Technological, economic and financial prospects of carbon dioxide capture in the cement industry

Cement is the second largest anthropogenic emission source, contributing approximately 7% of global CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology is considered by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an essential technology capable of reducing CO2 emissions in the cement sector by 56% by 2050. The study compares CO2 capture technologies for the cement manufacturing process and analyses the economic and financial issues in deploying CO2 capture in the cement industry. Post-combustion capture with chemical absorption is regarded as a proven technology to capture CO2 from the calcination process. Oxyfuel is less mature but Oxyfuel partial capture—which only recycles O2/CO2 gas in the precalciner—is estimated to be more economic than post-combustion capture. Carbonate looping technologies are not yet commercial, but they have theoretical advantages in terms of energy consumption. In contrast with coal-fired power plants, CO2 capture in the cement industry benefits from a higher concentration of CO2 in the flue gas, but the benefit is offset by higher SOx and NOx levels and the smaller scale of emissions from each plant. Concerning the prospects for financing cement plant CO2 capture, large cement manufacturers on average have a higher ROE (return on equity) and lower debt ratio, thus a higher discount rate should be considered for the cost analysis than in power plants. IEA estimates that the incremental cost for deploying CCS to decarbonise the global cement sector is in the range US$350–840 billion. The cost estimates for deploying state-of-the art post-combustion CO2 capture technologies in cement plants are above $60 to avoid each tonne of CO2 emissions. However, the expectation is that the current market can only provide a minority of financial support for CO2 capture in cement plants. Public financial support and/or CO2 utilisation will be essential to trigger large-scale CCS demonstration projects in the cement industry.

[1]  Christian Bauer,et al.  Life cycle assessment of carbon capture and storage in power generation and industry in Europe , 2013 .

[2]  Jia Li,et al.  Assessing the Value of Retrofitting Cement Plants for Carbon Capture: A Case Study of a Cement Plant in Guangdong, China , 2012 .

[3]  Dalia Patiño-Echeverri,et al.  Expert assessments of retrofitting coal-fired power plants with carbon dioxide capture technologies , 2011 .

[4]  Tim Cockerill,et al.  Getting ready for carbon capture and storage through a CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) Ready Hub , 2011 .

[5]  Gregory C. Unruh.  Understanding carbon lock-in , 2000 .

[6]  D. Reiner,et al.  Getting Ready for Carbon Capture and Storage by Issuing Capture Options , 2010 .

[7]  M. Carbo.  Global Technology Roadmap for CCS in Industry , 2011 .

[8]  Tengfang Xu,et al.  Energy efficiency improvement and CO2 emission reduction opportunities in the cement industry in China , 2013 .

[9]  David Reiner,et al.  Stakeholder views on financing carbon capture and storage demonstration projects in China. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[10]  F. Teng,et al.  Incorporating environmental co-benefits into climate policies: A regional study of the cement industry in China , 2013 .

[11]  Christoph Menke,et al.  The use of conservation supply curves in energy policy and economic analysis: The case study of Thai cement industry , 2010 .

[12]  Ruifeng Dong,et al.  A feasible process for simultaneous removal of CO2, SO2 and NOx in the cement industry by NH3 scrubbing , 2012 .

[13]  Paul S. Fennell,et al.  Synthetic CaO-based sorbent for CO2 capture , 2011 .

[14]  Alireza Bahadori,et al.  Global strategies and potentials to curb CO2 emissions in cement industry , 2013 .

[15]  Filip Johnsson,et al.  Exploring the limits for CO2 emission abatement in the EU power and industry sectors-Awaiting a breakthrough , 2013 .

[16]  Keigo Akimoto,et al.  International comparisons of energy efficiency in power, steel, and cement industries , 2012 .

[17]  Ying Fan,et al.  Energy consumption and CO2 emissions in China's cement industry: A perspective from LMDI decomposition analysis , 2012 .

[18]  Robert T. Dahowski,et al.  The role of carbon dioxide capture and storage in reducing emissions from cement plants in North America , 2005 .

[19]  E. J. Anthony,et al.  A study on the activity of CaO-based sorbents for capturing CO2 in clean energy processes , 2010 .

[20]  John E. Oakey,et al.  CO2 Capture Technologies for Cement Industry , 2009 .

[21]  Andrea Ramírez,et al.  Comparative assessment of CO2 capture technologies for carbon-intensive industrial processes , 2012 .

[22]  P. Fennell,et al.  Investigation into potential synergy between power generation, cement manufacture and CO2 abatement using the calcium looping cycle , 2011 .

[23]  Giorgia Oggioni,et al.  Eco-efficiency of the world cement industry: A data envelopment analysis , 2011 .

[24]  S. M. Nazmul Hassan,et al.  Techno-Economic Study of CO 2 Capture Process for Cement Plants , 2005 .

[25]  Adolfo Garza,et al.  CO2 capture and sequestration in the cement industry , 2011 .

[26]  Paul S. Fennell,et al.  The calcium looping cycle for large-scale CO2 capture , 2010 .

[27]  Bert Metz,et al.  Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage , 2005 .

[28]  J. E. Davison,et al.  CO2 Capture in the Cement Industry , 2009 .

[29]  Kejun Jiang,et al.  China's role in attaining the global 2°C target , 2013 .

[30]  Duan Ning,et al.  Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Thermal Power Plants , 2004 .

[31]  Wenjia Cai,et al.  Sectoral analysis for international technology development and transfer: Cases of coal-fired power generation, cement and aluminium in China , 2009 .

[32]  Dianne E. Wiley,et al.  Comparison of MEA capture cost for low CO2 emissions sources in Australia , 2011 .

[33]  Pradeep J. Tharakan,et al.  Energy sector assistance in developing countries: Current trends and policy recommendations , 2007 .

[34]  Lynn Price,et al.  Potential Energy Savings and CO2 Emissions Reduction of China's Cement Industry , 2012 .

[35]  J. Gibbins,et al.  Retrofitting CO2 Capture to Existing Power Plants , 2011 .

[36]  Jia Li,et al.  Perceptions of opinion leaders towards CCS demonstration projects in China , 2011 .

[37]  Aie,et al.  Energy Technology Perspectives 2012 , 2006 .

[38]  Rahman Saidur,et al.  A review on emission analysis in cement industries , 2011 .

[39]  Eugeniusz Mokrzycki,et al.  Use of alternative fuels in the Polish cement industry , 2003 .