Displaying items by tag: CCUS

Canada: Lehigh Cement and the International CCS Knowledge Centre are conducting a feasibility study looking at carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The project aims to find out whether capturing 90 – 95% of the CO₂ from the plant’s flue gas is viable. Completion of the study is scheduled for the autumn of 2021.

The Lehigh CCS Feasibility Study will consider an engineering design using carbon capture technology owned by Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHIENG), part of MHI Group. The KM CDR process, which is being deployed at 13 commercial plants globally, will be examined for integration with Lehigh’s plant and output specifications, such as a flue gas pretreatment system and the carbon capture and compression process.

The aims of the study are to: deliver a Class 4 cost estimate; to work with a capture technology provider (MHI Group) to perform engineering design tailored to the Lehigh plant; to manage the process and engage third parties, as necessary; to complete a detailed business case; and to develop the budget for Front End Engineering Study (FEED). The project has received US$1.4m in funding from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) through its Partnership Intake Program.

Belgium: Carmeuse has signed a joint development agreement with France-based energy transition specialist ENGIE and John Cockerill for a carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) project in Wallonia. It will concentrate CO₂ from a new type of lime kiln and combine it with ‘green’ hydrogen to produce ‘e-methane.’ The hydrogen will be produced by a 75MW electrolyser plant powered by renewable electricity. The company said, “The produced e-methane will be suitable for injection into the national natural gas grid. This renewable e-methane can be used by industrial users or as an alternative fuel in the transport sector, thus allowing these sectors to decarbonise.”

Construction is due to begin in 2022 for commissioning of the installation in 2025. Its total investment cost is Euro150m. The partners have applied for funding from the EU Innovation Fund and Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) fund. The project’s estimated CO₂ emissions reduction over 10 years is 900,000t

Chief executive officer (CEO) Rodolphe Collinet said, “We are delighted to join forces with John Cockerill and ENGIE for the development of this very exciting and strategic project. It is a major step forward in our ambition to become CO₂-neutral by 2050. This project is a very concrete and important example of Carmeuse’s strong commitment and contribution to sustainable development.”

Norway: The Norwegian Parliament has voted in favour of the government’s proposed grant of funding for industrial scale implementation of full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) at HeidelbergCement subsidiary Norcem’s Brevik cement plant. Work on the project is expected to start immediately, with the goal of starting CO₂ separation from the cement production process by 2024. The end result will be a 50% cut of emissions from the cement produced at the plant. The group said that the installation will contribute to its CO2 emissions reduction target of 30% between 1990 and 2025.

Norcem chair and HeidelbergCement Northern Europe regional general manager Giv Brantenberg said, “HeidelbergCement highly appreciates the successful cooperation with the Norwegian authorities. The Brevik CCS project clearly shows the importance of industry and public sector to find common solutions in the fight against climate change.”

HeidelbergCement chair Dominik von Achten said, “We are delighted about the final approval of the Norwegian parliament for our breakthrough CCS project in Norway.” He added, “To meet national and international climate targets, CO₂ separation is an important cornerstone. Our CCS project in Brevik will pave the way for our industry and other sectors.”

Germany: The Catch4Climate project has moved into the planning stage of its oxyfuel pilot plant at the Mergelstetten cement plant. The group, comprising Buzzi Unicem’s subsidiary Dyckerhoff, HeidelbergCement, Schwenk Zement and Vicat, signed a letter of intent with the state’s prime minister and transport minister in Stuttgart in mid-November 2020.

The consortium intends to build and operate its own demonstration plant on a semi-industrial scale, to use the oxyfuel process to capture CO₂. In the future, the captured CO₂ will be used to produce so-called ‘reFuels’, climate-neutral synthetic fuels such as kerosene for air traffic, with the help of renewable electrical energy.

The cement producers formed CI4C – Cement Innovation for Climate in late 2019. The aim of the Catch4Climate project is to create the basis for a large-scale application of CO₂ capture technologies in cement plants enabling the later use of CO₂ as a raw material in other processes such as a carbon capture and utilisation/storage.

Germany: Cemex Zement has announced the start of carbon-neutral building materials development at its 1.9Mt/yr Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg cement plant. Called Vision Rüdersdorf, the project consists of, “the comprehensive investigation of various approaches to breakthrough technologies in order to prevent process-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) from entering the atmosphere, but to use it for beneficial purposes. The investigation areas can be divided into capture, storage or use of CO₂. This will help towards Cemex’s target of 55% CO₂ emissions reduction across Europe by 2030 and its commitment to deliver carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Rüdiger Kuhn said, “For years, sustainable success has been achieved here in the reduction of fossil fuels and in the selection of alternative recipe ingredients for cement. The experienced team is always looking for possible improvements. When it came to determining the best possible CO₂ emission values, the Rüdersdorf plant was always at the forefront of the European cement industry and has thus also earned an excellent reputation in the global Cemex organisation.”

In order to realise Vision Rüdersdorf, the producer has partnered with companies from other industries. Managing director and plant manager Stefan Schmorleiz said, “In an interesting approach, the CO₂ that we capture is used as a raw material for downstream processes in the chemical industry. Another approach is to innovate in the storage of CO₂. With these efforts, and our commitment to review and invest in these technologies, Cemex Zement is making a contribution to the decarbonisation of the cement industry.”

Norway: The Norwegian government has introduced a bill to parliament to allow funding for industrial scale implementation of HeidelbergCement’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its 1.2Mt/yr Brevik plant in Porsgrunn, Telemark. If enacted, the legislation will provide for the majority of required funding.

HeidelbergCement chair Dominik von Achten, “We are very pleased with the proposal of the Norwegian government. This allows us to continue the pioneering work that we started together with our partners in Brevik. The CCS project in Norway is an important cornerstone in our climate strategy. It will enable us to significantly reduce otherwise unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions related to the cement production process.”

Mexico: Cemex subsidiary Cemex Ventures has signed an agreement with US-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) specialist Carbon Clean for the development of a CCS solution for under US$30/t of carbon dioxide (CO₂) captured. Cemex cement plants will host the products during pilot testing. Cemex Ventures head Gonzalo Galindo said, “The ambitious target of making carbon capture technology accessible and more efficient would be an unprecedented achievement for the cement sector, opening a door of opportunities for further developments.”

US: LafargeHolcim says that Department of Energy institution National Energy Technology Laboratory has awarded US$1.5m of federal funding to the company’s CO₂MENT Colorado project. The project aims to capture 2.0Mt/yr of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the company’s 1.9Mt/yr Portland cement plant in Florence, Colorado for sequestration underground by Occidental.

The group said, “With the successful completion of the initial scoping study in June 2020 and confirmation of Department Of Energy funding, the partnership has committed to the next project phase.”

Japan: A proposal by Mitsubishi Group on researching CO₂ injection into concrete has been approved for a grant from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). This joint project between Mitsubishi Group, Kajima Corporation, and Chugoku Electric Power aims to improve the existing technology so that it can be applied to the reinforced and cast-in-place concretes used in building construction. At present the group said that current carbon-recycling techniques are mainly used for unreinforced concretes, such as concrete blocks.

Mitsubishi Group has already been involved in the development of concrete projects that take advantage of carbon-recycling, including a zero-emission concrete called CO₂-SUICOM. It added that carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies, including carbon-recycling, are an excellent opportunity for the company to use its strengths between industries that both emit and use CO₂.

France: UK-based Carbon8 Systems has announced plans for the commercial implementation of its carbon capture and use (CCU) system at Vicat’s Montalieu integrated cement plant in France. It follows successful demonstration projects at cement plants in the UK and Canada.

The company’s CO₂ntainer product will be deployed directly onsite at the plant and integrated into Vicat's existing industrial processes. It will capture CO₂ directly from the plant's flue gas emissions and use this as part of its Accelerated Carbonisation Technology (ACT) process. This accelerates the carbonation of cement bypass dust into lightweight aggregates. In its first phase of operation it will process and convert up to 12,000t of cement bypass dust.