonation of existing concrete structures is well-established. The CO2 uptake by the cement-based products including concrete has not been considered historically in the CO2 estimation for climate change. Furthermore, there are many technologies in development, which promise significant potential of enhancing the recycling of CO2 in concrete and cement-based products. Thus, it seems justified to consider that, while the cement production is a carbon source, the cement-based products may act as carbon sinks. The concept of concrete as a carbon sink will be a game-changer for the cement and concrete industry as a whole for improving the climate performance of the sector.

Recap of Concrete Carbonation
Carbonation of concrete has been a subject of study primarily for understanding the mechanism of reinforcement corrosion and the resultant deterioration of concrete. In concrete carbonation, the reaction process relates to the cement matrix part of the concrete and its occurrence is eventually inevitable. It is caused by the ingress of atmospheric CO2 reacting with the pore water to form carbonic acid, which in turn reacts with the lime-bearing hydrated phases in the cement matrix.. This neutralises the alkalinity of concrete and occurs progressively. A carbonation front moves through the concrete until it reaches the steel. The passive layer then breaks down as pH falls from over 12.0 to around 8.0. In fact, corrosion of steel starts in the presence of O2 and H2O as pH falls below 11.0.

A typical Portland cement concrete may show a carbonation depth of 5-8 mm after about 10 years, rising to 10-15 mm after 50 years. Therefore, structures with low concrete cover over the reinforcing steel will show carbonation-induced corrosion more quickly than those with good cover. The rate of advancement of the carbonation front is dependent on the diffusion kinetics of CO2 in concrete, which in turn is related to its quality. Concretes made with high w/c ratios and with low cementitious materials content will carbonate faster than low-porosity high-strength concrete. The blended cement concretes, because of their low alkaline reserves, tend to carbonate faster than the grade of concrete for an equivalent OPC content. The rate of carbonation is also affected by the environmental conditions. Carbonation is more rapid in fairly dry and wet-and-dry cyclic environments.
Though carbonation is a harmful process for the reinforcement steel, for the concrete mass without metal reinforcement, the effect is beneficial, because the product of carbonation reaction CaCO3 has larger volume than the major hydrating phase Ca(OH)2, thus resulting in better pore filling and increase in the strength of concrete. It has also been observed that the carbonation reactions occur during the entire life cycle of a structure or a concrete element, though it might be initiated at the exposed surfaces and limited to cover concrete, jointing mortar and plasters and renderings. Interestingly, a study on concrete bridges cast between 11 and 76 years revealed that at 76 years of casting carbonation of concrete was still evident except that the carbonation rate was lower compared to newer structures [1].

Carbonation reaction
It is known that surfaces of concrete and other cement-based materials in direct contact with carbon dioxide and water are prone to carbonation, which spreads inwards at a rate proportional to the square root of time. The hydrated cement phases and the pore solution are the starting points for carbonation. There are four important hydration products with varying amounts of CaO available in them for carbonation as shown in Table 1 [2]. Portlandite (CH) and C-S-H gel are the most abundant in occurrence with high binding capacity.
Carbon dioxide dissolves in the pore solution of cement paste, producing carbonate ions, which react with calcium ions to produce solid calcium carbonate. The hydroxyl and calcium ions required by these reactions are obtained by the dissolution of calcium hydroxide and decomposition of the hydrated silicate and aluminate phases. The reactions involving the calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate hydrate phases may be represented by the following equations:
CO2 + 2OH- ? CO32- + H2O
(1)
Ca2+ + CO32- ? CaCO3 (2)
Ca(OH)2 ? Ca2+ + 2OH- (3)
xCaO.SiO2(aq) + zH2O ? yCa2+ + 2yOH- + (x – y)CaO.SiO2(aq)
(4)
The rate and degree of carbonation is governed mainly by the factors such as the size and geometry of the porous structure, the degree of water saturation in the pore system, the type of cement and supplementary cementitious materials, the chemical composition of the pore solution, the temperature, and the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. As already stated above, the carbonation of the hydrated cement matrix results in increase of strength and hardness in concrete and also reduction of its permeability and shrinkage. The concrete becomes more volume stable and consequently, further volume destabilisation due to subsequent moisture changes is prevented.

co2 Uptake in Concrete
The degree of carbonation in concrete is generally determined in the laboratory by the phenolphthalein test. The phenolphthalein applied carbonated periphery in a broken piece of a carbonated concrete is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Carbonated periphery of a crushed concrete fragment as determined by the phenolphthalein test.

It is generally observed that in the first year of service the carbonation depth varies from I mm in dense dry concrete to 5 mm or more in more permeable concrete with high water content. The depth increases in subsequent years. The carbonation process proceeds faster when RH lies in the range of 50-75 per cent.
Calculating the uptake of CO2 in concrete and other cement-containing products as well as its impact on the global climate is a complex task. There is no unambiguous calculation method that can be used for this purpose. However, certain approximate and empirical models were attempted for this purpose and the results were significantly different. A comprehensive summary was published in 2016 [3]. The findings can be broadly summarised as follows:

A study conducted in 2005 in four Nordic studies showed that within 50 years the projected extent of carbonation will range from 24% to 43%. The penetration depth will be about 32 mm.
A 1997 study of 18 bridges, aged from 14 to 56 years at the time of study, reported carbonation depths of up to 50 mm.
A 2017 study of the Itaipu dam commissioned in 1984 in Paraguay reported the average and maximum carbonation depths of 33 mm and 73.3 mm.
A 2018 study of two 100-year old bridges in Slovakia revealed that the exposed surfaces carbonated to a depth of 60 mm, but some surfaces protected by 2-3 mm layers of impermeable plaster prevented carbonation.
The demolished concrete materials showed faster rates of carbonation.

Another study, based on different datasets compiled from field surveys in China and a comprehensive synthesis of prior data, was reported in [4]. The study attempted to model the global atmospheric CO2 uptake not only in concrete but also in mortar, construction cement waste, and cement kiln dust between 1930 and 2013 in four regions, e.g., China, the US, Europe and the rest of the world. Furthermore, the study included a sensitivity analysis of the uptake estimates in respect of 26 different variables. Without going into the details of calculations, it may be stated that for concrete three stages in the lifecycle were considered – service life, demolition and secondary use of concrete waste. In each case the exposed surface areas, thicknesses, exposure conditions including the atmospheric CO2 concentrations in different regions, and exposure time were taken into account in the modelling exercise. The average service life of the buildings was derived from the range of 35 to 70 years. The effects of different strength classes in concrete, exposure conditions, additions and coatings were explicitly modelled. The calculation of carbon sequestration from mortar was calculated from mortar thickness and annual carbonation depth. The carbon uptake in construction waste and kiln dust was calculated with due consideration of the generation rate and measured carbonation fractions. For modelling, Fick’s diffusion law was used and the carbonation rate coefficients were derived from both experimental measurements and review of relevant literature. The net annual CO2 emissions related to cement production minus the estimated annual CO2 sequestration due to carbonation of cement materials is shown in Figure 5. Between 1990 and 2013 the annual carbon uptake has shown an increase 5.8 per cent per year on average, slightly faster than 5.4 per cent growth in process emissions. Cumulatively it was estimated that an amount of 4.5 GtCyr-1 has been sequestered by cement materials since 1930 and more specifically, the annual sequestration rate increased from 0.10GtCyr-1 in 1998 to 0.25 GtCyr-1 in 2013. In total, it was estimated that roughly 43 per cent of the cumulative cement process emissions of CO2 produced between 1930 and 2013 have been reabsorbed by carbonating cement materials.

A few other points that emerged from this study are worth mentioning:

During the period of study, based on the regional details, the break-up of CO2 storage was 68 per cent from concrete, 27 per cent from mortar, 2 per cent from cement losses in the course of construction, and 3 per cent from cement kiln dust
Cement mortars acted as the most effective carbon sink, though only 30 per cent of cement is used in it. This was apparently because of the extensive exposed exterior surface of mortars.
Despite a relatively smaller exposure area, concrete was the second largest contributor to the carbon sink, because of its sheer volume.
The cement losses during construction and the cement kiln dust at the production stage were also contributors to the total sink.

Reporting co2 Emissions
Three international systems for monitoring, quantifying and reporting of CO2 emissions are prevalent:

Reporting of national CO2 emissions to UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
EU climate and energy frameworks for lowering climate impact
Environmental product declaration (EPD)

The guidelines for UNFCCC reporting were developed by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Although the carbonation of cement products was included in the document in 2006 but the scientific consensus then was not in favour of inclusion into national inventories. Since it has now emerged from various studies that the concrete as carbon sink must be accounted for in calculating the net emissions of CO2, there is an urgent need to review the IPCC guidelines. The situation is not much different in the EU systems that include ETS (Emission Trading System) and ESR (Effort Sharing Regulation). It appears that there is some flexibility in EU/ESR to consider CO2 bound in construction timber but not for the emissions and uptake by the concrete construction. In EPD, there is a scope for following the European standard EN 16757:2017 (Sustainability of construction works – Environmental Product Declarations – Product Category Rules for Concrete and Concrete Elements), though mortars and renderings are not covered in the standard.
Thus, there is a visible gap in developing a scientifically reliable approach for tracking and reporting of CO2 emissions and absorption in the cement, cement-based building products and concrete construction sectors at the national and international levels.

Modeling approach for calculating CO2 uptake in existing concrete structures
A comprehensive review has been presented in [5]. The emission and uptake model, illustrated by the author, is reproduced in Figure 6. Compared to the emission process, the uptake processes are much slower and longer. The primary uptake is by concrete structures such as bridges, house frames, concrete tiles, concrete roads, railway sleepers, cement mortars, etc. The uptake by the post-demolition secondary products refers to crushed concrete, which may be used in as a road base or for landfilling. A complete CO2 uptake model must consider both the primary and secondary uptakes with different timeframes.
The depth of carbonation, d, can be calculated by the well-established formula: d=kvt, where, t is time and k is the rate of carbonation, depending on the exposure and concrete quality. In addition, it is necessary to know another parameter, DOC (Degree of Carbonation), defined as the amount of CO2 uptake in relation to the theoretical maximum CO2 uptake, corresponding to 100 per cent DOC. While the theoretical maximum uptake can be taken as the amount of CO2 emitted from the limestone calcination in the clinker making process, the degree of carbonation may be determined by the phenolphthalein test on concrete samples. Values of k and DOC are provided in the annexure to EN 16757:2018.
The CO2 uptake in kg per m2 of concrete during t years for any application can be calculated as CO2 uptake at a surface = (k x DOC)(v (t)/1000) x Utcc x C, (5)
Where k is the rate of carbonation for the surface in mm/v(t),
DOC is degree of carbonation for the surface,
T is the number of years, Utcc is the maximum theoretical uptake in kg CO2/kg cement (e.g., ~0.49 for CEM I), C is the cement content in kg cement/m3 concrete.
For an application, structure or product the total CO2 uptake in kg may then be calculated, based on the sum of the uptake at all different surfaces according to the equation

Figure 6: Schematic diagram of the CO2 emission and uptake model.

Total CO2 uptake = S(ki x DOCi x Ai) x Utcc x C (6) where i denotes surfaces and A is the surface area in m2.
Further, the CO2 uptake per m3 can be obtained by dividing the total uptake by the total volume of concrete.
The blended cements or concrete with additions like granulated slag, fly ash or calcined clay are normally considered to have higher carbonation rates but precise and reliable data is not readily available. Hence, a possible way out for the present may be to apply a factor, corresponding to the clinker content in the blended cement, to the theoretical uptake computed for the normal Portland cement such as CEM I.
Further to the above approach of modeling, two other progressively more precise approaches, termed as tier 2 and tier 3, have been proposed in [5], These refined approaches essentially are based on the use of historical cement production and application statistics in a country or a region with varying timeframes. The three tiers will also differ in respect of the uptake parameters at the end-of-life stage and the secondary use stage of concrete. The intent is to have a reliable estimate of net emissions of CO2 from the cement industry after proper accounting of reabsorption of CO2 in concrete and other cement-based building products.

*References will be provided in the concluding part, in the next issue

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Anjan K Chatterjee is a Fellow at the Indian National Academy of Engineering, a Materials Scientist and the Author of ‘Cement Production Technology: Principles and Practice.’

Table 1: Major hydration products of Portland cement and their binding capacity
Compositional parameters CSH CH AFm AFt All
Hydrate phase content, % 50 25 10 10 95
CaO molar ratio 0.42 0.76 0.36 0.27 –
CaO % corresponding to the hydrate phase content 21 19 3.6 2.7 46
Assumed degree of carbonation, % 50 100 75 50 –
CaO available for carbonation in the hydrate phases, % 11 19 2.7 1.3 34
CaO available for carbonation relative to the total CaO in the hydrate phases, % 23.9 41.3 5.9 2.8 74

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Refractory demands in our kiln have changed

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3 days ago

February 20, 2026

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Radha Singh, Senior Manager (P&Q), Shree Digvijay Cement, points out why performance, predictability and life-cycle value now matter more than routine replacement in cement kilns.

As Indian cement plants push for higher throughput, increased alternative fuel usage and tighter shutdown cycles, refractory performance in kilns and pyro-processing systems is under growing pressure. In this interview, Radha Singh, Senior Manager (P&Q), Shree Digvijay Cement, shares how refractory demands have evolved on the ground and how smarter digital monitoring is improving kiln stability, uptime and clinker quality.

How have refractory demands changed in your kiln and pyro-processing line over the last five years?
Over the last five years, refractory demands in our kiln and pyro line have changed. Earlier, the focus was mostly on standard grades and routine shutdown-based replacement. But now, because of higher production loads, more alternative fuels and raw materials (AFR) usage and greater temperature variation, the expectation from refractory has increased.
In our own case, the current kiln refractory has already completed around 1.5 years, which itself shows how much more we now rely on materials that can handle thermal shock, alkali attack and coating fluctuations. We have moved towards more stable, high-performance linings so that we don’t have to enter the kiln frequently for repairs.
Overall, the shift has been from just ‘installation and run’ to selecting refractories that give longer life, better coating behaviour and more predictable performance under tougher operating conditions.

What are the biggest refractory challenges in the preheater, calciner and cooler zones?
• Preheater: Coating instability, chloride/sulphur cycles and brick erosion.
• Calciner: AFR firing, thermal shock and alkali infiltration.
• Cooler: Severe abrasion, red-river formation and mechanical stress on linings.
Overall, the biggest challenge is maintaining lining stability under highly variable operating conditions.

How do you evaluate and select refractory partners for long-term performance?
In real plant conditions, we don’t select a refractory partner just by looking at price. First, we see their past performance in similar kilns and whether their material has actually survived our operating conditions. We also check how strong their technical support is during shutdowns, because installation quality matters as much as the material itself.
Another key point is how quickly they respond during breakdowns or hot spots. A good partner should be available on short notice. We also look at their failure analysis capability, whether they can explain why a lining failed and suggest improvements.
On top of this, we review the life they delivered in the last few campaigns, their supply reliability and their willingness to offer plant-specific custom solutions instead of generic grades. Only a partner who supports us throughout the life cycle, which includes selection, installation, monitoring and post-failure analysis, fits our long-term requirement.

Can you share a recent example where better refractory selection improved uptime or clinker quality?
Recently, we upgraded to a high-abrasion basic brick at the kiln outlet. Earlier we had frequent chipping and coating loss. With the new lining, thermal stability improved and the coating became much more stable. As a result, our shutdown interval increased and clinker quality remained more consistent. It had a direct impact on our uptime.

How is increased AFR use affecting refractory behaviour?
Increased AFR use is definitely putting more stress on the refractory. The biggest issue we see daily is the rise in chlorine, alkalis and volatiles, which directly attack the lining, especially in the calciner and kiln inlet. AFR firing is also not as stable as conventional fuel, so we face frequent temperature fluctuations, which cause more thermal shock and small cracks in the lining.
Another real problem is coating instability. Some days the coating builds too fast, other days it suddenly drops, and both conditions impact refractory life. We also notice more dust circulation and buildup inside the calciner whenever the AFR mix changes, which again increases erosion.
Because of these practical issues, we have started relying more on alkali-resistant, low-porosity and better thermal shock–resistant materials to handle the additional stress coming from AFR.

What role does digital monitoring or thermal profiling play in your refractory strategy?
Digital tools like kiln shell scanners, IR imaging and thermal profiling help us detect weakening areas much earlier. This reduces unplanned shutdowns, helps identify hotspots accurately and allows us to replace only the critical sections. Overall, our maintenance has shifted from reactive to predictive, improving lining life significantly.

How do you balance cost, durability and installation speed during refractory shutdowns?
We focus on three points:
• Material quality that suits our thermal profile and chemistry.
• Installation speed, in fast turnarounds, we prefer monolithic.
• Life-cycle cost—the cheapest material is not the most economical. We look at durability, future downtime and total cost of ownership.
This balance ensures reliable performance without unnecessary expenditure.

What refractory or pyro-processing innovations could transform Indian cement operations?
Some promising developments include:
• High-performance, low-porosity and nano-bonded refractories
• Precast modular linings to drastically reduce shutdown time
• AI-driven kiln thermal analytics
• Advanced coating management solutions
• More AFR-compatible refractory mixes

These innovations can significantly improve kiln stability, efficiency and maintenance planning across the industry.

Concrete

Digital supply chain visibility is critical

Published

3 days ago

February 20, 2026

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MSR Kali Prasad, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shree Cement, discusses how data, discipline and scale are turning Industry 4.0 into everyday business reality.

Over the past five years, digitalisation in Indian cement manufacturing has moved decisively beyond experimentation. Today, it is a strategic lever for cost control, operational resilience and sustainability. In this interview, MSR Kali Prasad, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shree Cement, explains how integrated digital foundations, advanced analytics and real-time visibility are helping deliver measurable business outcomes.

How has digitalisation moved from pilot projects to core strategy in Indian cement manufacturing over the past five years?
Digitalisation in Indian cement has evolved from isolated pilot initiatives into a core business strategy because outcomes are now measurable, repeatable and scalable. The key shift has been the move away from standalone solutions toward an integrated digital foundation built on standardised processes, governed data and enterprise platforms that can be deployed consistently across plants and functions.
At Shree Cement, this transition has been very pragmatic. The early phase focused on visibility through dashboards, reporting, and digitisation of critical workflows. Over time, this has progressed into enterprise-level analytics and decision support across manufacturing and the supply chain,
with clear outcomes in cost optimisation, margin protection and revenue improvement through enhanced customer experience.
Equally important, digital is no longer the responsibility of a single function. It is embedded into day-to-day operations across planning, production, maintenance, despatch and customer servicing, supported by enterprise systems, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data platforms, and a structured approach to change management.

Which digital interventions are delivering the highest ROI across mining, production and logistics today?
In a capital- and cost-intensive sector like cement, the highest returns come from digital interventions that directly reduce unit costs or unlock latent capacity without significant capex.
Supply chain and planning (advanced analytics): Tools for demand forecasting, S&OP, network optimisation and scheduling deliver strong returns by lowering logistics costs, improving service levels, and aligning production with demand in a fragmented and regionally diverse market.
Mining (fleet and productivity analytics): Data-led mine planning, fleet analytics, despatch discipline, and idle-time reduction improve fuel efficiency and equipment utilisation, generating meaningful savings in a cost-heavy operation.
Manufacturing (APC and process analytics): Advanced Process Control, mill optimisation, and variability reduction improve thermal and electrical efficiency, stabilise quality and reduce rework and unplanned stoppages.
Customer experience and revenue enablement (digital platforms): Dealer and retailer apps, order visibility and digitally enabled technical services improve ease of doing business and responsiveness. We are also empowering channel partners with transparent, real-time information on schemes, including eligibility, utilisation status and actionable recommendations, which improves channel satisfaction and market execution while supporting revenue growth.
Overall, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IIoT are powerful enablers, it is advanced analytics anchored in strong processes that typically delivers the fastest and most reliable ROI.

How is real-time data helping plants shift from reactive maintenance to predictive and prescriptive operations?
Real-time and near real-time data is driving a more proactive and disciplined maintenance culture, beginning with visibility and progressively moving toward prediction and prescription.
At Shree Cement, we have implemented a robust SAP Plant Maintenance framework to standardise maintenance workflows. This is complemented by IIoT-driven condition monitoring, ensuring consistent capture of equipment health indicators such as vibration, temperature, load, operating patterns and alarms.
Real-time visibility enables early detection of abnormal conditions, allowing teams to intervene before failures occur. As data quality improves and failure histories become structured, predictive models can anticipate likely failure modes and recommend timely interventions, improving MTBF and reducing downtime. Over time, these insights will evolve into prescriptive actions, including spares readiness, maintenance scheduling, and operating parameter adjustments, enabling reliability optimisation with minimal disruption.
A critical success factor is adoption. Predictive insights deliver value only when they are embedded into daily workflows, roles and accountability structures. Without this, they remain insights without action.

In a cost-sensitive market like India, how do cement companies balance digital investment with price competitiveness?
In India’s intensely competitive cement market, digital investments must be tightly linked to tangible business outcomes, particularly cost reduction, service improvement, and faster decision-making.
This balance is achieved by prioritising high-impact use cases such as planning efficiency, logistics optimisation, asset reliability, and process stability, all of which typically deliver quick payback. Equally important is building scalable and governed digital foundations that reduce the marginal cost of rolling out new use cases across plants.
Digitally enabled order management, live despatch visibility, and channel partner platforms also improve customer centricity while controlling cost-to-serve, allowing service levels to improve without proportionate increases in headcount or overheads.
In essence, the most effective digital investments do not add cost. They protect margins by reducing variability, improving planning accuracy, and strengthening execution discipline.

How is digitalisation enabling measurable reductions in energy consumption, emissions, and overall carbon footprint?
Digitalisation plays a pivotal role in improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions and lowering overall carbon intensity.
Real-time monitoring and analytics enable near real-time tracking of energy consumption and critical operating parameters, allowing inefficiencies to be identified quickly and corrective actions to be implemented. Centralised data consolidation across plants enables benchmarking, accelerates best-practice adoption, and drives consistent improvements in energy performance.
Improved asset reliability through predictive maintenance reduces unplanned downtime and process instability, directly lowering energy losses. Digital platforms also support more effective planning and control of renewable energy sources and waste heat recovery systems, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Most importantly, digitalisation enables sustainability progress to be tracked with greater accuracy and consistency, supporting long-term ESG commitments.

What role does digital supply chain visibility play in managing demand volatility and regional market dynamics in India?
Digital supply chain visibility is critical in India, where demand is highly regional, seasonality is pronounced, and logistics constraints can shift rapidly.
At Shree Cement, planning operates across multiple horizons. Annual planning focuses on capacity, network footprint and medium-term demand. Monthly S&OP aligns demand, production and logistics, while daily scheduling drives execution-level decisions on despatch, sourcing and prioritisation.
As digital maturity increases, this structure is being augmented by central command-and-control capabilities that manage exceptions such as plant constraints, demand spikes, route disruptions and order prioritisation. Planning is also shifting from aggregated averages to granular, cost-to-serve and exception-based decision-making, improving responsiveness, lowering logistics costs and strengthening service reliability.

How prepared is the current workforce for Industry 4.0, and what reskilling strategies are proving most effective?
Workforce preparedness for Industry 4.0 is improving, though the primary challenge lies in scaling capabilities consistently across diverse roles.
The most effective approach is to define capability requirements by role and tailor enablement accordingly. Senior leadership focuses on digital literacy for governance, investment prioritisation, and value tracking. Middle management is enabled to use analytics for execution discipline and adoption. Frontline sales and service teams benefit from
mobile-first tools and KPI-driven workflows, while shop-floor and plant teams focus on data-driven operations, APC usage, maintenance discipline, safety and quality routines.
Personalised, role-based learning paths, supported by on-ground champions and a clear articulation of practical benefits, drive adoption far more effectively than generic training programmes.

Which emerging digital technologies will fundamentally reshape cement manufacturing in the next decade?
AI and GenAI are expected to have the most significant impact, particularly when combined with connected operations and disciplined processes.
Key technologies likely to reshape the sector include GenAI and agentic AI for faster root-cause analysis, knowledge access, and standardisation of best practices; industrial foundation models that learn patterns across large sensor datasets; digital twins that allow simulation of process changes before implementation; and increasingly autonomous control systems that integrate sensors, AI, and APC to maintain stability with minimal manual intervention.
Over time, this will enable more centralised monitoring and management of plant operations, supported by strong processes, training and capability-building.

Concrete

Redefining Efficiency with Digitalisation

Published

3 days ago

February 20, 2026

admin

Professor Procyon Mukherjee discusses how as the cement industry accelerates its shift towards digitalisation, data-driven technologies are becoming the mainstay of sustainability and control across the value chain.

The cement industry, long perceived as traditional and resistant to change, is undergoing a profound transformation driven by digital technologies. As global infrastructure demand grows alongside increasing pressure to decarbonise and improve productivity, cement manufacturers are adopting data-centric tools to enhance performance across the value chain. Nowhere is this shift more impactful than in grinding, which is the energy-intensive final stage of cement production, and in the materials that make grinding more efficient: grinding media and grinding aids.

The imperative for digitalisation
Cement production accounts for roughly 7 per cent to 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions, largely due to the energy intensity of clinker production and grinding processes. Digital solutions, such as AI-driven process controls and digital twins, are helping plants improve stability, cut fuel use and reduce emissions while maintaining consistent product quality. In one deployment alongside ABB’s process controls at a Heidelberg plant in Czechia, AI tools cut fuel use by 4 per cent and emissions by 2 per cent, while also improving operational stability.
Digitalisation in cement manufacturing encompasses a suite of technologies, broadly termed as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), AI and machine learning, predictive analytics, cloud-based platforms, advanced process control and digital twins, each playing a role in optimising various stages of production from quarrying to despatch.

Grinding: The crucible of efficiency and cost
Of all the stages in cement production, grinding is among the most energy-intensive, historically consuming large amounts of electricity and representing a significant portion of plant operating costs. As a result, optimising grinding operations has become central to digital transformation strategies.
Modern digital systems are transforming grinding mills from mechanical workhorses into intelligent, interconnected assets. Sensors throughout the mill measure parameters such as mill load, vibration, mill speed, particle size distribution, and power consumption. This real-time data, fed into machine learning and advanced process control (APC) systems, can dynamically adjust operating conditions to maintain optimal throughput and energy usage.
For example, advanced grinding systems now predict inefficient conditions, such as impending mill overload, by continuously analysing acoustic and vibration signatures. The system can then proactively adjust clinker feed rates and grinding media distribution to sustain optimal conditions, reducing energy consumption and improving consistency.

Digital twins: Seeing grinding in the virtual world
One of the most transformative digital tools applied in cement grinding is the digital twin, which a real-time virtual replica of physical equipment and processes. By integrating sensor data and
process models, digital twins enable engineers to simulate process variations and run ‘what-if’
scenarios without disrupting actual production. These simulations support decisions on variables such as grinding media charge, mill speed and classifier settings, allowing optimisation of energy use and product fineness.
Digital twins have been used to optimise kilns and grinding circuits in plants worldwide, reducing unplanned downtime and allowing predictive maintenance to extend the life of expensive grinding assets.

Grinding media and grinding aids in a digital era
While digital technologies improve control and prediction, materials science innovations in grinding media and grinding aids have become equally crucial for achieving performance gains.
Grinding media, which comprise the balls or cylinders inside mills, directly influence the efficiency of clinker comminution. Traditionally composed of high-chrome cast iron or forged steel, grinding media account for nearly a quarter of global grinding media consumption by application, with efficiency improvements translating directly to lower energy intensity.
Recent advancements include ceramic and hybrid media that combine hardness and toughness to reduce wear and energy losses. For example, manufacturers such as Sanxin New Materials in China and Tosoh Corporation in Japan have developed sub-nano and zirconia media with exceptional wear resistance. Other innovations include smart media embedded with sensors to monitor wear, temperature, and impact forces in real time, enabling predictive maintenance and optimal media replacement scheduling. These digitally-enabled media solutions can increase grinding efficiency by as much as 15 per cent.
Complementing grinding media are grinding aids, which are chemical additives that improve mill throughput and reduce energy consumption by altering the surface properties of particles, trapping air, and preventing re-agglomeration. Technology leaders like SIKA AG and GCP Applied Technologies have invested in tailored grinding aids compatible with AI-driven dosing platforms that automatically adjust additive concentrations based on real-time mill conditions. Trials in South America reported throughput improvements nearing 19 per cent when integrating such digital assistive dosing with process control systems.
The integration of grinding media data and digital dosing of grinding aids moves the mill closer to a self-optimising system, where AI not only predicts media wear or energy losses but prescribes optimal interventions through automated dosing and operational adjustments.

Global case studies in digital adoption
Several cement companies around the world exemplify digital transformation in practice.
Heidelberg Materials has deployed digital twin technologies across global plants, achieving up to 15 per cent increases in production efficiency and 20 per cent reductions in energy consumption by leveraging real-time analytics and predictive algorithms.
Holcim’s Siggenthal plant in Switzerland piloted AI controllers that autonomously adjusted kiln operations, boosting throughput while reducing specific energy consumption and emissions.
Cemex, through its AI and predictive maintenance initiatives, improved kiln availability and reduced maintenance costs by predicting failures before they occurred. Global efforts also include AI process optimisation initiatives to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact.

Challenges and the road ahead
Despite these advances, digitalisation in cement grinding faces challenges. Legacy equipment may lack sensor readiness, requiring retrofits and edge-cloud connectivity upgrades. Data governance and integration across plants and systems remains a barrier for many mid-tier producers. Yet, digital transformation statistics show momentum: more than half of cement companies have implemented IoT sensors for equipment monitoring, and digital twin adoption is growing rapidly as part of broader Industry 4.0 strategies.
Furthermore, as digital systems mature, they increasingly support sustainability goals: reduced energy use, optimised media consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions. By embedding intelligence into grinding circuits and material inputs like grinding aids, cement manufacturers can strike a balance between efficiency and environmental stewardship.
Conclusion
Digitalisation is not merely an add-on to cement manufacturing. It is reshaping the competitive and sustainability landscape of an industry often perceived as inertia-bound. With grinding representing a nexus of energy intensity and cost, digital technologies from sensor networks and predictive analytics to digital twins offer new levers of control. When paired with innovations in grinding media and grinding aids, particularly those with embedded digital capabilities, plants can achieve unprecedented gains in efficiency, predictability and performance.
For global cement producers aiming to reduce costs and carbon footprints simultaneously, the future belongs to those who harness digital intelligence not just to monitor operations, but to optimise and evolve them continuously.

About the author:
Professor Procyon Mukherjee, ex-CPO Lafarge-Holcim India, ex-President Hindalco, ex-VP Supply Chain Novelis Europe, has been an industry leader in logistics, procurement, operations and supply chain management. His career spans 38 years starting from Philips, Alcan Inc (Indian Aluminum Company), Hindalco, Novelis and Holcim. He authored the book, ‘The Search for Value in Supply Chains’. He serves now as Visiting Professor in SP Jain Global, SIOM and as the Adjunct Professor at SBUP. He advises leading Global Firms including Consulting firms on SCM and Industrial Leadership and is a subject matter expert in aluminum and cement. An Alumnus of IIM Calcutta and Jadavpur University, he has completed the LH Senior Leadership Programme at IVEY Academy at Western University, Canada.