Software aids Novacem's 'carbon-negative' cement process
31 Mar 2011
London – Novacem is using Autodesk’s AutoCAD Plant 3D software to optimise its plant design and production process, towards is goal of providing ’carbon-negative’ cement.
The Imperial College London spin-out, is developing cement based on magnesium oxide produced from magnesium silicates, as an alternative to current cement production.
Current technology creates an average of 800kg of carbon dioxide per tonne of cement. Novacem believes it can eliminate all of these emissions and achieve up to 50kg net absorption of carbon dioxide per tonne of cement.
Novacem is currently working on a programme to design construct and operate an industrial pilot plant (up to 25,000 tonnes per year) to be co-located with an existing cement plant.
After full commercialisation with industrial partners, the company aims to offer the technology throughout the cement industry to ensure its full potential to reduce carbon emissions is realised.
The company has raised a £1.1m Seed Round in 2009 from Imperial Innovations, the Royal Society Enterprise Fund and the London Technology Fund. It has also received financial and other support from the Technology Strategy Board, the Carbon Trust and industrial collaborators.
Novacem is using AutoCAD Plant 3D software to digitally design and visualise the performance of the plant’s planned automated control systems under simulated real-world conditions, all before the systems are physically built and installed.
AutoCAD Plant 3D is designed to help plant designers and engineers to help streamline the placement of piping, equipment and support structures, reduce complexity and evaluate designs.
Autodesk is supplying the Plant 3D software under its Clean Tech Partner Program, which offers digital prototyping licenses to clean technology companies, helping them innovate more rapidly.
“Being able to develop the process using state of the art layout design tools allows Novacem to effectively and efficiently scale up the technology,” said Howard Simons, Novacem vice president of engineering.
“This approach enabled us to explore different concepts by giving our design team more freedom to be creative, while pioneering new and innovative production techniques.
“This helps Novacem optimise the process design of its plant technology, as well as provide vital information associated with costing and visualising the technology for investors.”
