In some countries, CO2 produced in the manufacture of cement falls under an Emissions Trading Scheme and cement manufacturers have to pay for their emissions. However, all that does is increase the cost of the cement, while doing nothing to protect the environment.
The electrification of heating processes is a promising pathway towards decarbonisation, where shifting from fuel combustion to low-carbon electricity could substantially reduce emissions. One of the main challenges pertaining to large-scale implementation of electrified heating systems is scaling to maximise both temperature and throughput. Several methods for the electrification of the high-temperature calcination process, which accounts for the majority (up to 70%) of the CO2 emissions in cement production, have been investigated, including resistance, induction, and microwave heating. However, scaling to meet the high thermal energy transfer rates required has led to system designs with prohibitively large heat transfer areas and/or gas flow volumes per unit mass.
By using superheated ionised gas (i.e., plasma), high heat transfer rates can be achieved in a relatively small volume (up to 600 kWth/m3). Additionally, due to the absence of combustion gases, the unavoidable CO2 liberated from calcined (hot) meal can be efficiently captured, without the need for downstream carbon capture technologies.
This webinar will cover: ABB’s solutions, the key features of the Electric Arc Calciner (EAC) including its use of plasma technology for the calcination of pure limestone and cement raw meal by SaltX, the main benefits of the technology, and the potential impact on the related industries.
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Speakers
Max Tschurtschenthaler
Process Industries, ABB
Corey Blackman
SaltX Technology
