Cement products: PCB 30; TYPE IP / P / IT; CEM II 32.5 N; CEM II 32.5 R

Cement is one of the most important building materials used in the construction industry, working as binder that sets, hardens and adheres to other materials to bind them together forming concrete, mortars, grouts and plasters. Cement is a so-called intermediate product with many different final uses. Cement may for example be used in ready-mix concrete, precast concrete, mortar, screed, base treatment for various types of infrastructures, etc.. Each final (concrete, mortar, grout, plaster) product and each application requires a different type of cement with a different composition, resulting in many cement types produced by cement manufacturers.

The cements can be packed in plastic or paper bags or could be transported as bulk using tanker trucks or ships.

Cement is defined in standards published by CEN/TC 51 (EN 197-1) as “a hydraulic binder, i.e. a finely ground inorganic material which, when mixed with water, forms a paste which sets and hardens by means of hydration reactions and processes and which, after hardening, retains its strength and stability even under water”.

This EPD covers multiple products within a group of cement types. The EPD data is based on the worst-case approach, making it possible to group the cements. LCA-results are reported for the cement type within the group with the worst environmental performance in LCA-results, based on clinker content being the most important contributor to the environmental impact, and based on lowest recycled content: CEM II 32.5 R. The LCA-results also apply to the other products within the group. The variation in GWP-GHG results is <10%.