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Industrial Decarbonization at the Gigaton Scale

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Arun Majumdar

Stanford University

Electrification and Decarbonization Solutions for Industry

Stanford Energy Workshop

April 5, 2022

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National Academies Report (2019)

Gasser, T., Guivarch, C., Tachiiri, K., Jones, C.D. and Ciais, P., 2015. Negative emissions physically needed to keep global warming below 2 C. Nature communications, 6(1), pp.1-7.

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GLOBAL

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  1. Scale (GtCO2) & Rate (GtCO2/yr)
  2. Cost of CCUS ($/tCO2) & Price on CO2; Price > Cost for Gton-level effort
  3. Carbon-free energy (ExaJoules)
  4. Financing ($100s Billions) – Return on investment
  5. Infrastructure (pipelines, electric grid) to supply feedstock and manage CO2
  6. Regulatory approvals
  7. Land & natural resources
  8. Measurement & verification
  9. Co-benefits
  10. Unintended consequences
  11. Public acceptance

What matters?

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What is the total weight of ALL (8B)

human beings on earth?

∼ 0.6 Gton

How many industries are already at Gigaton scale?

  • Oil & gas
  • Cement
  • Steel
  • Electricity
  • Agriculture
  • Water
  • …

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Industrial Decarbonization - The Big Three…

Rissman et al., “Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry: Review and

assessment of mitigation drivers through 2070,” Applied Energy 266, 114848 (2020)

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Reduce Demand & Life Cycle Impact

Alternatives

Circular Economy

Textiles are going the wrong way!

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Steel Making Options

∼ 2000 Million tons of Fe in 2021; Fe2O3 → 2Fe + 3/2O2

Reductant: C(s), CO CH4, CO, H2 H2 electricity

Heating: C CH4, electricity H2, electricity electricity

Emissions: CO2 CO2, e-(indirect) H2(indirect), e-(indirect) e-(indirect)

Molten Oxide Electrolysis

Wang et al., “Hydrogen Direct Reduction (H-DR) in steel industry – An overview of challenges and opportunities,” J. Cleaner Production 329, 129797 (2021)

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Basic Energetics

Fe2O3 → 2Fe + 3/2O2;

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Minimum Energy Needed = 824 kJ/mole = 7.4 GJ/ton-Fe

For 2000 Mtons/yr, Minimum Energy Needed= 14.8 ExaJoules = 4111.4 TWh

Electricity Production (2020)

Fe2O3 + H2 → 2Fe + 3/2H2O;

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2 moles of Fe (112 kg-Fe) → Needs 1 mole H2 (2 kg-H2)

For 2000 Mtons/yr → Needs 36 Mtons-H2/yr

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Consider producing 50 Mton-H2 by electrolysis

  • H2O → H2 + ½O2 𝛥H = 286 kJ/mol ∼ 40 kWh/kg-H2

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  • Best catalysts today have overpotential ∼ 50 kWh/kg-H2

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  • 50 Mton-H2 will need 2500 TWh of electricity

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  • Carbon-free electricity in 2020 in US (nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass) ∼ 1500 TWh

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GHG-Free Hydrogen (Target = $1/kg-H2)

Natural Gas

Infrastructure

Steam

Hydrogen + CO2 Emissions

$1/kg-H2

Gray Hydrogen (95%)

Natural Gas

Infrastructure

Pyrolysis

GHG-Free Hydrogen

Solid Carbon

Black or Fiber

Potentially $1/kg-H2 or less

GHG-Free

Electricity

Electrolysis

Water

GHG-Free Hydrogen

Green Hydrogen

Today $3-5/kg-H2

Potentially $1-2/kg-H2

CO2 Capture

(CO2 Pipelines)

GHG-Free H2

$1.50-1.75/kg-H2

Blue Hydrogen

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10% CEMENT REPLACEMENT

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GHG Footprint for Hydrogen – Electric Grid

(Steam-Methane-Reforming)

(Chemical Looping H2)

(Thermochemical Water Splitting)

Rojas et al., ”Technoeconomics and carbon footprint of hydrogen production” submitted for publication (2022)

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GHG Footprint for Hydrogen – Natural Gas Supply Chain

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Industrial Heat

Temperature Matters

100-150 oC

Electrical Power, P

Waste Heat, Qw

Upgraded Heat, Qup = Qw + P > 2-3xP

400-600 oC

Medium Temperature Heat Pump Technology

Needs R&D

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Marginal Cost Increase Depends on Industry

STEEL

CEMENT

AMMONIA

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Options for Industrial Decarbonization

  • Incentivize Demand Reduction, Recycling, Reuse, Repurpose, Reduction in Net-Use of Natural Resources, Alternatives w/ Lower Life Cycle Impact

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  • Chemical Reducing Agents – No single approach will address Gigaton challenge
    • Electricity – H2, electrons (renewables, nuclear, fossil + CCS)
    • Natural Gas –Reforming + CCS [CO, H2]; Methane Pyrolysis [H2 + C(s)]
    • Biomass – Biogas; BECCS

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  • GHG-free Industrial Heat to address Gigaton Scale
    • Nuclear
    • Natural Gas Combustion + CCS
    • GHG-free H2 – electricity, Natural Gas Reforming + CCS; Methane Pyrolysis with C(s)
    • Electrical Heating with GHG-free electricity
    • Heat Pumps with Coefficient of Performance > 2-3 x Electrical Heating

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  • Price on Carbon > Cost of Carbon Management

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  • Common Infrastructure – Electric Grid, CO2 Pipelines, H2 Distribution, CO2 Sequestration Sites; Biomass Collection & Distribution