Decarbonizing ceramic industry: Technological routes and cost assessment

Abstract

The ceramic industry is a primary contributor to carbon emissions, but its technological decarbonization routes remain underexamined. This article is one of the first to explore the decarbonization routes available to the ceramic industry in reducing carbon emissions and to assess the economic feasibility of these options. We considered 14 green technologies across four categories: energy substitution, energy efficiency improvement, material consumption reduction, and process improvement. We developed a methodological framework to evaluate the decarbonization potential and costs of these technologies through quantitative models and to construct a decarbonization route based on the evaluation results. Using Huida Group Co. Ltd., a world-leading ceramic manufacturer, as a case study, we identified technological decarbonization routes for the ceramic industry. Our findings showed that replacing coke oven gas with natural gas or green hydrogen results in the most significant carbon reduction. Considering the economic feasibility, energy efficiency improvement technologies, lightweight product design, and waste recycling are the most effective, reducing total emissions by 4.31%, 2.58%, and 1.83%, respectively, while also increasing profits. Clean energy and electrification are the most promising long-term decarbonization pathway. The use of green hydrogen in the firing process can reduce emissions by 30.10% with an added cost of 907.54CNY/t of products. This cost will be reduced to zero when the price of hydrogen is lower than 8.70 CNY/kgH2 and the price of carbon trading is higher than 500 CNY/tCO2. Finally, using an electric heater and microwave drying technique can reduce carbon emission by 6.09% and 12.23%, respectively, for producing one ton of ceramic products, when the emission factor of the power grid is 0.23 tCO2/MWh.