Environmental Performance Analysis of Cement Production with CO 2 Capture and Storage Technology in a Life-Cycle Perspective

Jing An, Richard S. Middleton and Yingnan Li
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Jing An: School of Metallurgy, Liaoning Province Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Resources Recycling Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Richard S. Middleton: Earth and Environmental Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Yingnan Li: School of Metallurgy, Liaoning Province Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Resources Recycling Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Cement manufacturing is one of the most energy and CO 2 intensive industries. With the growth of cement production, CO 2 emissions are increasing rapidly too. Carbon capture and storage is the most feasible new technology option to reduce CO 2 emissions in the cement industry. More research on environmental impacts is required to provide the theoretical basis for the implementation of carbon capture and storage in cement production. In this paper, GaBi software and scenario analysis were employed to quantitatively analyze and compare the environmental impacts of cement production with and without carbon capture and storage technology, from the perspective of a life-cycle assessment; aiming to promote sustainable development of the cement industry. Results of two carbon capture and storage scenarios show decreases in the impacts of global warming potential and some environmental impacts. However, other scenarios show a significant increase in other environmental impacts. In particular, post-combustion carbon capture technology can bring a more pronounced increase in toxicity potential. Therefore, effective measures must be taken into account to reduce the impact of toxicity when carbon capture and storage is employed in cement production. CO 2 transport and storage account for only a small proportion of environmental impacts. For post-combustion carbon capture, most of the environmental impacts come from the unit of combined heat and power and carbon capture, with the background production of MonoEthanolAmine contributing significantly. In combined heat and power plants, natural gas is more advantageous than a 10% coal-saving, and thermal efficiency is a key parameter affecting the environmental impacts. Future research should focus on exploring cleaner and effective absorbents or seeking the alternative fuel in combined heat and power plants for post-combustion carbon capture. If the power industry is the first to deploy carbon capture and storage, oxy-combustion carbon capture is an excellent choice for the cement industry.

Keywords: cement industry; CO 2 emissions; CO 2 capture and storage; life cycle assessment; scenario analysis; post-combustion CO 2 capture; oxy-combustion CO 2 capture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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