Feasibility study points to decarbonisation of cement production

The cement industry accounts for eight per cent of global carbon emissions due to its reliance on energy and cost-intensive industrial processes. Now, CATAGEN and Mannok engineers have identified several routes to help decarbonise cement production at Mannok’s Cement Plant in Ballyconnell, Ireland, which produces one million tonnes of cement annually.

The potential to generate renewable hydrogen and oxygen from CATAGEN’s HGEN (renewable hydrogen generator) aided by waste heat recovery from the cement process is said to represent a decarbonisation opportunity across the cement industry. The study has determined that the use of the HGEN technology could reduce annual carbon emissions by seven per cent in this application.

The same study found that biohydrogen generation from waste biomass can generate larger volumes of hydrogen with less renewable energy required compared to electrolytic hydrogen generation. The use of BIOHGEN technology could reduce the carbon intensity of cement produced at this site by a further 18 per cent by reducing fossil fuel use. In a statement, CATAGEN said its biohydrogen technology uses a source of waste biomass that does not displace the growing of crops for food.