LC3 Technical Resource Center for North America
LC3 and the LC3-Project
Limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) is a blended cement that combines calcined clay, limestone, and portland cement clinker with gypsum. By partially replacing clinker with calcined clay and limestone, this blended cement was developed in recognition of its potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40% compared to traditional portland cement. Additionally, developers of the technology envisioned global sourcing availability by allowing utilization of lower quality clays and limestone as a viable alternative for cement and concrete producers where other supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag are not available.
Initiated by research in 2005, the LC3-Project was formally established in 2014 with the objective to, through research and testing, develop LC3 as a standard and mainstream general-use cement in the global cement market. Initial phases of the LC3-Project have sought to demonstrate technical feasibility and facilitate industry adoption. You can read more about the project on the LC3 website.
LC3 Technical Resource Centers
In support of this purpose, the LC3-Project developers' group has established technical resource centers (TRCs), located in Africa, Latin America, Asia and now at WJE for North America. These TRCs provide a variety of consulting and testing services to industry clients related to the development and application of LC3. Additionally, TRCs participate in professional industry events to share knowledge and connect with professionals to discuss technological and market developments for LC3.
Our Capabilities
- Characterization and thermal activation of raw materials
- Detailed chemical and physical characterization of suitable raw materials for LC3 productions. The laboratory capabilities include but are not limited to x-ray diffractometry, x-ray florescence, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, isothermal calorimetry, laser diffraction particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and more. The laboratory services can provide support for calcination of clays for trial studies.
- Cement blend development and performance optimization
- LC3 blend development requires optimizing the clay content, limestone content, gypsum optimization, and other factors. WJE’s state-of-the-art laboratory can provide support in optimization of blended cement based on raw materials and specific clinker. The development of limestone calcined clay pozzolan can be optimized for direct application by concrete producers.
- Low carbon concrete consulting
- Field demonstration of LC3 technology
- Consultation services for trial calcination and LC3 production
- Petrographic assessment
- Specialized applications, such as ultra-high-performance concrete
- Training for technical staff members
