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Berrima Cement Works upgrades with sustainable tech

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06 Dec, 2024

This post was originally published on Sustainability Matters

Boral has unveiled new carbon-reducing technology at its Berrima Cement Works, with Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen officially opening the upgraded facility on 4 December.

Located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Berrima Cement Works supplies 40% of cement in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory. The site is strategically important both for the company and Australia’s manufacturing capability.

The upgraded facility represents a significant milestone in Boral’s decarbonisation journey as it moves away from a reliance on emissions-intensive fuels.

A key part of the upgrade is the Chlorine Bypass, which reduces the build-up of chlorides and other alternative fuel by-products as clinker is produced in the cement works’ kiln. This allows Boral to work towards its decarbonisation goal without the risks associated with increased build-up of materials within the process.

Boral CEO Vik Bansal with Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen at the opening of the upgraded facility.

“From our federal highways to the Sydney Opera House and Parliament House in Canberra, for almost a century, the Berrima Cement Works have helped to build and shape Australia,” Boral CEO Vik Bansal said at the facility opening.

“We all understand that though cement is vital to construction and building our nation, it is carbon-intensive. Boral takes its responsibility to decarbonise our operations and comply with the Safeguard Mechanism obligations seriously.

“The Chlorine Bypass Facility reaffirms this commitment and moves our vital cement manufacturing infrastructure and Southern Highlands operations into a new era — one with less impact on the planet.”

Berrima Cement Works is one of the largest employers within the Wingecarribee Local Government Area, with about 115 people working in operational and administrative roles and approximately 350 people employed across integrated sites in the Southern Highlands. The cement works also indirectly support local jobs associated with logistics, contractors and suppliers.

“We thank both the federal government and NSW Government for their respective investment in this facility and remain committed to decarbonising our operations, in line with our net zero commitment,” Bansal said.

All images courtesy of Boral.

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Land water loss causes sea level rise in 21st century

An international team of scientists, led jointly by The University of Melbourne and Seoul National University, has found global water storage on land has plummeted since the start of the 21st century, overtaking glacier melt as the leading cause of sea level rise and measurably shifting the Earth’s pole of rotation.

Published in Science, the research combined global soil moisture data estimated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Reanalysis v5 (ERA5), global mean sea level measurements and observations of Earth’s pole movement in order to estimate changes in terrestrial (land) water storage (TWS) from 1979 to 2016.

“The study raises critical questions about the main drivers of declining water storage on land and whether global lands will continue to become drier,” University of Melbourne author Professor Dongryeol Ryu said.

“Water constantly cycles between land and oceans, but the current rate of water loss from land is outpacing its replenishment. This is potentially irreversible because it’s unlikely this trend will reverse if global temperatures and evaporative demand continue to rise at their current rates. Without substantial changes in climate patterns, the imbalance in the water cycle is likely to persist, leading to a net loss of water from land to oceans over time.”

Between 2000 and 2002, soil moisture decreased by around 1614 gigatonnes (1 Gt equals 1 km3 of water) — nearly double Greenland’s ice loss of about 900 Gt in 2002–2006. From 2003 to 2016, soil moisture depletion continued, with an additional 1009 Gt lost.

Soil moisture had not recovered as of 2021, with little likelihood of recovery under present climate conditions. The authors say this decline is corroborated by independent observations of global mean sea level rise (~4.4 mm) and Earth’s polar shift (~45 cm in 2003–2012).

Water loss was most pronounced across East and Central Asia, Central Africa, and North and South America. In Australia, the growing depletion has impacted parts of Western Australia and south-eastern Australia, including western Victoria, although the Northern Territory and Queensland saw a small replenishment of soil moisture.

Image credit: iStock.com/ZU_09

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