The Society of Cement and Concrete Researchers in Nigeria has called for adopting limestone calcined clay cement as a critical solution in the fight against climate change.

The researchers made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the LC3 Day Nigeria.

SCCRIN organised the event with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Lagos and the Department of Civil Engineering, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.

Azikiwe Onwualu, the president of the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, said the call to switch to LC3 was necessary because conventional cement production had several negative issues.

Mr Onwualu said the process involved releasing bad gases into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the effects of climate change. He said that conventional cement production accounted for CO₂ emissions, mostly due to the high temperature in processing.

According to him, LC3 combines limestone, calcined clay, and gypsum, drastically lowering the need for energy-intensive clinker.

According to Olumoh Sharafadeen, one of the organisers of the LC3 Nigeria event, the LC3 Nigeria event was put together by cement and concrete researchers in Nigeria to create awareness of environmentally friendly building materials.

Mr Sharafadeen said this would assist in achieving a greener future and ensuring that environmental hazards were curtailed. He explained that carbon credits were awarded to countries based on their low carbon emission practices, so when Nigeria adopts LC3, it would benefit from such an award.

He said that SCCRIN collaborated with the universities to bring the LC3 research to light and avoid just having research kept on the shelves of universities.

Mr Sharafadeen called on the government, the biggest player in the industry, to take advantage of the LC3 innovation research and help the industry grow and achieve economic diversity.

Efegbidiki Okobia, national president of the Nigeria Environmental Society, said the LC3 innovation was apt because of the reduction of carbon dioxide emission from cement production, looking at the global concern on climate change.

Mr Okobia said it had a lot of implications concerning environmental and public health.

“The LC3 cement will cover some critical environmental challenges and help in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which is supposed to come into play as a fully completed project by 2030,” he said.

(NAN)