A Thermodynamic Screening Framework for Waste-Derived Raw Meals in Benchmarked Low-Temperature Clinker Production

This study develops a comparative screening framework for evaluating the feasibility of low-temperature clinker production using waste-derived raw meals under melt-phase and Fe-in-liquid constraints. The work addresses the need to connect two strategies for lower-emission cement manufacture that are often discussed separately: partial substitution of conventional raw materials with waste-derived inputs and reduction of clinker burning temperature through mineralized processing. A secondary-data analysis was conducted using selected open-access case studies and an open-access spreadsheet dataset, from which quantitative variables related to composition, process conditions, clinker formation, and cement performance were extracted and compared. The results show that feasibility depends not only on burning temperature, but also on major-oxide compatibility, minor-element constraints, burnability, clinker phase balance, melt-related indicators, and final cement performance. In the waste-substitution benchmark, MSWI bottom ash was compositionally feasible only within a limited substitution range controlled by Fe2O3 content. In the mineralizer benchmark, a reduction in burning temperature from 1450 ∘C to 1350 ∘C was found to be a practical benchmark for reduced-temperature clinker production, whereas further reduction to 1300 ∘C required stronger chemical assistance and led to performance penalties. Overall, the proposed framework distinguishes favorable, conditionally feasible, and constrained pathways and provides a basis for screening candidate systems before experimental validation.