Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this video we will take a look at a technology that is a brand new take on some of the most important and most emissions intensive industrial processes that modern society relies on. We’re talking cement manufacturing – responsible for 8% of global emissions on its own. Processing minerals like iron ore, alumina, spodumene. Together these processes supply the materials we need for modern life – concrete, steel, aluminium, batteries, to go in buildings, wind turbines, solar panels and EVs that we need into the future. These materials are vital for the future but come with stubborn emissions that can’t be simply electrified away.
We are going to head inside the R&D facility for Calix and their spinoff Leilac (Low Emissions Lime And Cement). They have reimagined the humble kiln or furnace that has been powering these critical processes for hundreds and in some cases thousands of years, to get rid of those hard to abate process emissions. And they’ve invited us here today to take a look and tell us how it works.
If you would like to help develop the Engineering with Rosie channel, you could consider joining the Patreon community, where there is a chat community (and Patreon-only Discord server) about topics covered in the videos and suggestions for future videos and production quality improvements patreon.com/engineeringwithrosie
Or for a one-off contribution you can support by buying a coffee ☕️ here —
buymeacoffee.com/engwithrosie
Follow us for more short videos:
instagram.com/engwithrosie
tiktok.com/@engineeringwithrosie
Bookmarks:
00:00 Intro
00:39 Overview of CALIX & LEILAC
01:11 Challenges in achieving low-emission cement production
02:20 LEILAC's solution
02:39 Differences from conventional kilns
03:05 How LEILAC kilns work
04:31 Lab-scale calciner
05:04 Top of the calciner
05:59 Bottom of the calciner
06:30 What material is the kiln made of?
07:15 How can LEILAC be integrated into an existing cement manufacturing plant?
08:02 LEILAC carbon capture vs. carbon capture & storage (CCS)
08:17 Is it possible to avoid combustion emissions altogether?
09:23 How much does it cost?
09:41 Current progress in the cement industry
11:01 Hard-to-abate sectors
11:52 Where would LEILAC be really cost-effective?
Sponsorship policy is here: pardaloteconsulting.com/blog/engineering-with-rosie-sponsorship-policy
Sources:
leilac.com/technology
understanding-cement.com/kiln.html#:~:text=Basic%20principle%20of%20a%20precalciner%20cement%20kiln
weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/cement-production-country-world-third-largest-emitter
ember-climate.org/data/data-tools/carbon-price-viewer
https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/energy-tran[…]ged-carbon-capture-tax-credit-but-challenges-persist-experts
heidelbergmaterials.com/en/pi-23-03-2022
leilac.com/cemex-projects
leilac.com/project-leilac-1
leilac.com/news/leilac-2-heidelberg-materials-cement-plant-ennigerloh-germany
The Engineering with Rosie team is:
Rosemary Barnes: Presenter, producer, writer
Javi Diez: Editor linkedin.com/in/javierdiezsuarez
Fatini Nur: Research and production assistant linkedin.com/in/fatinin
In this video we will take a look at a technology that is a brand new take on some of the most important and most emissions intensive industrial processes that modern society relies on. We’re talking cement manufacturing – responsible for 8% of global emissions on its own. Processing minerals like iron ore, alumina, spodumene. Together these processes supply the materials we need for modern life – concrete, steel, aluminium, batteries, to go in buildings, wind turbines, solar panels and EVs that we need into the future. These materials are vital for the future but come with stubborn emissions that can’t be simply electrified away.
We are going to head inside the R&D facility for Calix and their spinoff Leilac (Low Emissions Lime And Cement). They have reimagined the humble kiln or furnace that has been powering these critical processes for hundreds and in some cases thousands of years, to get rid of those hard to abate process emissions. And they’ve invited us here today to take a look and tell us how it works.
If you would like to help develop the Engineering with Rosie channel, you could consider joining the Patreon community, where there is a chat community (and Patreon-only Discord server) about topics covered in the videos and suggestions for future videos and production quality improvements patreon.com/engineeringwithrosie
Or for a one-off contribution you can support by buying a coffee ☕️ here —
buymeacoffee.com/engwithrosie
Follow us for more short videos:
instagram.com/engwithrosie
tiktok.com/@engineeringwithrosie
Bookmarks:
00:00 Intro
00:39 Overview of CALIX & LEILAC
01:11 Challenges in achieving low-emission cement production
02:20 LEILAC's solution
02:39 Differences from conventional kilns
03:05 How LEILAC kilns work
04:31 Lab-scale calciner
05:04 Top of the calciner
05:59 Bottom of the calciner
06:30 What material is the kiln made of?
07:15 How can LEILAC be integrated into an existing cement manufacturing plant?
08:02 LEILAC carbon capture vs. carbon capture & storage (CCS)
08:17 Is it possible to avoid combustion emissions altogether?
09:23 How much does it cost?
09:41 Current progress in the cement industry
11:01 Hard-to-abate sectors
11:52 Where would LEILAC be really cost-effective?
Sponsorship policy is here: pardaloteconsulting.com/blog/engineering-with-rosie-sponsorship-policy
Sources:
leilac.com/technology
understanding-cement.com/kiln.html#:~:text=Basic%20principle%20of%20a%20precalciner%20cement%20kiln
weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/cement-production-country-world-third-largest-emitter
ember-climate.org/data/data-tools/carbon-price-viewer
https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/energy-tran[…]ged-carbon-capture-tax-credit-but-challenges-persist-experts
heidelbergmaterials.com/en/pi-23-03-2022
leilac.com/cemex-projects
leilac.com/project-leilac-1
leilac.com/news/leilac-2-heidelberg-materials-cement-plant-ennigerloh-germany
The Engineering with Rosie team is:
Rosemary Barnes: Presenter, producer, writer
Javi Diez: Editor linkedin.com/in/javierdiezsuarez
Fatini Nur: Research and production assistant linkedin.com/in/fatinin
