Selection of a CO2 capture technology for the cement industry: An integrated TEA and LCA methodological framework

The cement industry generates 7 % of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and carbon capture, utilization and storage is one of the most promising technologies to decarbonise the cement manufacturing process. However, it requires specific in-depth techno-economic and environmental analysis to explore different pathways for its implementation in distinct contexts. This paper develops a methodological framework that responds to this challenge, which includes a multi-criteria assessment (with environmental, technical, and economic considerations), and demonstrates its use in a case study to select the most viable CO2 capture technology to be implemented in a Portuguese cement plant. Three technologies were analysed: monoethanolamine (MEA), calcium looping (CaL) post-combustion, and oxyfuel. A reference cement plant without CO2 capture was studied to establish a baseline. The systematic analysis of these technologies' implementation to the cement plant, combined a life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment, which were integrated with an analytic hierarchy process, and a weighted sum model, reflecting the inputs from the stakeholders. Three scenarios that reflect the feasibility of the CO2 capture unit implementation (worst, intermediate, and best-case) were compared for each of the alternatives. The results show that, regardless of the scenario, CaL has the highest rank among the three CO2 capture technologies. Still, the rank order regarding the reference cement plant depends on the scenario adopted. In the worst scenario, the reference plant presents the highest overall rank, while for the remaining scenarios, CaL has the highest score. In the best scenario, all the technologies present a higher ranking compared to the reference.

Automated summary

This study develops a methodological framework to select the most viable CO2 capture technology for a Portuguese cement plant based on multi-criteria assessment. The results show that calcium looping (CaL) technology ranks the highest among the three CO2 capture technologies.