Towards Cleaner Cement
A Systematic Review of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64059/eiu.v3i1.100Keywords:
LC3, SCMs, low-carbon cement, life cycle assessment, durability, circular economyAbstract
Decarbonizing the cement industry requires a binder that is both low carbon and globally deployable. LC3 is the only supplementary cementitious material with sufficient geological abundance to meet this challenge. Raw materials are widely available, production demands less energy, and durability performance is well established. This PRISMA 2020 compliant systematic review synthesizes evidence from a large body of peer reviewed studies, covering raw materials, calcination, hydration, mechanical properties, durability, environmental performance, economics, and industrial deployment. LC3‑50 reduces GWP by 30–40% per ton, and by approximately 90% per year of marine service on a functional‑unit basis. Compressive strength equals OPC at 28 days. Chloride diffusivity drops by 10 to 100 times, while basic creep compliance is 28–30% lower than OPC at paste level. Despite these advantages, critical gaps remain in freeze‑thaw, creep, fire performance, and non‑tropical carbonation. A three-horizon roadmap is proposed to address these gaps. At 20–30% global deployment, LC3 could cut annual CO₂ emissions by 800–900 million tones. The evidence positions LC3 as the most scalable near-term low carbon cement technology.
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