Production costs of the non-ferrous metals in the EU and other countries: Copper and zinc

AbstractOur study compares production costs of the non-ferrous metals (NFM) industry in the European Union (EU) and other countries in order to understand whether these costs are higher in Europe. Our analysis focuses on copper and zinc, since they are considered to be the most greatly consumed non-ferrous metals after aluminium. The countries selected for comparison depend on the metal and are based on high shares of extra-EU28 trade and/or of global installed capacity. A bottom-up approach has been followed, based on information at facility level for primary production of the two metals. The analysis includes 32 copper smelters, 34 copper refineries and 23 zinc smelters, representing 72%, 58% and 30% of global production of copper anodes, cathodes and zinc slab respectively. Taking into consideration the complex structure of the industry, costs are broken down to three components: (1) Energy, (2) Labour and other costs (salaries, consumables and other on-site costs) and (3) Credits (due to co-products). Our findings suggest that although interesting observations emerge in each of these components, overall costs compare more favourably among countries than initially thought. The EU industry does not have the highest production costs. On the contrary, especially in the case of copper refineries and zinc, it has lower production costs than most of the countries included in the study

Energy efficiency and GHG emissions: Prospective scenarios for the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry

This study analyses the savings potential of energy consumption and GHG emissions from cost-effective technological improvements in the chemical and petrochemical industry up to 2050. The analysis follows a bottom-up approach; that is, it is based on information at facility level of existing plants with their production characteristics, best available and innovative technologies. The analysis includes 26 basic chemical compounds that cover 75 % of the total energy use (including energy used as feedstock) and more than 90 % of GHG emissions of the chemical sector in 2013. The bottom-up approach includes an annual cost-effectiveness analysis of the uptake of best available and innovative technologies in each facility up to 2050. The projections and assumptions used are in accordance with the reference scenario of the European Commission. In absolute terms, from 2013-2050 the total energy consumption increases by 39.2 % and the GHG emissions' decrease by 14.7 %; these values include the effect (and depend on) a demand increase by 45.6 %. In 2050, without any technological improvement, the GHG emissions and energy consumption would be 36 % and 4 % higher. The minor effect of technological improvements on energy savings can be partly explained by the fact that 73.5 % of the total energy consumed in the manufacturing of the products covered in this study is incorporated in the final products, and most of new technologies have an impact on the direct energy use, but not on the non-energy use.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

Production costs from energy intensive industries in the EU and third countries

This report compares estimated production costs from four energy-intensive industries (steel, cement, chemical and non-ferrous metals) in the European Union and some third countries. Production costs have been estimated following a bottom-up approach, i.e. using information at facility level from a representative number of facilities. Costs are broken down to key factors, such as material, labour and energy costs and exclude capital costs (depreciation and interest). Moreover, the energy costs are estimated considering the effect of the state of technologies and the fuel mix in each country. For the iron and steel industry the production costs of hot-rolled coil and wire rod are analysed as representative flat and long products, respectively. The production costs of these products have been estimated for both the integrated route (blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace) and the recycling route (electrical arc furnace). For the chemical industry, the products analysed are ammonia, methanol, ethylene and propylene; whereas for the non-ferrous metals the analysis is focused on primary aluminium production, copper cathodes and slabs of zinc. Most of the EU28 production costs are ranked (when compared with certain competitor countries) between the 75th percentile and the maximum production cost. These costs are highest in the EU relative to other countries or regions in the case of flat products from the recycling route, ammonia and methanol. For long products -from the recycling route-, flat products -from the integrated route-, ethylene, propylene -refinery grade- and copper anode the EU28 production costs are between the median (the median separates the higher half of the costs from the lower half) and the 75th percentile of all production costs estimated. In the case of cement, the EU28 production cost is quite similar to the value of the median cost. There are also cases in which the EU28 production costs were among the lowest costs, namely for copper cathode and zinc slabs. It is worth noting that the contribution of energy costs to production costs is the highest in the EU only for methanol and ammonia. For all other products and industries analysed (including methanol and ammonia), other components of the cost (raw materials, labour and others or feedstock) contribute more to final costs than energy (natural gas is considered as a feedstock for methanol and ammonia). It is also noteworthy that, in most industries and products, the behaviour of credits (by-products, home scrap, electricity production from waste gases or from combined heat and power) contributes to reduce production costs more in the EU than it does in other countries or regions.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

Energy Efficiency and GHG Emissions: Prospective Scenarios for the Aluminium Industry

This study examines the possibilities for energy efficiency and GHG emission improvements in the European aluminium industry. The first part of the study presents the status quo of the industry in the EU28 and Iceland by compiling a database of existing plants with their production characteristics and the best available and innovative technologies (BATs/ITs). A model EU is then developed to simulate the trend in each plant towards 2050. The use of the model in different scenarios allows the analysis of the cost-effectiveness of investments in BATs/ITs. The results show that in absolute terms, for the whole industry the energy consumption and direct GHG emissions can decrease from 2010 to 2050 by 21% and 66%, respectively. And, in almost all scenarios, for the primary aluminium production there is a convergence in the reduction of specific energy consumption and direct GHG emissions of 23% and 72%, respectively. Since most of the savings come from technologies that are in early stages of research, there is a clear need of a decided push and of creating the right conditions to make these potential savings happen.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

Maximierung der Photovoltaik-Eigennutzung mittels Eisspeicher der Supermarkt-Verkaufsstelle Coop Etagnières

Im Rahmen eines Pilot- und Demonstrationsprojekts wurde ein Eisspeichersystem zur Maximierung der Eigenstromnutzung sowie der Steigerung der Kühleeffizienz im Coop Supermarkt Etagnières erstellt. Coop war Initiator und Projektleiter, wobei die Planung sowie Inbetriebnahme der Anlage durch Frigo- Consulting erfolgte, und die ZHAW als wissenschaftlicher Partner die Auswertung sowie Schlussfolgerung der Messdaten durchführte. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass ein Eisspeicher in eine direktverdampfende CO2-Kälteanlage eingebunden werden kann. Dieser stellt bei korrekter Funktionsweise eine günstige und umweltfreundliche Alternative zum Batteriespeicher dar. Gemäss Auswertung wurde der Eisspeicher von April bis Oktober effektiv genutzt. Dieser wurde oft nur teilentladen, da die Kälteanlage weniger unterstützende Kühlenergie benötigt als angenommen. Der Nutzen des Eisspeichers konnte im Projekt nicht bewiesen werden. Es besteht die Vermutung, dass die Kälteanlage effizienter betrieben wird als angenommen, was den Nutzen der Eisspeicherenergie drastisch senkt. Zudem zeigen exergetische Berechnungen zur Ladung und Entladung eine starke Energieentwertung, was schlussendlich zu tiefen elektrischen Einsparungen führt. Ausserdem wirkt die überdimensionierte PV-Anlage dem Speicherkonzept entgegen. Deren enorme Stromproduktion senkt den Eigenverbrauchsanteil auf bis zu 50%, eine Erhöhung des Anteils durch den Eisspeicher konnte nicht festgestellt werden. Spitzen der Entladung vor den Ladephasen lassen vermuten, dass der Eisspeicher den Stromverbrauch effektiv senkt, jedoch konnte ein tieferer Verbrauch der Kälteanlage nicht durchgängig auf die Eisspeicherentladung zurückgeführt werden. Entgegen des Eigenverbrauchsanteils wurde jedoch der absolute Eigenverbrauch gesteigert, was zu einer Entlastung des Stromnetzes führt. Bei kleineren PV-Anlagen wäre das "Peak-Shifting" stärker beeinflusst worden. Zusammenfassend besteht die Vermutung, dass der Eisspeicher zur Speicherung von Solarstrom dienen kann, wie es die Theorie des vorgestellten Konzepts zeigt. Der vorgestellte Filialenvergleich und die beschränkte Beobachtbarkeit des Systems lassen keine abschliessenden Aussagen zu. Weitere Untersuchungen innerhalb der Filiale Etagnières mit modifizierten Betriebsparametern können zeigen, ob die hier gemachten Aussagen und Vermutungen stimmen oder unzutreffend sind

Formic acid synthesis using CO₂ as raw material: Techno-economic and environmental evaluation and market potential

The future of carbon dioxide utilisation (CDU) processes, depend on (i) the future demand of synthesised products with CO₂, (ii) the availability of captured and anthropogenic CO₂, (iii) the overall CO₂ not emitted because of the use of the CDU process, and (iv) the economics of the plant. The current work analyses the mentioned statements through different technological, economic and environmental key performance indicators to produce formic acid from CO₂, along with their potential use and penetration in the European context. Formic acid is a well-known chemical that has potential as hydrogen carrier and as fuel for fuel cells. This work utilises process flow modelling, with simulations developed in CHEMCAD, to obtain the energy and mass balances, and the purchase equipment cost of the formic acid plant. Through a financial analysis, with the net present value as selected metric, the price of the tonne of formic acid and of CO₂ are varied to make the CDU project financially feasible. According to our research, the process saves CO₂ emissions when compared to its corresponding conventional process, under specific conditions. The success or effectiveness of the CDU process will also depend on other technologies and/or developments, like the availability of renewable electricity and steam

Designing of monitoring and destruction systems for hydrocarbon emissions resulting in the atmosphere from refineries

The oil refining industry is considered to be one of the most important sources of volatile organic compounds. The aim of the present study was the monitoring of hydrocarbons emissions in the Hellenic Petroleum Aspropyrgos Refinery area and the studying of their oxidation, as a method of controlling them. Samplings were carried out during November 2007 and April 2009 and it was concluded that the highest concentrations were located primarily in the wastewater treatment area and secondarily in the truck loading area. The qualitative analysis of the samples was carried out by GC–MS, while the quantitative analysis by GC–FID and was limited to 11 target – compounds. The alkanes concentrations were higher than the aromatics concentrations, but all monitored concentrations were within the legislation limits. Among the methods for controlling refinery emissions, the photocatalytic oxidation was chosen to be checked, firstly as far as it concerns each substance oxidized individually. It was concluded that the oxidation rate of the substances depended on the stereochemical structure of the molecules and the presence of water in the system. The reaction obeys a Langmuir – Hinshelwood kinetic and the constants of each model were calculated using a non linear least squares fitting. The adsorption constants were increasing in the following order: oxygenated compound < aliphatic < aromatic, while the rate constant in the exact opposite order. The water adsorption constant was almost 1000 times smaller than the VOC constants. Finally, the photocatalytic oxidation of both binary and multicomponent mixtures was studied. In the case of binary mixtures, it was observed that the influence of the presence of one compound on the oxidation rate of the other depended on the nature of the substance. In the case of the multicomponent mixture, the oxidation rate of all substances was smaller than their rate when oxidized individually. The best catalytic efficiency was observed for the TiO2 catalyst produced from titanium isopropoxide and the TiO2 – Pt catalyst.Οι εγκαταστάσεις διυλιστηρίων θεωρούνται μία από τις κυριότερες πηγές πτητικών οργανικών ενώσεων. Σκοπός του παρόντος διδακτορικού ήταν η καταγραφή των εκπομπών υδρογονανθράκων στον χώρο του διυλιστηρίου Ασπροπύργου των Ελληνικών Πετρελαίων και η μελέτη της οξείδωσής τους στα πλαίσια των μεθόδων ελέγχου τους. Πραγματοποιήθηκαν μετρήσεις κατά την περίοδο 11/2007 – 4/2009 και παρατηρήθηκε πως η κύρια πηγή εκπομπών ήταν η περιοχή επεξεργασίας υγρών αποβλήτων και δευτερευόντως η περιοχή φόρτωσης καυσίμων. Η ποιοτική ανάλυση έγινε με GC–MS, ενώ η ποσοτική με GC–FID και περιορίσθηκε σε 11 ενώσεις – στόχους. Οι συγκεντρώσεις των αλκανίων ήταν μεγαλύτερες από των αρωματικών, αλλά όλες οι μετρήσεις ήταν εντός των ορίων της νομοθεσίας. Στα πλαίσια του ελέγχου των εκπομπών, μελετήθηκε η φωτοκαταλυτική οξείδωση των ενώσεων αυτών, αρχικά για κάθε ένωση ξεχωριστά. Αποδείχθηκε πως ο ρυθμός οξείδωσης των ενώσεων εξαρτάται από την στερεοχημική δομή των μορίων και την παρουσία υγρασίας ή όχι στο σύστημα. Η αντίδραση ακολουθεί κινητική Langmuir – Hinshelwood και οι σταθερές του κάθε μοντέλου υπολογίσθηκαν με μια μη γραμμική μέθοδο αριστοποίησης ελαχίστων τετραγώνων. Οι σταθερές προσρόφησης αυξάνονται κατά την σειρά: οξυγονούχα ένωση < αλειφατική < αρωματική, ενώ η σταθερά ρυθμού κατά την ακριβώς αντίθετη σειρά. Οι σταθερά προσρόφησης του νερού ήταν περίπου τρεις με τέσσερις τάξεις μεγέθους μικρότερη από την αντίστοιχη για τους υδρογονάνθρακες. Τέλος, μελετήθηκε η φωτοκαταλυτική οξείδωση μειγμάτων των ενώσεων, αρχικά δυαδικά και στην συνέχεια πολυσυστατικά. Στα δυαδικά μείγματα παρατηρήθηκε πως η επίδραση της μίας ένωσης στον ρυθμό οξείδωσης της άλλης εξαρτάται από την φύση της ένωσης. Στο πολυσυστατικό μείγμα ο ρυθμός οξείδωσης των ενώσεων ήταν μικρότερος από τον αντίστοιχο ρυθμό στην μεμονωμένη αντίδραση, εκτός από το ο–ξυλόλιο. Καλύτερη καταλυτική απόδοση είχαν οι καταλύτες TiO2 από titanium isopropoxide και TiO2¬ – Pt

Carbon accounting of forest bioenergy : Conclusions and recommendations from a critical literature review

Via a detailed analysis and review of the currently available literature, this work aims at clarifying the phenomena, physical and mathematical, underpinning the methodologies and results in forest carbon accounting. The large scale techno-economic models indicate that an increased forest wood removal for bioenergy purposes may cause either a decrease of the forest carbon stock (or a lower increase compared to the BAU) or displacement of wood for products. The calculation of biogenic CO2 correction factors or carbon debt payback time provides results with a large range of variability that depends on the many different characteristics and assumptions on both the bioenergy system and the reference fossil system such as: the fossil fuel replaced, efficiency of the biomass utilization, the future growth rate of the forest, the frequency and intensity of biomass harvests, forest management, the initial landscape carbon stock. However, in most cases, the bioenergy scenario causes an actual increase in CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels in the short-term (a decade). In the long-term eventually it may generate GHG savings and become carbon neutral (from several decades to centuries). It can be concluded also that the carbon neutrality assumption for forest bioenergy is anachronistic and may be misleading and it is fundamental to integrate all the carbon pools in the analysis (above ground biomass, below ground biomass, dead wood, litter, soil and harvested wood products) and their evolution in the time horizon of the analysis for both the bioenergy scenario and the counterfactual. A comprehensive evaluation of the climate impacts of forest bioenergy has to integrate also all of the climate forcers (aerosols, ozone precursors and albedo)JRC.F.8-Sustainable Transpor

Production costs of the chemical industry in the EU and other countries: Ammonia, methanol and light olefins

Our study compares chemical production costs in the European Union (EU) and other countries in order to understand whether these costs are higher in the case of Europe than in other countries. Our analysis focuses on ammonia, methanol and light olefins (ethylene and propylene), as all of them are considered chemical compounds produced in large scale. The countries selected for comparison are USA, Russia, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, since they have high shares of extra-EU28 trade and/or the global installed capacity of the selected products. A bottom-up approach (based on information at facility level) has been followed, including 116, 29, 122 and 224 facilities producing ammonia, methanol, ethylene and propylene respectively. Taking into consideration the complex differences in technologies and co-products between operators, costs are broken down to six components: (1) feedstock, (2) credits (due to co-products), (3) electricity, (4) thermal energy 5) other materials (chemicals, catalysts etc.) and (6) labour and other costs (salaries, overheads etc.). Our findings suggest that it is not easy to reach a common conclusion about the whole chemical industry. Overall costs compare more favourably among countries than initially thought in the case of processes producing co-products, but maybe less favourably when processes are without co-products. The European industry has lower production costs than the industries in the other countries in the case of ethylene and propylene, but higher in the case of ammonia and methanol. Feedstock costs play the most important role in the total production costs of all four products, but the presence of credits due to by-products could change the behaviour of the total costs.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo