Alstom and HeidelbergCement to study CO₂ capture

The work, which is being carried out in cooperation with the European Cement Research Academy (ECRA), is aimed at helping decision-making regarding the choice of technology for future CO₂ capture for the European cement industry.

Norcem plans to set up a test facility for post-combustion CO₂ capture technologies at its cement plant in Brevik and has signed an agreement with Alstom to study application of the chilled ammonia process and the carbonate looping process.

Operation of pilot and demonstration plants has validated the the chilled ammonia process and confirmed its potential. Validation has confirmed that the process is not only as efficient as expected, but also offers by-products that may be used as a fertilizer.

The carbonate looping process is of specific interest to the cement industry as it uses raw material for the cement process to capture CO₂. In addition, the patented process produces material that can be directly implemented into the cement production. Alstom already operates a pilot using the technology at the University of Darmstadt, Germany.

“We have already reduced our CO₂ emissions per produced ton significantly through plant optimization and by using renewable fuels. To reduce emissions even further, we need to enter into CO₂ capture,” said general manager of HeidelbergCement Northern Europe Gunnar Syvertsen.

The work has started this month June and will be completed by end October 2011. Based on the conclusions from the work, Norcem will make a decision whether they will move on to build the test facility.

"Alstom believes that stabilising CO₂ emissions is possible, but that a portfolio of technologies will be needed to get there,” said Alstom Power president Philippe Joubert. “The company’s commitment to provide a range of integrated solutions to address the climate change challenge is a long-standing one. In order to reduce the CO₂ emissions to an acceptable level, emissions from industries like cement, iron and steel and aluminum must be addressed in addition to the well-established CO₂ capture effort on power plants. Reducing energy consumption through optimized heat integration between the cement plant and the capture plant is key, and we are convinced that our competence from integration in the power industry will be very valuable in this respect.”

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