Carbon and air pollutant emissions from China's cement industry 1990–2015: trends, evolution of technologies, and drivers
<p>China is the largest cement producer and consumer in the world. Cement manufacturing is highly energy-intensive and is one of the major contributors to carbon dioxide (<span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span>) and air pollutant emissions, which th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/1627/2021/acp-21-1627-2021.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>China is the largest cement producer and consumer in the world. Cement
manufacturing is highly energy-intensive and is one of the major contributors
to carbon dioxide (<span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span>) and air pollutant emissions, which threatens
climate mitigation and air quality improvement. In this study, we investigated
the decadal changes in carbon dioxide and air pollutant emissions for the
period of 1990–2015 based on intensive unit-based information on activity
rates, production capacity, operation status, and control technologies which
improved the accuracy of the cement emissions in China. We found that, from
1990 to 2015, accompanied by a 10.3-fold increase in cement production,
<span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span>, <span class="inline-formula">SO<sub>2</sub></span>, and NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>x</i></sub></span> emissions from China's cement
industry increased by 627 %, 56 %, and 659 %, whereas CO,
<span class="inline-formula">PM<sub>2.5</sub></span>, and <span class="inline-formula">PM<sub>10</sub></span> emissions decreased by 9 %, 63 %,
and 59 %, respectively. In the 1990s, driven by the rapid growth of cement
production, <span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span> and air pollutant emissions increased
constantly. Then, the technological innovation in production of replacing
traditional shaft kilns with the new precalciner kilns equipped with
high-efficiency control facilities in the 2000s markedly reduced
<span class="inline-formula">SO<sub>2</sub></span>, CO, and PM emissions in the cement industry. In 2010,
nationwide, 39 % and 31 % of the nationwide <span class="inline-formula">PM<sub>2.5</sub></span> and
NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>x</i></sub></span> emission were produced by 3 % and 15 % of the total capacity
of the production lines, indicating the disproportionately high emissions from a
small number of the super-polluting units. Since 2010, the growing trend of
emissions has been further curbed by a combination of measures, including
promoting large-scale precalciner production lines and phasing out small ones,
upgrading emission standards, installing low NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>x</i></sub></span> burners (LNB), and
selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) to reduce NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>x</i></sub></span> emissions, as well
as adopting more advanced particulate matter control technologies. Our study
highlights the effectiveness of advanced technologies on air pollutant
emission control; however, <span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span> emissions from China's cement
industry kept growing throughout the period, posing challenges to future
carbon emission mitigation in China.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |