Pathways to Alternative Power and Decarbonization Technologies in Cement Manufacturing

Energy costs are typically the single largest variable production cost at cement plants, reaching up to 50% of overall operating costs. The cement making process, which involves crushing, grinding and calcination processes, consumes large amounts of thermal and electrical energy which is often sourced either directly or indirectly from fuels like coal, coke and alternate fuels (for example, tires, biomass, green/blue hydrogen, plastics, wood chips, etc.). While these fuels are often procured at attractive prices, they can result in relatively higher carbon emissions.To remain competitive in a global market and to manage stakeholder pressure to reduce carbon emissions, plants are constantly searching for ways to reduce costs and mitigate climate change-related risks such as carbon pricing and reputational risks. As a result, cement producers have begun to focus on how they source energy and have been implementing solutions that are providing incremental reductions to their greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and, consequently, operating costs.This paper presents an approach for mapping emissions, then identifying, assessing and prioritizing solutions for abating carbon. In addition to presenting an approach, this paper also discusses a handful of technologies and case studies where novel, carbon-abating technologies were evaluated and deployed for large global industrial clients. The use of renewable power and hybrid grids, plasma flames, fleet electrification, off-gas cogeneration and oxygen enriched combustion are some of the potential technology solutions that are discussed.