CCS opportunities in the Australian “Industrial Processes” sector

Greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes, such as cement manufacturing or steel production, in Australia accounts for more than 40 Mt CO2-e per annum, representing close to 20% of Australia’s potentially sequesterable emissions. Further, the emissions from these processes are highly concentrated in CO2 compared to the emissions from power generation. It is not clear if these higher concentrated gases may provide low cost options for demonstrating CO2 capture or if this benefit will be lost due to the smaller total volume of CO2 emissions of most industrial processes. Nevertheless, this sector of the economy requires further analysis.This paper will provide an overview of the emissions from Australian cement sector including both the emissions from the chemical process itself, as well as the associated emissions from energy use within those processes. Specific attention will be focused on the Australian cement industry.While CCS involves the integrated part of capture, transport and storage, the focus of this paper is on the capture side and will illustrate CCS options for the cement industry.