THE CHEMICALS AND THE CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDAS

Transcription

1 THE CHEMICALS AND THE CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDAS Linkages and opportunities for future work June 14, 2006 Washington D.C.

2 MOTIVATION FOR THIS WORK The manufacturing industry is highly energy intensive. It is responsible for 1/3 of global GHG emissions (IPCC Mitigation report, 2001) Sector Pulp and paper Refineries Fertilizers Petrochemicals Other chemicals Iron and steel Aluminum Cement Metal processing Potential formation of PCDD/PCDF PCDD/PCDF may be generated during production of pulp using elemental Cl Oxichlorination reactions (for instance ethylene to ethylene dichloride or acetylene to vinyl chloride) may result in significant emissions of PDCC/PCDF The use of graphite electrodes in chlor-alkali processes may lead to the formation of PCDD/PCDF PCDD and PCDF appear to be formed in the iron and steel sintering process. During primary aluminum production releases of PCDD/PCDF is unlikely, although possible through reactions at graphite-based electrodes. PCDD/PCDF emissions are more likely during secondary aluminum production (smelting) due to the presence of organic contaminants and plastics in the feed material with the addition of chlorine and chlorides. PCDD/PCDF may be generated if feedstock has high organic content, or if hazardous materials are used as fuel Metals may act as catalysts for dioxin formation. Copper is the most potent catalyst for dioxin formation, but iron, zinc, potassium sodium, and magnesium have also been found to be correlated with increased PCDD/PCDF formation. Secondary copper, zinc and lead production may also lead to PCDD/PCDF emissions. Potential emission of chemicals Sulfur emissions BTX, VOC, heavy metals and others NOx, NH 3, SO 2 Phosphorous, Fluoride and others VCM production from acetylene needs mercuric chloride catalyst which leads to releases of mercury Mercury releases from operation of electrolysis cells Heavy metals PAHs, VOCs, Sulfuric acid NOx, Sox, heavy metals Depends on metal Heavy metals 1. Are there opportunities to reduce potential releases of unintentional POPs, mercury and other chemicals as measures to increase energy efficiency in the chemicals sector are implemented? 2. What are the implications and how to take advantage of the co-benefits? 2

3 THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY AN ENERGY INTENSIVE SECTOR The chemical industry accounted for 7% of the world's energy use in In 1997 it contributed 4% of overall emissions of CO 2 from all sectors using fossil fuel combustion The U.S. is the largest chemical producer in the world, accounting for 26% of world production The chemical industry is the second largest consumer of energy in the industrial sector: it consumes roughly 29% of all manufacturing energy use, which represents approximately 6% of the total domestic energy use (DOE, 2004) China s chemical industry accounts for 10% of its GNP The sector has grown an average of 16.5% since It is currently the third largest chemical producer in the world Chemical production accounts for about 18% of the energy consumed by the manufacturing sector, with represents roughly 1% of the total domestic consumption (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2004) 3

4 TRENDS IN CHEMICALS PRODUCTION The bulk of chemical production was traditionally controlled by OECD countries Over the past three decades global production has increased significantly, with countries such as China, India, Russia, Brazil playing a dominant role. The Middle Eastern region is emerging as an important producer Estimates of world growth in chemicals over the next ten years will average 3.5% per year, at particularly large rates in emerging economies. China s predicted growth is 10.5% and India s is around 8% (ACC, 2006) Construction of new facilities outside OECD countries has accelerated in the past two decades Clear trend of increasing chemical production in countries with large and economical supply of natural gas GHG emissions from the global chemicals industry are projected to increase in the future due to growing chemicals production in developing countries, which: Use less energy efficient technologies and Rely heavily on coal as a fuel and as feedstock 4

5 COAL AS A FEEDSTOCK Essentially all first-stage organic petrochemicals were made from coal during Inexpensive oil and natural gas motivated the chemical industry to switch almost completely to natural gas and petroleum liquids over the period The cost of natural gas feedstock makes up from 1/3 1/2 of the cost of the ethylene production. At increasing LNG prices, production of petrochemicals from other feedstocks such as coal becomes more attractive US Historical Crude/Gas/Coal Prices (US dollars per ton) Schematic comparison of cost of Chemicals production 5

6 NATURAL GAS COSTS AROUND THE WORLD Updated 26 October 2005 Unit: $US per million BTUs Canada: $11.20 UK: $8.20 Baltics: Russia: $2.70 Poland: $1.45 Belgium: $8.05 Belarus: $1.70 $3.50 Ukraine: $2.30 South Korea: $5.25 USA: $13.90 Turkey: $2.65 North Africa: $0.90 Iran: $1.25 Kuwait: $1.25 China: $4.85 Japan: $5.25 Mexico: $12.65 Qatar: $0.85 Oman: $1.00 Taiwan: $5.15 India: $3.25 Trinidad: $1.60 Saudi Arabia: $0.75 Singapore: $3.30 Indonesia: $2.70 Bolivia: $1.65 Argentina: $1.60 Australia: $3.85 Taken from Dr. Kevin Swift s presentation at the ACC Energy Network Meeting, November

7 ENERGY CONSUMPTION FUEL VS. FEEDSTOCK The chemical industry consumes energy as fuel and as feedstock Energy is used both to supply heat and power for plant operations and as a raw material In the U.S., nearly 50% of the energy used is transformed into chemical products (Trillion Btu) 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 U.S. Chemical Industry Energy Consumption Feedstocks Energy Consumption (no feedstocks) Source: DOE (2004) Source: C&EN (2003) CO-GENERATION The chemical industry is one of the largest co-generators in the manufacturing sector, second only to pulp and paper mills About one-third of electricity used by the chemical industry in the U.S. is produced on site, mostly through combined heat and power (CHP) facilities 7

8 EXAMPLES OF ENERGY INTENSIVE CHEMICALS Production of top 50 chemicals in the U.S. in 1997 A few chemical products dominate energy consumption within the chemical industry Ethylene and co-products, ammonia, chlorine and methanol production account for over 46% of the energy used by the U.S chemical sector Ethylene production alone consumes roughly 30% Approximately 1% of the world s energy is used for the production of ammonia Chlorine production is the main electricity consuming process in the chemical industry next to oxygen and nitrogen Increasing energy efficiency in the production of energy intensive chemicals can have major impacts in the energy consumption of the manufacturing sector 8

9 1. ETHYLENE PRODUCTION The single most energy-consuming step in the petrochemical industry is the steam cracking of hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX The choice of a particular feedstock, together with processing conditions determines the yield of ethylene, propylene, and other co-products Feedstock for ethylene Energy consumption (GJ/tonne) U.S. Ethane/propane account for 70% production 68 Europe Naphta accounts for 75% production 58 China Heavy feedstocks Lawrence Berkeley Labs (1995) Over the next 10 years, roughly 30 million metric tonnes of ethylene capacity will be added to current production Of that additional capacity, 40% will be set up in the Middle East Source: C&EN (2005) 9

10 2. AMMONIA PRODUCTION Anhydrous ammonia is produced in about 80 countries. In 1974 the developing countries accounted for 27% of ammonia capacity. Today their share is 52% Types of feedstock used around the world for the production of ammonia include natural gas, naphtha, fuel oil and coal The choice of feedstock influences energy efficiency. Using coke to manufacture ammonia consumes roughly 70% more energy than using natural gas LAC 5% M. East 7% Western Europe 9% U.S. 13% Others 7% Source: DOE (2002) FSU 13% China 28% Asia 18% China produces 66% of its synthetic ammonia using coke, while the U.S produces 98% of its ammonia using natural gas Ammonia production in China is dominated by small and medium-size plants, which typically use coal and coke as the primary feedstock Energy consumption per unit output for small plants can be more than 76% higher than that of large plants 10

11 3. CHLORINE PRODUCTION World demand for chlorine is expected to rise by 20% between 2003 and 2010 to about 52 million tonnes Demand is increasing at an average of around 2% per year, with zero growth in Europe and 4% growth in Asia. Within a few years, China s chlor-alkali capacity, already larger than Europe s, is projected be larger than that of North America Chlorine is manufactured through electrolysis of brine. There are three main technologies used for production: Mercury Diaphragm Membrane Electricity consumption 3,560 2,970 2,790 Calorific (steam) Total consumption 3,560 3,580 2,970 Ratio to mercury ---- Comparable 17 % lower Units: kwh (AC)/tonne Cl 2 Source: Euro Chlor (2006) Membrane-based operations are approximately 17% more energy efficient that both mercury and diagram cell based plants and there is no risk of mercury releases 11

12 REDUCING POTENTIAL CHEMICAL RELEASES FROM THE PRODUCTION OF ENERGY INTENSIVE CHEMICALS Sector Pulp and paper Refineries Fertilizers Petrochemicals Other chemicals Iron and steel Aluminum Cement Metal processing Potential formation of PCDD/PCDF PCDD/PCDF may be generated during production of pulp using elemental Cl Oxichlorination reactions (for instance ethylene to ethylene dichloride or acetylene to vinyl chloride) may result in significant emissions of PDCC/PCDF The use of graphite electrodes in chlor-alkali processes may lead to the formation of PCDD/PCDF PCDD and PCDF appear to be formed in the iron and steel sintering process. During primary aluminum production releases of PCDD/PCDF is unlikely, although possible through reactions at graphite-based electrodes. PCDD/PCDF emissions are more likely during secondary aluminum production (smelting) due to the presence of organic contaminants and plastics in the feed material with the addition of chlorine and chlorides. PCDD/PCDF may be generated if feedstock has high organic content, or if hazardous materials are used as fuel Metals may act as catalysts for dioxin formation. Copper is the most potent catalyst for dioxin formation, but iron, zinc, potassium sodium, and magnesium have also been found to be correlated with increased PCDD/PCDF formation. Secondary copper, zinc and lead production may also lead to PCDD/PCDF emissions. Potential emission of chemicals Sulfur emissions BTX, VOC, heavy metals and others NOx, NH 3, SO 2 Phosphorous, Fluoride and others VCM production from acetylene needs mercuric chloride catalyst which leads to releases of mercury Mercury releases from operation of electrolysis cells Heavy metals PAHs, VOCs, Sulfuric acid NOx, Sox, heavy metals Depends on metal Heavy metals Where are the opportunities? Are there other sectors worth considering? 12

13 POTENTIAL MERCURY RELEASES FROM CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING 1. CHLORINE PRODUCTION The chlor-alkali industry traditionally used mercury cell based technologies for electrolysis of brine If not properly operated, mercury cell-based facilities may release mercury to the air, to the ground or in their waste Production capacity 1995 (1000 tonnes/an) Production using mercury cells % Hg Cell Largest users of mercury cells Western Europe 10,582 6, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Sweden Hungary, Poland, Rumania, Tchek Republic, Eastern Europe 1,695 1, Former Yugoslavia Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) 3, Russia, Azerbaijan North America 13,740 1, U.S. South America 1, Argentina, Brazil, Peru China 3, Japan 4, Asia & Pacific 2, Australia, India, Indonesia Africa Algeria, Lybia, Morroco, South Africa Middle East 1, Iran, Israel, Turkey Total 44,180 12, CIS: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine (Informations Chimie, 1995) 2. VINYL CHLORIDE MONOMER (VCM) PRODUCTION VCM was originally produced from acetylene. Mercuric chloride is used as catalyst, which may lead to significant releases of mercury in waste water Ethylene-based routes for VCM production have become predominant in most of the world In China, where production of acetylene is more economical than that of ethylene, almost 60% of the VCM capacity is based on acetylene 13

14 THE WAY FORWARD SOME IDEAS 1. Synergies between climate change and chemical agendas - Clear opportunities to promote reductions GHG emissions while taking advantage of potential reductions in chemicals releases Introduction of energy efficient technologies e.g. membrane cell technology in chlor-alkali sector Choice of feedstocks e.g. ethylene rather than acetylene for VCM production Clean burning of fossil fuels 2. Potential to avoid increasing GHG emissions from chemicals industry by promoting energy efficiency and clean technologies in chemicals manufacturing: Supply side Increasing potential in areas in which Bank and GEF are already involved End-user side Energy consumption patterns must also be considered. Potential for work in: Efficient use of fuels and feedstocks e.g. ammonia production Efficient technologies and procedures for energy intensive sectors of production - e.g. ethylene, chlorine and ammonia production 3. Market-driven shift back to coal use for petrochemical production needs to be considered in light of current and future natural gas and oil scarcity. Clean coal technologies may become particularly relevant in regions where cleaner fuels are scarce 14