Journal: Environmental Contaminants Reviews (ECR)
Author: Tooba Nayab, Talal Ahmed

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Doi:10.26480/ecr.01.2024.32.36

ABSTRACT

The cement industry is one of the largest industrial sources of CO2 emissions, contributing approximately 1.8 Gt emissions annually. This study examines various strategies for reducing CO2 emissions caused by the cement industry. Direct CO2 emissions stem from the calcination process and fuel combustion in kilns, while indirect emissions arise from electricity generation and transportation. Measures to reduce CO2 emissions include lowering the clinker-to-cement ratio with additives, replacing fossil fuels with alternative fuels, and enhancing the energy efficiency of kiln processes. At the Usje plant, the clinker-to-cement ratio is already low at 0.57, with variability between 0.72 and 2.58. Further reductions without affecting cement quality are limited. However, implementing a calciner and upgrading to advanced kiln technology, which lowers specific thermal energy consumption from 3.7 GJ/t clinker to 3.0 GJ/t clinker, are proposed to enhance efficiency. These improvements are projected to reduce CO2 emissions by 65.7 kt in 2020. This review analyzes various CO2 emission reduction measures in the cement industry to evaluate their environmental effectiveness. The measures examined include the use of alternative fuels, enhancement of kiln process efficiency, and co-production of synthetic fuels. The study also focuses on a cement plant in Macedonia and confirms that implementing these selected mitigation strategies significantly reduces CO2 emissions.

KEYWORDS
Carbon Capture and Storage, Refuse Derived Fuel, European Union Emission Trading Scheme