Forterra has teamed up with Swedish mining company LKAB Minerals in reusing manufacturing waste by recycling crushed brick waste into calcined clay as a low-carbon alternative to cement
LKAB Minerals, part of the Swedish state-owned mining company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag, Forterra, are pioneering the commercialised use of recycled brick waste as a sustainable, low-carbon cement alternative.
The recycled brick waste is processed into calcined clay, which can be used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in line with international cement standards.
The use of recycled brick waste materials has already saved around 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, according to Forterra
Traditionally the process of producing calcined clay involves heating raw clay to temperatures between 700-800°C, which reduces water and carbon dioxide present in the clay. Sustaining these high temperatures creates significant emissions- but Forterra’s approach skips the superheating stage, as the waste bricks have already been fired and the carbon accounted for.
The overall embodied carbon of the product is therefore much lower than typically produced calcined clay, helping reduce project emissions and providing a new avenue for the circular economy.
Concrete produced with the SCM also has reduced the porosity of the concrete, Forterra claims, with increased strength-producing compounds.
The crushed brick waste was sent from Forterra’s Kings Dyke brickworks near Peterborough to LKAB Minerals’ sites in the UK, where it was fine-milled to an agreed specification, becoming a reactive calcined clay material. Use of the calcined clay at one of their aggregate block plants has already reduced CO2 emissions by around 2,000 tonnes in 2024, according to Forterra.
Forterra estimates it will produce around 35,000 tonnes of calcined clay annually
Forterra chief executive Neil Ash, commented: “Forterra is proud to be the first in the industry to commercialise the use of calcined clay as a sustainable, low-carbon cement alternative.
“We’re ambitious in our targets to reduce CO2 emissions within our operations and value chain, so being at the forefront of innovations such as this partnership shows the level of our aspirations, while also underpinning our commitment to the environment.
“Leading the way in sustainable and circular industry practices allows us to reduce our emissions and add value to our business. But it also has wider benefits. By offering high-quality, low-carbon products, we help to reduce the embodied carbon in construction, cutting emissions across the industry as a whole.”
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