Potential and Optimization Deployment of CCUS Technology Emission Reduction at Point Source Level in China’s Cement Industry

The cement industry, characterized by high energy consumption and high emissions, is a focus in China’s carbon reduction efforts. Currently, the cement industry releases approximately 1.38 billion tons of CO₂ emissions, accounting for 12% of the country’s total emissions. Despite the vision of achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, the industry still faces significant pressure to reduce emissions. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology is an important pathway for the cement industry to achieve emission reduction and serve as a bottom-line for the realization of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. To accurately assess the CCUS potential and optimize deployment strategies in the cement industry, the CO₂ emissions at various stages of the cement production process were first calculate and the scale suitable for CO₂ capture was determined based on production line-scale data. Then, a technical and economic evaluation model for cement production lines and a CCUS source-sink matching model were constructed to analyze the costs, emission reduction scales, and distribution of source-sink matching in the whole process of CCUS technology deployment in the cement industry. Research findings indicate that CO₂ emissions associated with the Chinese cement industry’s processes account for approximately 60%, with a capture potential of 618 million tons of CO₂ per year. Cement clinker production lines in Hebei province in North China, Shandong province in East China, and Hubei province, as well as Henan province in Central and South China, demonstrate significant CO₂ capture potential with low costs. These provinces, in conjunction with Bohai Bay Basin, Jianghan-Dongting Basin, and Linfen Basin, form favorable source-sink matching relationships, making them suitable for prioritized implementation of CCUS technology for emission reduction and the establishment of demonstration effects. The research findings can provide reference for low-carbon development of the cement industry and the commercial deployment of CCUS.