Net Zero-Carbon Cement Bag

About

Background: With ProVent®, RKW has developed a waterproof packaging for powdery goods, such as cement and related products. A cement bag made from polyethylene provides a water vapour transmission rate 40x higher than a multi-layer paper valvebag. This fact already reduces The Carbon footprint of a filled bag as the product loss is reduced to one third compared to Paperbags. The more sturdy PE bag with the high WVTR protects the content from packing, during transport and storage until it reaches the end application. Less product loss with PE-Bags means that less product needs to be produced twice. The higher the Carbon Footprint of the filling material, the greater the environmental effect of RKW ProVent® Bags. Innovation: The average ProVent® bag RKW delivers to Tarmac plants has a Carbon Footprint of about 130 g/CO2e including transport. Despite the usage of recycled Polyethylene, which RKW and Tarmac are already pushing forward, There is a possibility to set the Carbon Footprint of those bags to net zero – and even below. RKW is ready for tests on an industrial scale with a film made at least partly from Bio-Based Polyethylene. These resin types are made from by-products of the food industry e.g. molasses in sugar production. During the growth phase of sugar beets and sugar cane, the plants capture CO2 from the atmosphere and build the basis for Bio-Based PE Adding Bio-Based PE with a negative Carbon Footprint to Fossil PE with a positive Carbon Footprint reduces the net footprint of the bag.