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Knoxville Cement Plant

Cement Plant in United States. Approximate location 36.02257, -83.83492.

Cement PlantUnited StatesCO₂ reported

Knoxville Cement Plant is a cement plant in United States with a reported capacity of 650,000 t of cement. It burns limestone in high-temperature rotary kilns to make clinker and cement. It is operated by CEMEX Inc. By capacity it ranks #71 of 86 cement plants tracked in United States. It emits about 153,970 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 35,890 cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is about 34% below the median cement plant.

650,000t of cement
153,970t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#559CO₂ rank in United States
0.24t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-32439275.

في السياق: كيف يتم مقارنة هذا المنشأة

عند 650,000 t of cement، يكون Knoxville Cement Plant أقل من متوسط cement plant في United States (1,100,000 t of cement). CO₂ لكل وحدة سعة هو تقريباً 21% أقل من متوسط cement plant. القطاع الفرعي: cement. كـ cement plant، يتطلب حرارة عملية مكثفة (عادة 800–1400°C) لعملياته الصناعية الأساسية — حرارة يجب توفيرها بواسطة الغلايات أو الأفران أو الاحتراق المباشر، والخسائر من خلال الحاويات والأنابيب غير المعزولة تمثل وقود مهدر. يمكن للعزل المعياري القابل للإزالة أن يقلل هذه الخسائر بمقدار 80-96٪، وتبريد الأسطح إلى ≤45°C، مع فترة استرجاع غالباً أقل من سنتين. تقوم مصانع الإسمنت بتسخين الحجر الجيري إلى 1,400°C في الأفران الدوارة — أحد أكثر العمليات الصناعية سخونة — ويجب التحكم في درجة الحرارة بدقة عبر طول الفرن كله.

مقارنة السعة وكثافة CO₂ محسوبة من بيانات منشآت Climate TRACE الصناعية؛ دور القطاع بناءً على مرجع الهندسة.

What 153,970 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in the everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

35,890cars driven for a year
20,080homes' annual energy use
2,566,167tree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest cement plants in United States

Ste. Genevieve Cement Plant: 4,500,000 t of cement4.5MSte. Genev…Victorville Cement Plant: 3,000,000 t of cement3.0MVictorvill…Heidelberg Union Bridge Cement Plant: 2,816,901 t of cement2.8MHeidelberg…Festus Cement Plant: 2,700,000 t of cement2.7MFestus Cem…Heidelberg Nazareth Cement Plant: 2,663,380 t of cement2.7MHeidelberg…Heidelberg Mitchell Cement Plant: 2,400,000 t of cement2.4MHeidelberg…Alpena Cement Plant: 2,400,000 t of cement2.4MAlpena Cem…Midlothian Cement Plant: 2,350,000 t of cement2.3MMidlothian…

Reported capacity (t of cement), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by CEMEX Inc. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Knoxville Cement Plant sits in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), at 36.0°N in the northern hemisphere.

~18°Ctypical annual mean
~27°Ctypical warm-season
Humid subtropical: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby sites

The #71 largest of 86 cement plants in United States by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 36.02257, -83.83492. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

A cement plant like this runs hot equipment that sheds heat continuously: rotary kiln shell, preheater tower, tertiary air duct & kiln hood, clinker-cooler ducts, valves (surface/process temperatures around 200–1,000 °C). These surfaces lose energy to the air year-round; removable modular insulation cuts that loss, brings outer surfaces to ≤45 °C, and unclips for inspection.

60% of cement CO2 is process calcination - NOT insulation-addressable; energy here is the fuel side only.

Indicative recoverable energy

On an already-insulated site (pipes & valves in cladding / jackets), closing the remaining gaps, flanges and damaged sections and switching to removable covers indicatively recovers about 8,000 MWh/yr (≈ 2,700 t CO₂/yr) — scaled to this site's reported CO₂ within its sector. Bare or damaged surfaces recover several times more.

See Inzonex insulation → Estimate your site →

Indicative, not a measurement. Conservative floor for an already-insulated plant; a TIPCHECK on-site audit gives a measured figure. Industry context: EiiF TIPCHECK — industrial insulation can save ~14 Mtoe/yr in EU, payback typically <2 years.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Bare hot surfaces here exceed the touch-safe limit (EN ISO 13732-1); insulation to ≤45 °C is a worker-safety and compliance win. And before electrification, fuel-switching or CCS, eliminating surface heat loss is the cheapest, fastest, lowest-risk step — audit the bare spots first, rip-and-replace later.

United States: funding & obligation

Funding. Investment tax credit up to 30% of qualified investment incl. industrial decarbonization; open to small/medium/large manufacturers.

Obligation. None at federal level (voluntary). Some states have their own programs. (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we don't hold this site's metered energy use).

Verified 2026; confirm current scheme terms before applying.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is Knoxville Cement Plant?

Knoxville Cement Plant is a cement plant in United States. It burns limestone in high-temperature rotary kilns to make clinker and cement.

What is the capacity of Knoxville Cement Plant?

Knoxville Cement Plant has a reported capacity of 650,000 t of cement.

How much CO₂ does Knoxville Cement Plant emit?

Knoxville Cement Plant emits about 153,970 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 35,890 cars. That ranks #559 among tracked facilities in United States.

Where is Knoxville Cement Plant located?

Knoxville Cement Plant is in United States, near coordinates 36.02257, -83.83492.

Who operates Knoxville Cement Plant?

Knoxville Cement Plant is operated by CEMEX Inc.

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