Simulation of direct separation technology for carbon capture and storage in the cement industry

This research investigated the application of the direct separation reactor (DSR) to the cement industry to capture a large portion of the process-derived CO2. The case herein assumed a DSR fuelled by natural gas, and downstream rotary kiln with a typical coal- and refuse-derived fuel blend. A range of key performance indicators were assessed with these compared to a baseline plant simulated with identical assumptions. This research found that the DSR has the potential to capture up to 58–68% of CO2, reducing net direct emissions from production to around 0.17–0.21 tCO2/tcmnt. This can be achieved with a minimal penalty to thermal duty (+8%) and modest increase in electrical requirement (+30%). Overall, this work calculated a cost of CO2 capture cost between £39-53/tCO2. Promisingly, these results were achieved without rigorous process optimisation, and there are many avenues to further improve the performance of the DSR.