Steel, Cement, Plastics
The large industrial emission sources
Hanno Böck
https://industrydecarbonization.com/
➜
Renewable Energy alone is not a solution for all emissions
Largest CO₂ sources in Germany (2022, t/a)
| RWE Power AG - Kraftwerk Neurath | 24,200,000 |
| Kraftwerk Boxberg | 19,100,000 |
| RWE Power AG Kraftwerk Niederaußem | 17,000,000 |
| LEAG, Kraftwerk Jänschwalde | 15,500,000 |
| RWE Power AG | 15,000,000 |
| LEAG Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG Kraftwerk Lippendorf | 11,900,000 |
| LEAG, Kraftwerk Schwarze Pumpe | 9,640,000 |
| Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH | 7,560,000 |
| BASF SE | 6,050,000 |
| GKM Grosskraftwerk Mannheim AG | 5,970,000 |
| Coal | 24,200,000 |
| Coal | 19,100,000 |
| Coal | 17,000,000 |
| Coal | 15,500,000 |
| Coal | 15,000,000 |
| Coal | 11,900,000 |
| Coal | 9,640,000 |
| Steel | 7,560,000 |
| Chemicals | 6,050,000 |
| Coal | 5,970,000 |
Coal is really bad
But we will quit coal eventually
Largest CO₂ sources in Germany that are not coal power plants (t/a)
| Steel | Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH | 7,560,000 |
| Chemicals | BASF SE | 6,050,000 |
| Steel | Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH | 4,250,000 |
| Steel | thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG Werk Schwelgern | 4,240,000 |
| Steel | ROGESA Roheisengesellschaft Saar mbH | 3,990,000 |
Steel is also quite bad
Steelmaking
Directly responsible for 7% of worldwide CO₂ emissions
(including indirect emissions: 12%)
Where do all these steel emissions come from?
Coal
Steel emissions
Not just energy, also chemistry
Iron Ore (Hematite)
Fe₂O₃
Fe₂O₃
But you really just want the Fe (iron)
Blast Furnace (Coal)
2 Fe₂O₃ + 3 C => 4 Fe + 3 CO₂
(simplification)
Any significant reduction in emissions from steelmaking will involve new and largely untested technology
Most promising alternative
Green Hydrogen
Direct reduction with hydrogen
Fe₂O₃ + 3 H₂ => Fe + 3 H₂O
Let's talk about hydrogen
We are currently in post hydrogen hype
Currently, almost all industrial hydrogen is made from fossil gas or coal, and it is usually made very close to the point of use
We could make hydrogen from water with green electricity, but that takes huge amounts of energy (green hydrogen)
We could also make hydrogen with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), but it is unclear if that can get emissions to acceptable levels (blue hydrogen)
Hydrogen is difficult to transport
(pipeline: maybe, shipping: unlikely)
Back to steel
Swedish company SSAB has ambitious plans for hydrogen-based steelmaking
Image: SSAB
Converting Sweden's steel industry to hydrogen would:
Reduce Sweden's emissions by 10%
Increase Sweden's electricity production by 10%
Most steel companies have announced hydrogen plans by now
The question is: are they serious about it?
Steel Relining
Reinvestments into coal-based blast furnaces
Reinvestments (relining) into coal-based Steel Blast Furnaces in Germany
2021: Thyssenkrupp Schwelgern 1, Duisburg
2023: Salzgitter, Blast Furnace A
2023: ArcelorMittal Blas Furnace 2, Bremen
What is Thüringen's biggest emission source?
Cement plant Deuna (1,140,000 tCO₂/a)
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Cement is responsible for around 8 percent of worldwide CO₂ emissions
Cement emissions
Not just energy, also chemistry
Clinker production
CaCO₃ => CaO + CO₂
Not really any alternatives
(some very experimental technologies using calcium silicates)
What do we do if we have CO₂ emissions that we cannot avoid?
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
CCS
Capture CO₂ emissions and store them underground
You may sometimes hear something like this:
CCS is already successfully used in places like the US or Norway
Not entirely wrong, but needs some context
CCS in the United States
Enhanced Oil Recovery
CCS in Norway
If you want to understand CCS, it's sometimes interesting to read Norwegian newspapers
CCS
High CO₂ concentration: relatively affordable
Low CO₂ concentration: very expensive
Existing CCS projects overwhelmingly use easy emission sources (high CO₂ concentration)
Existing CCS projects are almost always connected to the Oil and Gas industry and are hugely problematic
That said:
I personally think we should pursue CCS in some sectors
Cement and CCS
No cement plant with CCS operational
Under construction: Brevik in Norway (Heidelberg Materials)
Planned capture rate 50%
Emissions from cement
Around 2/3 chemistry (high CO₂ concentration)
Around 1/3 heat / fossil (low CO₂ concentration)
If the process heat could be electrified, capturing the remaining emissions would be easier
Is it possible to electrify cement?
Noone has ever tried
(Some experiments in the lime industry)
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Steam Cracker Dow Olefinverbund Böhlen
Only place 23 of emission sources in Saxony-Anhalt
What happens with plastics after they have been used?
All of these cause emissions
Mismanaged
Plastics can degrade to Methane and Ethylene
Landfills are a major source of Methane emissions
Waste Incinerators
Highest CO₂ emissions
Recycling: Emissions from energy use, still best option
How should we think about plastic's end-of-life emissions?
Plastics are fossil fuels
Dow Cracker Böhlen
Direct emissions: 139,000 tons CO2 / year
Ethylene production: 560,000 tons / year
If that Ethylene is converted into plastics and burned:
1.76 million tons CO2 / year
If we consider direct and indirect emissions, the Cracker raises from place 23 to place two of largest emission source in Saxony-Anhalt
(only the coal plant right beside it is worse)
"As an important innovation, the roadmap also includes the carbon content of chemical products as a source of CO2 for the first time. It therefore reflects the situation more completely than has previously been the case. As a result, the proportion of emissions attributed to chemicals increases significantly."
If we want to clean up the production of plastics and chemicals, we need to consider both:
- Fossil fuel energy
- Fossil fuel feedstock
Electrification
BASF built the world's first electric Steam Cracker furnace in Ludwigshafen
Image: BASF
Around 1,8 percent of BASF's Steam Cracker capacity in Ludwigshafen
BASF Furnace: 6 Megawatts
If scaled up to the capacity of BASF Ludwigshafen: 350 Megawatts
Electric Steam Cracking
It is in the early stages, but it appears doable
Replacing fossil fuel feedstock
Power-to-X
Carbon Capture and Utilization
Take Hydrogen and CO₂, make hydrocarbons
CCU requires a lot of energy
Where does the CO₂ come from?
Not all Power-to-X technologies are the same
There is another way
Green Methanol
China is investing heavily in green methanol technolog
Sailboat CO₂ to Green Methanol project
Collaboration between Jiangsu Sailboat (China) and Carbon Recycling International (Iceland) at China's largest Methanol to Olefins facility
E-Naphtha and
electric Steam Crackers
or
Green Methanol and Methanol-to-Olefins
Methanol-to-Olefins is more efficient and requires less energy
Steam Crackers are among the biggest and most expensive facilities in the chemical industry
Other options
Biomass
Possible, but probably limited availability, landuse concerns
Recycling
Plastic recycling rate is 9% worldwide, but it differs widely
Chemical Recycling
Gasification
Pyrolysis
There will probably always be some non-recyclable waste
None of this is easy
Energy requirements
Kätelhön et al, PNAS, 2019: 18-32 PWh (World today: 22 PWh)
Germany, VCI 2019: 685 TWh, VCI 2022: 464/508/325 TWh (Germany today: 500 TWh)
I have doubts whether it's realistic to double the world's electricity production just to make plastics
(triple it if we include aviation fuels)
Maybe use less plastics?
Thanks for listening!
Questions?