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Within 10 years, the CCS (carbon capture and storage) installation at the Kujawy Cement Plant will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 10 million tonnes, resulting in a 10% annual reduction in CO2 emissions across the entire cement sector in Poland. This will be achieved through the use of the Cryocap™ FG technology.
A special installation for capturing and liquefying carbon dioxide will be built at the Kujawy Cement Plant. It will be based on Air Liquide's Cryocap™ FG technology that makes it possible to completely eliminate CO2 emissions caused by the firing of clinker, the main ingredient in cement production.
The Cryocap™ FG technology's CO2 reduction process involves the use of increased pressure to help separate carbon dioxide contained in the clinker kiln flue gases. The CO2 will then be liquefied in a low-temperature (cryogenic) process. In the final step, the liquefied carbon dioxide will be purified, which will remove residual air components.
Condensates will be recovered from the remaining components of the kiln flue gas for further use in the cement production process. The treatment of the condensates will generate water, which Holcim will reuse during production. Small quantities of sulphate and nitrate compounds will also be left, and can subsequently be used in cement production or agriculture.
The technology of capturing CO2 from production processes was tested for more than five years at the Air Liquide facility in France. Air Liquide's solutions are used in different industry sectors in many countries around the world, but this is the first time Cryocap™ FG will be used on this scale in the cement sector.
The liquified carbon dioxide will be loaded on specially adapted railway cars and transported to a transshipment facility at a seaport. From there, it will be shipped to the North Sea.
The CO2 will be stored on the seabed of the North Sea in dedicated caverns - empty spaces in the rocks left after the extraction of gas and oil deposits. This will be the end stage in the chain leading to a complete reduction of CO2.
A consortium that Holcim is part of will carry out a separate ECO2CEE project to develop the transport infrastructure that includes a port terminal for unloading the railway cars, storing CO2 and loading it on ships. The aim is to create a complete carbon capture and storage chain.
The start-up of the carbon capture plant is scheduled for 2027, with a CO2 emissions reduction of 1 million tonnes to be achieved in the first year of its operations, leading to a 10% reduction for the entire cement sector in Poland within 10 years.
The Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet project is part of the sustainability strategy of Holcim and Holcim Group, one of whose goals is a comprehensive decarbonisation of industrial processes.
Read more: Holcim and Holcim Group Sustainability Strategy
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