| Title |
Integrated Assessment of the Leading Paths to Mitigate CO2 Emissions from the Organic Chemical and Plastics Industry |
| ID_Doc |
23763 |
| Authors |
Fritzeen, WE; O'Rourke, PR; Fuhrman, JG; Colosi, LM; Yu, S; Shobe, WM; Doney, SC; McJeon, HC; Clarens, AF |
| Title |
Integrated Assessment of the Leading Paths to Mitigate CO2 Emissions from the Organic Chemical and Plastics Industry |
| Year |
2023 |
| Published |
Environmental Science & Technology, 57, 49 |
| DOI |
10.1021/acs.est.3c05202 |
| Abstract |
The chemical industry is a major and growing source of CO(2 )emissions. Here, we extend the principal U.S.-based integrated assessment model, GCAM, to include a representation of steam cracking, the dominant process in the organic chemical industry today, and a suite of emerging decarbonization strategies, including catalytic cracking, lower-carbon process heat, and feedstock switching. We find that emerging catalytic production technologies only have a small impact on midcentury emissions mitigation. In contrast, process heat generation could achieve strong mitigation, reducing associated CO2 emissions by similar to 76% by 2050. Process heat generation is diversified to include carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, and electrification. A sensitivity analysis reveals that our results for future net CO2 emissions are most sensitive to the amount of CCS deployed globally. The system as defined cannot reach net-zero emissions if the share of incineration increases as projected without coupling incineration with CCS. Less organic chemicals are produced in a net-zero CO2 future than those in a no-policy scenario. Mitigation of feedstock emissions relies heavily on biogenic carbon used as an alternative feedstock and waste treatment of plastics. The only scenario that delivers net-negative CO2 emissions from the organic chemical sector (by 2070) combines greater use of biogenic feedstocks with a continued reliance on landfilling of waste plastic, versus recycling or incineration, which has trade-offs. |
| Author Keywords |
plastics; chemicals; decarbonization; carbon capture; bioliquids; circular economy |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:001124555300001 |
| WoS Category |
Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences |
| Research Area |
Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
| PDF |
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