Environmental Performance Analysis of Cement Production with CO2 Capture and Storage Technology in a Life-Cycle Perspective

Abstract

Cement manufacturing is one of the most energy and CO2 intensive industries. With the growth of cement production, CO2 emissions are increasing rapidly too. Carbon capture and storage is the most feasible new technology option to reduce CO2 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. CO2 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.

End-of-Life Materials Used as Supplementary Cementitious Materials in the Concrete Industry

“…A life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for assessing all the potential environmental impacts of a product, process, or activity over its entire life cycle [104]. Several LCA studies have focused on the sustainability of concrete [105,106].…”

Opportunities and challenges for engineering construction materials as carbon sinks

“…Some studies have evaluated adapting power sector applications to the cement sector, which we focus on here due to its non-energy derived emissions. The fraction of CO2 in flue gas from cement production, ranging from 15 to 30 mol%, is higher than the fraction found in flue gas from power plants [81,127]. Yet, CCUS solutions for power plants are not directly transferrable to cement production due to significant differences in equipment, processes and chemical/thermal reactions [128].…”

“…Reports have projected CCUS implementation in cement production plants to begin in 2030, and as such, a rigorous understanding of the technology and environmental impacts is required [129]. Several studies analyzing post-combustion CCUS reported it leading to lower GHG emissions than traditional cement production, but driving harmful increases for human health impacts [45,80,81,130], thus potentially shifting the problem from CO2 emissions to another impact category. Further, the use of CO2 captured from power plants in CCUS within concrete has been explored, but recent findings suggest a loss of mechanical strength could result in some of these technologies leading to higher CO2 emitting systems than conventional concrete [131].…”

Used Tires as Fuel in Clinker Production: Economic and Environmental Implications

“…Consequently, an important effort has been made to improve energy efficiency over time, with reduction around 30% of the energy consumed to produce clinker since the 1970s [15]. In addition, the use of alternative fuels yields economic savings for companies in this sector [16] and they are an interesting approach to tackle the environmental impact generated [17].…”