The production of Portland Cement, an ingredient in the building material concrete that is more commonly referred to as cement, releases harmful emissions when produced. To combat this, steps in the cement manufacturing process should be analyzed to look for ways in which the process can become more efficient.

 The major constraint in finding a viable solution to altering the manufacturing process is the lack of existing research on improving it. However, the "impetus is on regulators and industry stakeholders to implement" according to Ashish Patel, Ph.D., a graduate research assistant at the University of Florida. Patel also says that new technology would likely create more sustainable practices while reducing costs [2].

 According to Mang Tia Ph.D., a civil engineering professor at the University of Florida, replacing a portion of cement with limestone dust when the raw materials are proportioned can lower carbon emissions. Tia says that a new Type 1L cement contains 20% limestone dust and has a similar strength to the normal Type 1 cement. Another potential solution to decreasing carbon emissions in the raw material proportioning step is to replace a portion of cement with pozzolanic materials. One of which is fly ash, which Tia recommends as it makes the resulting concrete more durable [4].

 Nathan Kinnear, an Office Engineer for Holder Construction, also recommends the use of fly ash in cement. Kinnear says that the use of fly ash as a portion of the cement can also drive down the cost of production [5].

 Stakeholders in the cement and construction industries likely would find these two ideas to be very promising. The combination of the two can decrease carbon emissions and costs with the final concrete product maintaining a similar integrity to that of current concrete.

 Another practice in the manufacturing of cement is the use of old concrete. According to Samuel Hennessy, a Coastal Engineer at AtkinsRéalis, "crushed concrete from the demolition of existing older structures can be used as an aggregate [6]." The crushed concrete can serve as a coarse aggregate in the proportioning phase of the manufacturing process, reusing material that otherwise would have been wasted. 

 All of these possible advancements are well-thought methods of improving the manufacturing process for cement. These ideas one day hopefully should be implemented into all cement production to cut back on carbon emissions. 

As the world continues to grow around us, the infrastructure around us continues to grow as well. Concrete is a vital building block for our infrastructure and the cement that creates it needs to be manufactured in a manner that does not harm the surrounding environment. Our team at Re-Cementing Sustainability believes that finding more ways to decrease emissions from cement production is very important in order to protect the communities and natural environments surrounding manufacturing plants. Stakeholders and industry leaders must voice how important researching ways to make steps in the manufacturing produce less emissions. We must continue to find a ways to improve the production process so we can build a better Earth together.