Assessing container glass production decarbonization through amine scrubbing, calcium looping and electrification: a comparative techno-economic analysis

This study performs a techno-economic assessment of decarbonization pathways for container glass production. A reference glass plant with a capacity of 250 t/day is modelled in Aspen Plus, implementing an end-fired regenerative furnace. Three alternative and decarbonized configurations are explored: (i) post-combustion CO 2 capture via calcium looping (Case 1), (ii) CO 2 absorption using monoethanolamine solvents (Case 2), (iii) system electrification through a modular approach involving two cold top vertical melting furnaces of 140 t/day each (Case 3). The energy, environmental and economic performances of the processes are compared aiming at identifying the most promising solutions for sector decarbonization in the short and long terms. Carbon capture by calcium looping cycles significantly increases energy consumption (from 7.5 to 10.1 GJ/t glass ), whereas MEA scrubbing results in a moderate increase (7.9 GJ/t glass ) due to extensive heat recovery for solvent regeneration. The fully electric configuration drastically reduces natural gas consumption but increases electricity demand (from 1.24 to 3.8 GJ/t glass ). All options reduce direct CO 2 emissions by more than 76% compared with the reference case. In a medium-term scenario, MEA scrubbing emerges as the most economically competitive option under current energy prices and CO 2 tax of 100 €/t CO2 , with a cost penalty of only 18 €/t glass . In contrast, full electrification could achieve economic attractiveness in a long-term scenario, involving higher natural gas prices, lower electricity costs and higher carbon tax.