The cement industry is one of the world’s
largest industrial sources of CO2 emissions, accounting 5-6% the world’s total
anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Even though, there is a considerable improvement
in CO2 reduction by energy-efficient techniques (by technology update and waste
heat recovery) and use of alternative fuels, the CO2 emission is expected to
increase from 1.88 Gt in 2006 to 2.34 Gt
by 2050 (i.e. 25% increase), due to an increase in worldwide demand for cement.
This necessitates a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for
sustainable and cleaner cement production. There is, therefore, increasing
interest in cheap, cost-effective ways of removing CO2 from flue gases and
syngas. In the cement sector, opportunities for CO2 reduction exists in terms of
increasing the use of alternative fuels, adopting the best available and new
technology and updating existing technology. However, their adoption,
development and deployment require systematic and reliable planning. The CaReCI project team, with a strong background
on heterogeneous catalysis, process integration, pinch technology, and process
modeling, simulation and optimization aims to identify potential carbon footprint
(CFP) reduction strategies and develop energy efficient techniques for its
reduction from cement industry by a systematic approach. The project team will
collaborate with CIMPOR (Cimentos de Portugal), the largest Portuguese cement
group, and with the involvement of a marble producer company, MÁRMORES GALRÃO (EDUARDO
GALRÃO JORGE E FILHOS S.A.), to provide samples of WMP as sources of possible
cheap solid sorbents for CO2 capture, helping to develop more industrially viable
and sustainable techniques or procedures. To achieve this goal, the CaReCI project is
structured into five tasks: - Collection
of industrial cement plant data and CFP evaluation (Task 1), where data
required for CFP estimation as well as the data required for validation of
integrated simulated model developed under Task 5 will be collected from
CIMPOR, Lisbon, (Alhandra) production centre. CFP estimation will be carried
out using ‘Umberto for carbon footprint’ software, which provides CFP from the
overall process as well as from the individual steps involved in the process.
This will help in identifying the key CFP contributor and provide input to hotspot
identification and strategies for reduced carbon footprint, identifying the
process segments where actions should be taken in order to reduce CFP and
arrive potential strategies for its reduction. The approach will be based on
graphical techniques based on well-established pinch analysis method and
algebraic method based on unified conceptual approach. - Modeling
and simulation of the industrial plant (Task 2), where an integrated cement
plant simulation model to achieve energy efficient techniques for reduced CFP Task 5 will be developed. This will involve the development of individual
models for pre-heater, pre-calciner, rotary kiln and clinker cooler, and then
integrated for the overall process. - Natural
sorbents reactivity for looping cycles post-combustion CO2 capture. The
reactivity study will be done in successive steps: carbonation-calcination
cycles experiments will be first carried out using thermogravimetric analysis
(TGA) and then in fixed and fluidized bed reactor units. The sorbent samples
will be tested according to the performance criteria important from an
industrial operation point of view, i.e. carrying capacity, reactivity lifetime,
and some of them will be selected for tests in the fluidized bed unit.
Synthetic and natural sorbents performance will be compared in terms of
reactivity decay and initial carbonation capacity. Experimental results will provide
a database for parameters estimation and modelling validation in task 4. The
innovative idea is the use of local Portuguese natural resources such as
limestone, dolomite or kaolin, and waste marble powder collected from different
national sources, as possible Ca looping sorbents to be used in CO2 capture
since, up-to date, there is no documentation on the use of this Portuguese
geological Ca oxide resources in CO2 capture. - Simulation
and assessment of CO2 post-combustion capture by calcium looping cycle
integrated in the industrial cement plant Calcium Looping (Task 4). In this
task the calcium looping cycle will be assessed as a new route for CO2 capture
in the cement industry. - Energy
efficient techniques for reduced carbon footprint (Task 5), involves the
development of improved techniques for the optimal strategies identified under
Task 1. The developed methods will include targeting and allocation of
alternative fuels by pinch based techniques, and process optimization and
process integration by the joined simulation of model developed under Task 3. CaReCI project is a collaboration between
Process Optimization for Energy Efficiency and Technology group (IST-ID/CERENA/PrOfEET),
and Heterogeneous Catalysis and Catalytic Processes group (IST-ID/CQE/CATHPRO)
and will be coordinated by IST-ID/ CQE/CATHPRO. IST-ID/DEQ/IOP will be responsible for Task 1
and Task 2 in collaboration with LNEG-UMOSE. IST-DEQ/CERG will be responsible
for Task 3. LNEG-UMOSE will perform Task 3 and Task 4 in close collaboration
with IST-DEQ/IOP. The CIMPOR, Lisbon (Alhandra) production centre will
participate by providing data and industrial technical input through CIMPORTEC.
In addition, the project has the scientific support in Task 2 and Task 5 from
Prof. Jiří Klemeš from Centre for Process Integration and Intensification
(CPI2), University of Pannonia, Hungary.
Dr. Luís Domingues (FCT-UC) will act as a consultant in Task 3 and Task 5
for gPROMS advanced modeling techniques.
