Table 1 Description of the decarbonization options for the cement industry evaluated in this study
From: Paving the way for sustainable decarbonization of the European cement industry
Option | Description | |
|---|---|---|
1 | BAU | Changes (for example, electricity mix, fuels, raw materials) in background systems occur until 2050 according to projections for Europe under a business-as usual case in line with the SSP2-Base scenario. No direct changes happen to the clinker production process. |
2 | BAU_2C | As above, but the projected changes are those of an SSP2 scenario where the global average temperature rise from pre-industrial times is kept below 2 °C. |
3 | Tech | All the kiln process technologies are changed to dry with preheater and pre-calciner, thermal energy efficiency improves 17%, and electricity consumption efficiency increases by 48% in relation to the current situation. |
4 | CCR | CCR decreases from 75% to 65% in relation to the current situation in the European Union and to the changes in cement demand resulting from future projections in use of cement and population growth. |
5 | RDF | The current share of alternative fuels is increased to 90% by using additional RDFs, and the remaining 10% is based on fossil fuels (maintaining the same proportional mix as today). |
6 | Bio | The current share of alternative fuels is increased to 90% by using additional biomass from agricultural and forest residues, and the remaining 10% is based on fossil fuels (maintaining the same proportional mix as today). |
7 | NG | All current use of solid and liquid fossil fuels is changed to natural gas. |
8 | H2 | All current use of solid and liquid fossil fuels is changed to hydrogen produced from electrolysis with the current electricity mix of Europe. |
9 | OxyCCS | All the kiln process technologies are changed to oxyfuel CCS. |
10 | OxyCCS2G | All the kiln process technologies are changed to second-generation oxyfuel CCS. |
11 | Oxy-Efuel | All the kiln process technologies are changed to oxyfuel, and the captured carbon is used to produce e-fuels that are used to replace liquid fossil fuels in transport (avoided emissions), considering hydrogen produced via electrolysis using the European electricity mix in 2050 as projected by BAU_2C. |
12 | CombOxyCCS+RDF | Combination of options 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 9. |
13 | CombOxyCCS+Bio | Combination of options 2 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 9. |
14 | CombOxyCCS+H2 | Combination of options 2 + 3 + 4 + 8 + 9. Hydrogen is produced via electrolysis using the European electricity mix in 2050 as projected by BAU_2C. Oxygen co-produced from electrolysis is used in the oxyfuel, reducing the oxygen demand from the air separation unit. |
15 | CombOxy-Efuel+RDF | Combination of options 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 11. |
16 | CombOxy-Efuel+H2 | Combination of options 2 + 3 + 4 + 8 + 11. Hydrogen is produced via electrolysis using the European electricity mix in 2050 as projected by BAU_2C. Oxygen co-produced from electrolysis is used in the oxyfuel, reducing the oxygen demand from the air separation unit. |
