Continuous Assessment of the Environmental Impact and Economic Viability of Decarbonization Improvements in Cement Production

Abstract

Growing awareness of the importance of mitigating climate change is driving research efforts toward developing economically viable technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The high energy consumption and carbon-intensive nature of cement manufacturing make it worthwhile to examine the environmental and economic characteristics of process improvements in cement production. This study examines the environmental impact of cement production and its economic considerations and demonstrates an IoT-inspired deployment framework for continuously assessing these. It contributes a practical approach to integrating sustainability into cement manufacturing and analyzes four different scenarios from a combination of two cement types (ordinary Portland cement, Portland-limestone cement) and two energy sources for thermal heating (coal, dried biosolids). It indicates that increased production and adoption of blended cement that has up to 15% limestone as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement can significantly reduce climate change effects from cement production (6.4% lower carbon footprint). In addition, significant emission reduction is possible with the use of waste from sewage sludge as a combustion fuel for heating in the cement production process (7.9% reduction compared with baseline). The information on environmental and financial trade-offs helps informed decisions on cement production improvements and can potentially contribute to greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Towards Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Cement Manufacturing: A Systematic Review of AI Applications in Electrical Energy Consumption Optimization

“…There is a recent increase in awareness of the importance of energy conservation and environmental protection. With EEC accounting for more than 60% of the total consumption and the higher cost of electricity linearly increasing the cost of production [5], energy conservation in cement manufacturing is key to the economical and sustainable production of cement. Optimizing electrical energy consumption in the production process can improve energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and mitigate environmental impacts.…”

“…Significant research efforts have been directed at carbon-reduction process improvements in cement production, including exploring alternative sources for the energy used in cement production and finding ways to reduce CO 2 emissions due to the calcination process that occurs during clinker formation [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, going by the literature search, the research on energy use in cement has been mostly focused on thermal energy, even though EEC is also significant and leaves a carbon footprint if the direct source of the electrical energy is from fossil fuel power plants or natural gas power plants.…”

“…This study contextualizes the significance of optimizing EEC, addressing the industry's demand and its implications for environmental sustainability. The rationale behind this study stems from the urgency to reduce the environmental impact of cement manufacturing while ensuring its operational efficiency [5,12]. The electric power the cement plants consume is significant, and the generation of the electricity consumed contributes to the carbon footprint due to the indirect impact of the power plant which uses either fossil fuel or natural gas to generate electricity.…”

The Potential of Green Hydrogen and Power-to-X Utilization in Jordanian Industries: Opportunities and Future Prospects

“…Specifically, 40% of these emissions are caused by heating and electrification processes involved in cement production, while the remaining 60% are a result of raw material preparation and clinker production [52]. Cement clinker is a solid intermediate product used for cement production and is produced through heating Alite, Belite, Ferrite, and Aluminate in a rotary kiln at temperatures of up to 1450 ℃ [53]. Figure 5 represents the main stages of cement production [54]: As represented in Figure 5 above, clay, limestone, and iron ore are mixed and ground in a grinding mill to produce the raw material necessary for clinker production.…”