DECARBONISING THE HEAVY INDUSTRIES

 DECARBONISING THE HEAVY INDUSTRIES

Steel, cement, and chemicals are the top three heavy industries and stand out as particularly challenging to decarbonize. This difficulty arises from technical constraints, such as their reliance on extremely high temperatures and the release of carbon dioxide during their processes. Economic factors further compound the challenge, including narrow profit margins, high capital requirements, long asset lifespans, and susceptibility to international trade dynamics.

The heavy industry sector plays a pivotal role in bolstering job security and propelling economic growth, making it a linchpin of some of the world's most rapidly advancing economies. Its substantial contributions extend to fostering socio-economic development and urbanization.

India, as a case in point, emits a significant annual volume of greenhouse gases, totaling 2.9 GtCO2e. Globally, the power and heat sectors connected to heavy industries contribute approximately 60% of the world's yearly emissions. When we consider the collective impact of steel, cement, and chemical industries, they jointly account for around 11% of the total carbon emissions within the energy system.

Given these substantial emissions, a focused approach is essential to attain climate targets and cultivate a sustainable socio-economic landscape. Consequently, it becomes imperative for these sectors to chart clear pathways and establish comprehensive roadmaps for their decarbonization efforts.


 

Steelmaking uses coal both as a source of heat and as part of the chemical process of converting iron ore to elemental iron. Both of these uses produce carbon dioxide( about 250MtCO2e in 2020). Eliminating CO emissions from steelmaking requires a change in process. Using hydrogen as the heat source and the chemical reducing agent can eliminate CO emissions, or carbon capture can remove them. Steel can also be recycled without CO emissions, but demand for steel is too large to be met with recycled steel alone. The steel production is expected to grow seven fold to around 785 MMTPA by 2070. CO2 emission intensity should fall from around 2.0 tCO2/ton of steel to 0.5 tCO2/ton steel from this sector.

 

Cement production also releases CO accounts for about 5% of India Current emissions( 156MtCO2e in 2019) as part of the chemical process, in this case when limestone is heated to very high temperature to produce calcium oxide “clinker,” the cement’s primary component. Other substances can be mixed with clinker while still maintaining cement quality, or if the industry can find other clinker substitutes. but the primary method of decarbonizing the sector is to capture the COand store or find a use for it.

 

The chemical industry is different from the other two, encompassing many thousands of processes and products. However, more than 90% of “organic,” or carbon-containing, chemicals are derived from just a few building blocks, which are produced in large quantities and traded internationally. The chemical industry is also unique in that it uses coal, oil, and natural gas as feedstocks that are transformed into final products, not just sources of energy. Fossil fuels will likely still be feedstocks in a zero-carbon world, with process electrification and zero-carbon hydrogen as methods of removing CO emissions. Ammonia is crucial for fertilizer and although it does not contain carbon, hydrogen needed for its production is today made from natural gas, with carbon dioxide as a by-

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