Characteristics of CO2 and atmospheric pollutant emissions from China’s cement industry: A life-cycle perspective

Abstract To estimate the air pollution emissions from China’s cement industry and quantify the impacts of various influencing factors, we estimated the direct emissions and indirect electricity emissions of greenhouse gases and atmospheric pollutants from China’s cement industry over 2005–2012 at the provincial level from the perspective of the cement life-cycle. Carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and particulate matter (PM) were considered in this study. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method and the multi-regional decomposition analysis (M-R) model, we quantified the impacts of the emission factor, energy intensity, output structure, clinker share, and production scale on the tempo-spatial variations in pollutant emissions. Our results show that, from 2005 to 2012, the emissions of CO2, SO2, NOx, and total suspended particulate (TSP) changed by 62%, 65%, –13%, and –46%, respectively. The major driving forces of these changes were production scale, output structure, production scale and output structure, and emission factor, respectively. In 2012, the proportions of indirect electricity emissions of CO2, SO2, NOx, and TSP corresponded to 10%, 33%, 20%, and 12% of the total, respectively. The emission intensities in the developed eastern provinces were much lower than the national average, due to their technological advantages. Through the interprovincial clinker trade, most of the pollution derived from the cement life-cycle in the eastern provinces was transferred to the central and western provinces, further increasing the pollution in these latter regions. This study may provide a reference for the comprehensive accounting of pollutant emission characteristics in a specific industry. The findings of this study suggest that China’s cement industry should adopt deNOx devices and use alternative raw materials and fuels to further reduce environmental burden.