Decarbonization in the process industries

Climate change, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, presents an urgent global challenge, demanding immediate and decisive decarbonization action across all business sectors. These efforts are imperative for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, and while some industries are inherently more carbon-intensive than others, each process industry holds potential for impactful mitigation.

These opportunities and methods include emission reduction, carbon capture, process efficiency optimization, and switching to alternate fuel sources and production methods. Collectively, these efforts are referred to as decarbonization, or reducing the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. This article delves into the complexities of decarbonizing the process industries, exploring practical strategies and the crucial role of collaboration and technology in achieving a net-zero future.

Several industries face unique challenges in their pursuit of decarbonization because of the inherent carbon intensity of their core processes. These include:

• Chemicals and petroleum refining: The refining process, particularly the production of hydrogen via steam methane reforming (SMR) of natural gas, is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions. This hydrogen is crucial for various processes, including hydrotreating, which removes sulfur and other impurities from refined products. This same process is also used for manufacturing ammonia used in fertilizer production and for other important manufacturing processes.
• Cement and lime manufacturing: The production of cement and lime involves calcination, a high-temperature process that releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The prevalent use of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum coke, in these processes exacerbates their carbon footprint.
• Iron and steel manufacturing: The transformation of iron ore into iron and steel, relying heavily on blast and basic oxygen furnaces, releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide. This is further compounded by the energy-intensive nature of subsequent processes, such as continuous casting, hot rolling and other forming operations.
• Food and beverage: From agriculture and ingredient sourcing to processing, packaging and distribution, the food and beverage sector relies heavily on fossil fuels at various stages, contributing to its overall carbon footprint.

These industries, though fundamental to modern society, represent a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States alone, they account for over 75% of total industrial carbon dioxide emissions.

Addressing these emissions is not only an environmental imperative, but also crucial for fulfilling environmental, social and governance (ESG) corporate commitments, and ensuring long-term economic sustainability.

Adding another layer of complexity, many of these carbon-intensive processes are also highly energy-intensive. This creates a dual challenge: reducing emissions from the processes themselves, while decarbonizing the energy sources used to power them.

Refineries, for example, require enormous amounts of energy for processes like hydrocracking, atmospheric distillation and catalytic cracking. The dependence on fossil fuels for these energy needs further amplifies the overall processes’ environmental impact.

Cement and lime production relies heavily on rotary kilns for a process called calcination, where limestone and other minerals are heated to high temperatures. This releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide and a plant’s age plays a significant role in efficiency. Older installations often lack advanced preheating systems, resulting in lower heat recovery and overall reduced energy and process efficiency.

Iron, steel and other metals production processes similarly demand massive energy inputs for heating, melting and shaping, often relying heavily on fossil fuels like natural gas and coal. To effectively address these intertwined challenges, process industries must adopt a comprehensive decarbonization strategy built on four cornerstones, each highlighting focal points for achieving net-zero operations.

The journey toward decarbonizing complex process industries is best navigated with a phased approach, focusing on achieving incremental yet impactful improvements over time. This allows for:

• Continuous learning and optimization, where each phase provides valuable data and insights that can be used to refine subsequent strategies. This ensures continuous improvement and optimization of decarbonization efforts.
• Manageable investments and risk mitigation, which allows for strategic investment allocation and minimizes financial risks associated with large-scale, untested technologies.
• Building momentum and demonstrating progress. Success during initial phases builds internal and external confidence, attracting further investment and accelerating the transition to a net-zero future.

For example, many companies taking steps toward decarbonization are currently leveraging lower-carbon alternatives to conventional fossil fuels, such as natural gas, known as transition fuels. Natural gas emits roughly half the carbon dioxide of coal during combustion, and it can be readily shipped as liquified natural gas (LNG) to regions without native natural gas resources as a bridge to fully-decarbonized energy sources.

Decarbonizing process industries is not a solitary endeavor, but is instead a collective effort requiring collaboration and knowledge sharing across industries, value chains, and technology providers. Open collaboration around successful strategies, challenges encountered, and lessons learned can accelerate progress and inspire innovation across the entire sector.

Additionally, engaging with suppliers and customers to promote sustainable practices and reduce emissions throughout the entire value chain is crucial for achieving comprehensive decarbonization. Industry players should also leverage the expertise and innovative solutions of technology companies specializing in automation, instrumentation, data analytics, renewable energy and process optimization to accelerate decarbonization strategic implementation.

Companies like Endress+Hauser play a vital role in this transition, providing modern instrumentation technologies, plant connectivity solutions, data-driven insights and a deep understanding of industrial processes to help companies optimize operations, reduce their environmental impact and achieve ambitious sustainability goals.

Decarbonizing the global economy, particularly the process industries, is a monumental task, but it is an achievable goal, and it will provide significant and lasting positive impacts. While attaining complete and immediate decarbonization is unrealistic for certain processes, a commitment to continuous improvement, embracing innovation and fostering collaboration will pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future.

The path to net-zero relies on a multi-faceted approach: minimizing process waste, adopting clean fuels, transitioning to renewable energy sources, and embracing circular economy practices to curtail waste generation. By embracing these four cornerstones—and by leveraging the power of technology, collective action and continuous learning—the process industries can lead the decarbonization charge towards net-zero objectives, ensuring a more sustainable environment for generations to come.