Author: Ali Hasanbeigi, Ph.D.
The cement industry accounts for approximately 5 percent of current anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions worldwide (WBCSD/IEA 2009a). World cement demand and production are increasing; annual world cement production is expected to grow from approximately 4,100 million tonnes (Mt) in 2015 to around 4,800 Mt in 2030 and grow even further after that. The largest share of this growth will take place in developing countries, especially in the Asian continent. This significant increase in cement production is associated with a significant increase in the cement industry’s absolute energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions..
Figure 1. Global cement production from 1990 to 2030
Studies have documented the potential to save energy by implementing commercially-available energy-efficiency technologies and measures in the cement industry worldwide. However, today, given the projected continuing increase in absolute cement production, future reductions (e.g., by 2030 or 2050) in absolute energy use and CO2 emissions will require further innovation in this industry. Innovations will likely include development of different processes and materials for cement production or technologies that can economically capture and store the industry’s CO2 emissions. The development of these emerging technologies and their deployment in the market will be a key factor in the cement industry’s mid- and long-term climate change mitigation strategies.
Many studies from around the world have identified commercialized sector-specific and cross- energy-efficiency technologies for the cement industry that have already been (See figure below).
Figure 2. Commercialized energy efficiency technologies and measures for cement production process (Source: IIP, 2017)
However, information is scarce and scattered regarding emerging energy-efficiency and low-carbon technologies for the cement industry that have not yet been commercialized.
A few years ago, while I was working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, my colleagues and I wrote a report that consolidated available information on emerging technologies for the cement industry with the goal of giving engineers, researchers, investors, cement companies, policy makers, and other interested parties easy access to a well-structured database of information on this topic.
The information about the 19 emerging technologies covered in the report and was presented using a standard structure for each technology. Table below shows the list of the technologies covered.
Table 1. Emerging energy-efficiency and CO2 emissions-reduction technologies for cement and concrete production (Hasanbeigi et al. 2012)
Shifting away from conventional processes and products will require a number of developments including: education of producers and consumers; new standards; aggressive research and development to address the issues and barriers confronting emerging technologies; government support and funding for development and deployment of emerging technologies; rules to address the intellectual property issues related to dissemination of new technologies; and financial incentives (e.g. through carbon trading mechanisms) to make emerging low-carbon technologies, which might have a higher initial costs, competitive with the conventional processes and products.
Our report is published on LBNL’s website and can be downloaded from this Link. Please feel free to contact me if you have any question. Don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to get the latest about our new blog posts, projects, and publications.
Some of our related publications are:
Hasanbeigi, Ali; Agnes Lobscheid; Hongyou, Lu; Price, Lynn; Yue Dai (2013). Quantifying the Co-benefits of Energy-Efficiency Programs: A Case-study for the Cement Industry in Shandong Province, China. Science of the Total Environment. Volumes 458–460, 1 August 2013, Pages 624-636.
Hasanbeigi, Ali; Morrow, William; Masanet, Eric; Sathaye, Jayant; Xu, Tengfang. 2013. Energy Efficiency Improvement Opportunities in the Cement Industry in China. Energy Policy Volume 57, June 2013, Pages 287–297
Morrow, William; Hasanbeigi, Ali; Sathaye, Jayant; Xu, Tengfang. 2014. Assessment of Energy Efficiency Improvement and CO2 Emission Reduction Potentials in India’s Cement and Iron & Steel Industries. Journal of Cleaner Production. Volume 65, 15 February 2014, Pages 131–141
Hasanbeigi, Ali; Menke, Christoph; Therdyothin, Apichit (2010). Technical and Cost Assessment of Energy Efficiency Improvement and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Potentials in Thai Cement Industry. Energy Efficiency. DOI 10.1007/s12053-010-9079-1
Hasanbeigi, Ali; Menke, Christoph; Therdyothin, Apichit (2010). The Use of Conservation Supply Curves in Energy Policy and Economic Analysis: the Case Study of Thai Cement Industry. Energy Policy 38 (2010) 392–405
Hasanbeigi, Ali; Price, Lynn; Hongyou, Lu; Lan, Wang (2010). Analysis of Energy-Efficiency Opportunities for the Cement Industry in Shandong Province, China: A Case-Study of Sixteen Cement Plants. Energy-the International Journal 35 (2010) 3461-3473.
References:
Hasanbeigi, Ali; Price, Lynn; Lin, Elina. (2012). Emerging Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions Reduction Technologies for Cement and Concrete Production. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory LBNL-5434E.
Institute for Industrial Productivity, 2012. Cement energy efficiency technologies.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)/International Energy Agency (IEA). 2009a. Cement Technology Roadmap 2009 - Carbon emissions reductions up to 2050.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)/International Energy Agency (IEA). 2009b. Cement roadmap targets.