Application of System Dynamic Modelling for Evaluation of CO₂ Emissions and Expenditure for Captive Power Generation Scenarios in the Cement Industry

• Main Authors: Akhil Kunche, Bożena Mielczarek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: carbon mitigation; cement industry; system dynamics; sustainable energy use; management; decision support
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/11/3115

Cement manufacturing is an emission-intensive process. The cement industry is responsible for 8% of the global CO₂ emissions, and produces a ton of cement uses up to 102 kWh of electrical energy, leading to a significant amount of indirect emissions depending on the emission intensity of the electricity source. Captive power generation can be potentially utilised as a mitigation approach to reduce emissions and as well as expenditure on electricity tariffs. In this study, a system dynamic simulation model is built to evaluate the impact of captive power generation on a cement plant’s net emissions and expenditure through electricity use, under different scenarios for carbon-tax, grid emission factor, and electricity tariffs. The model is then utilised to simulate a reference plant under realistic scenarios designed based on the conditions in Germany and United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, the model is utilised to calculate the payback period of investments on captive power plants under different carbon tax scenarios. The study concludes that a carbon tax policy on emissions through electricity utilisation could have an impact on incentivising the use of captive power generation and would lead to fewer emissions and expenditure during the cement plant’s lifetime.