Currently, the cement industry contributes as much as eight per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and it’s predicted the global demand for cement is expected to increase upwards of 23 per cent by 2050.
Together, Lehigh Cement and the International CCS Knowledge Centre partnered to conduct a feasibility study to assess the technical and economic viability of a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project as a solution to cut GHG emissions in the cement industry. The study targeted the feasibility of capturing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gas of the Lehigh Cement plant to capture most of the process and combustion GHG emissions.
The feasibility study concluded that amine-based post combustion capture technology can capture 95% of the CO2 from the combined flue gas flow from the cement plant and the auxiliary steam boiler required for the carbon capture process. The preliminary capture plant design concluded that the captured CO2 quality would be compatible with either enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or storage in deep geological saline reservoirs.
If this technology reaches commercial deployment, it could accelerate the adoption of CCS technology in the cement industry globally.