Steel and Cement Make Wastewater That Can Permanently Sequester 30 Million Tonnes of CO₂
Steel and cement production has a wastewater problem. The industrial processes that make these materials generate massive volumes of highly alkaline effluent — high-pH liquid waste rich in calcium and magnesium oxides that needs to be treated before disposal. It’s a well-understood problem. Treatment systems exist. The water gets processed, neutralized, and discharged. New research published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters (doi.org/hbvb57) asks a different question: what if the alkalinity is an asset, not a liability? ...