The Department of Energy (DOE) US has chosen 12 industrial plants for its CCS projects aimed at lowering the environmental pollution. CCS stands for Carbon Capturing and Sequestration and involves the capturing and storing of carbon dioxide emissions at the industrial plants thereby reducing these harmful emissions to a great extent.
One of the major sources of environmental pollution is the smoke emitted from the industries. This smoke contains a high content of carbon dioxide a hazardous gas. This serious problem needs to be dealt globally.
A total of 12 industrial plants from various industries like chemical industry, cement industry, refineries, paper mills and other manufacturing units were chosen and funded by the DOE US to work on the first phase of the CCS projects
CEMEX USA is the only cement plant selected for this mega project. CEMEX will work alongside RTI (Research Triangular Institute) and other organizations. RTI is an independent non profit research organization involved in research projects around the world. The joint venture will create a dry sorbent carbon dioxide capture and compression unit, an injection station and a pipeline if required at one of its local plants. If successful, up to one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be eliminated per year with this project.
The project is partly funded by the government of US and the private industries. The DOE has contributed $1.14 million and CEMEX USA will chip in twenty percent of the funding of the project for the first phase of the project.
Gilberto Perez the president of CEMEX USA while confirming his companys commitment towards a better future said that the project would benefit not only CEMEX but also the entire cement industry of US in general. He also said that the project will create more job opportunities as a lot of expertise was required to implement and maintain this project.
CEMEX the building materials and cement giant is a staunch supporter of a sustainable future. It has always been aware of the hazards of environmental pollution and has taken several measures to lessen the greenhouse gas emissions at its plants. In 2008 it had successfully curtailed its overall energy consumption to a large extent thereby considerably lowering its carbon dioxide emissions by 11,500 metric tons. The amount of energy it saved was equal to ten years of energy consumption in 1500 US homes. The amount of carbon dioxide it stopped from entering the environment was equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted from 21,000 cars.
In appreciation to its exceptional energy management and minimization of greenhouse gases, it was selected as the 2009 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which indeed is a great honor.
