Effects on primary energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and related costs from improving energy end-use efficiency in th
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Effects on primary energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and related costs from improving energy end-use efficiency in the electrolysis in primary aluminium production Joakim Haraldsson
&
Maria T. Johansson
Received: 7 October 2019 / Accepted: 11 August 2020 / Published online: 26 August 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Primary aluminium production is energy- and GHG-intensive in which electrolysis is by far the most energy- and GHG-intensive process. This paper’s aim is to study the effects on (1) primary energy use, (2) GHG emissions and (3) energy and CO2 costs when energy end-use efficiency measures are implemented in the electrolysis. Significant savings in final and primary energy use, GHG emissions and energy and CO2 costs can be achieved by implementing the studied measures. Vertical electrode cells and the combination of inert anodes and wettable cathodes are among the measures with the highest savings in all three areas (primary energy use, GHG emissions and energy and CO2 costs). Direct carbothermic reduction is one of the measures with the highest savings in primary energy use and energy and CO2 costs. For GHG emissions, direct carbothermic reduction is the more beneficial choice in regions with a high proportion of coal power, while inert anodes are the more beneficial choice in regions with a high proportion of low-carbon electricity. Although a company potentially can save more money by implementing the direct carbothermic reduction, the company should consider implementing the vertical
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-020-09893-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. J. Haraldsson (*) : M. T. Johansson Division of Energy Systems, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden e-mail: [email protected]
electrode cells together with other energy-saving technologies since this would yield the largest GHG emission savings while providing similar cost savings as the direct carbothermic reduction. It may be necessary to impose a price on GHG emissions in order to make inert anodes cost-effective on their own, although further evaluations are needed in this regard. There is a potential to achieve carbon-neutrality in the reduction of aluminium oxide to pure aluminium. Keywords Energy saving . Aluminium industry . Primary energy consumption saving . GHG emission saving . Energy and CO2 cost saving . Direct carbothermic reduction
Introduction Political goals have been formulated at international (UN 2015; UNDP 2015), European (European Comission n.d.) and national (Sweden) (Swedish Energy Agency 2019; Government Offices of Sweden 2017) levels regarding improved energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact, increased share of renewables and increased sustainability. The industrial sector accounted for 37% of global final energy use and 24% of global direct CO2 emissions (including both energyand process-related emissions) in 2017
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