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Process Data set: CEM I 42.5 R bulk cement (en) en

Key Data Set Information
Location IE
Geographical representativeness description Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom.
Reference year 2025
Name
CEM I 42.5 R bulk cement
Use advice for data set This LCA covers the Product Stage modules: A1, A2 and A3. This is termed 'cradle to gate'.
Technical purpose of product or process Cement is a composite of synthetic minerals exhibiting hydraulic properties on mixing with water and is used to produce concrete and concrete products. The main material components of the cement are clinker, ground limestone and gypsum. The cement is manufactured in accordance with EN 197-1:2011 Cement. Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements. The cement manufacturing process involves crushing, blending and melting, at extreme temperatures, local limestones, clays and shales. These materials provide the four basic ingredients that are essential for cement, Calcium, Silicon, Aluminium and Iron. In simple terms these essential ingredients are extracted from the raw materials and rearranged into clinker inside the high temperature cement kiln. Co-processing with the alternative fuel SRF (Solid Recovered Fuel) is an important part of the process to replace imported coal in combustion fuels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Co-processing is the combination of simultaneous material recycling and energy recovery from waste in a thermal process, which results in replacing natural mineral resources and fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum products. This simultaneous process in the kiln sees the organic component of the waste products fuel the cement kiln, and the mineral elements of the waste become part of the cement clinker. This means that co-processing results in no leftover materials, like ash. As the clinker exits the kiln it is cooled and then stored on site. It is later ground in energy efficient mills with other materials to make the final cement products. CEM I Cement is made by blending clinker with small amounts of minor additional constituents i.e. limestone chips and gypsum, as well as a chromate-reducing agent. A grinding aid is also added to assist in the grinding process. The cement is manufactured at the Mannok cement plant at Scotchtown, Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, Ireland in accordance with I.S. EN 197-1:2011, Compositions, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements.
General comment on data set Data quality: Time Representativeness: The production year of this LCA is 2023, and the Ecoinvent version 3.9.1 (March 2023) database is used. These are less than 2 years apart. Time representativeness is considered to be Very Good. Geographical Representativeness: The processes used in the production of the cement are geographically representative, insofar as the production location (Ireland) lies within the region for which the relevant Ecoinvent environmental records have been selected. The dataset is up-to-date and representative for the current technology and the materials used in the processes of manufacturing the cement. Geographical Representativeness is considered to be Very Good. Technical Representativeness: Data is from the processes and products under study. The same state of technology that is used by Mannok is that defined in the goal and scope. The processes at Mannok use electricity, coal, fuel oil, SRF fuel and diesel. The dominant environmental impacts of clinker/cement manufacture arise from CO2 emissions, from process emissions and burning of fuels. The data on CO2 emissions for the clinker/cements in this LCA have been taken from the annual AER Installation Report for the Mannok cement factory, published by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, under the EU’S Emissions Trading Scheme. Technical Representativeness is considered to be Very Good. Allocation: The measurement of environmental impacts in this EPD uses the LCIA methodologies recommended for PEF 3.0. In this EPD, the waste processes are allocated in the relevant module. In the case of the use of secondary materials or energy recovered from secondary fuels, the system boundary between the system under study and the previous system (providing the secondary materials) is set where outputs of the previous system, e.g. materials, products, building elements or energy, reach the end-of-waste state. The modularity and the polluter payer principles have been followed. Cut-off criteria: All relevant inputs and outputs - like emissions, energy and materials - have been taken into account in this LCA, and in accordance with EN15804+A2:2019. The study covers at least 95% of the materials and energy per module and at least 99% of the total use of materials and energy of each unit process. Long term emissions have been excluded from the study.
Copyright Yes
Owner of data set
Quantitative reference
Reference flow(s)
Biogenic carbon content
  • Carbon content (biogenic): 1.0 kg
  • Carbon content (biogenic) - packaging: 1.0 kg
Time representativeness
Data set valid until 2030
Time representativeness description "2025-10-14" - "2030-10-13"
Technological representativeness
Technology description including background system The technical data for CEM I 42.5 R is given the table below.

Indicators of life cycle

IndicatorDirectionUnit
Use of renewable primary energy (PERE)
Input
Use of renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials (PERM)
Input
Total use of renewable primary energy resource (PERT)
Input
Use of non renewable primary energy (PENRE)
Input
Use of non renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials (PENRM)
Input
Total use of non renewable primary energy resource (PENRT)
Input
Use of secondary material (SM)
Input
Use of renewable secondary fuels (RSF)
Input
Use of non renewable secondary fuels (NRSF)
Input
Use of net fresh water (FW)
Input
Hazardous waste disposed (HWD)
Output
Non hazardous waste dispose (NHWD)
Output
Radioactive waste disposed (RWD)
Output
Components for re-use (CRU)
Output
Materials for recycling (MFR)
Output
Materials for energy recovery (MER)
Output
Exported electrical energy (EEE)
Output
Exported thermal energy (EET)
Output

IndicatorUnit
Abiotic depletion potential - fossil resources (ADPF)
Abiotic depletion potential - non-fossil resources (ADPE)
Acidification potential, Accumulated Exceedance (AP)
Depletion potential of the stratospheric ozone layer (ODP)
Eutrophication potential - freshwater (EP-freshwater)
Eutrophication potential - marine (EP-marine)
Eutrophication potential - terrestrial (EP-terrestrial)
Global Warming Potential - biogenic (GWP-biogenic)
Global Warming Potential - fossil fuels (GWP-fossil)
Global Warming Potential - land use and land use change (GWP-luluc)
Global Warming Potential - total (GWP-total)
Global warming potential except emissions and uptake of biogenic carbon (GWP-IOBC/GHG)
Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP)
Water (user) deprivation potential (WDP)

IndicatorUnit
1This impact category deals mainly with the eventual impact of low dose ionizing radiation on human health of the nuclear fuel cycle. It does not consider effects due to possible nuclear accidents, occupational exposure nor due to radioactive waste disposal in underground facilities. Potential ionizing radiation from the soil, from radon and from some construction materials is also not measured by this indicator.
2The results of this environmental impact indicator shall be used with care as the uncertainties on these results are high or as there is limited experiences with the indicator.
Potential Comparative Toxic Unit for ecosystems (ETP-fw) 2
Potential Comparative Toxic Unit for humans - cancer effects (HTP-c) 2
Potential Comparative Toxic Unit for humans - non-cancer effects (HTP-nc) 2
Potential Human exposure efficiency relative to U235 (IRP) 1
Potential Soil quality index (SQP) 2
Potential incidence of disease due to PM emissions (PM) 2