The challenging goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 has been set. This is not an easy commitment to reach for the cement or lime industry - responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions - as most of these emissions are unavoidable "process emissions".
Cement and lime provide vital services to our society, with essential products that are low cost and very efficiently produced. Since 1990, major efforts have been made to reduce emissions, including improvements to energy efficiency, use of alternative and waste fuels and clinker substitution. However, complete decarbonisation of this industrial sector is far harder than many others, as most CO2 emissions are released directly and unavoidably from the processing of the limestone. These “process emissions” are in addition to the CO2 released from the combustion of fuels used to power the process (representing around two-thirds of a plant’s total emissions, depending on the fuel used). To reach the corporate emissions reductions targets by 2050, these unavoidable process emissions must be addressed. The most effective means is to capture the CO2, and ensure that it does not reach the atmosphere. Called Carbon Capture Use and Storage (CCUS), this general approach to decarbonisation has been used for decades in the hydrocarbon processing and recovery industries, further developed for the power sector. This will need to be applied to the majority of cement and lime plants due to those process emissions. Most carbon capture technologies require energy or chemicals to separate gases from gases, and are expensive.
Calix’s new LEILAC process of ‘indirect calcination’ focuses solely on the cement and lime sectors, ensuring that the relatively pure, unavoidable, CO2 released from the limestone itself in the precalciner is not contaminated by either air or flue gases.
The LEILAC2 project is scaling up this breakthrough technology, already proven conceptually in the LEILAC1 project. The LEILAC2 project will build a Demonstration plant, in a modular replicable design that is a 4 x scale up of the LEILAC 1 pilot. It aims to capture around 20percent of a typical plant’s emissions – around 100ktpa of CO2 - and will be developed on HeidelbergCement’s operational cement plant in Hannover, Germany.
The LEILAC2 consortium is led by technology provider Calix, and further comprises HeidelbergCement, CEMEX, Lhoist, Cimpor, IKN, CERTH, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Polimi, Engie Laborelec and Port of Rotterdam.
The project is also supported by GCCA, CEMBUREAU, ECRA, EuLA, GCCSI and the University of Clausthal as the External Advisory Board. This five-year project is funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (€16M, grant no. 884170), and some of the consortium members (€18M) including cash contributions towards the development of the demonstration plant and in-kind contribution for staff.
