Heavy industry is a significant contributor to CO₂ global emissions, accounting for approximately 25% of the total. In Europe, the continent’s largest emitting industries, including steel, cement, and power generation, face significant decarbonization challenges due to multiple interrelated factors. Heavy industry must achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as outlined in the 13th United Nations Sustainable Goals. One strategy to achieve this goal involves Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) with post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) technologies playing a critical role. Key methods include absorption, which uses chemical solvents like amines; adsorption, employing solid sorbents; cyclic CO₂ capture, such as calcium looping methods; cryogenic separation, which involves chilling flue gas to liquefy CO₂; and membrane separation, leveraging polymeric materials. Each technology offers unique advantages and challenges, necessitating hybrid approaches and policy support for widespread adoption. In this sense, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the existing European pilot and demonstration units and projects, funded by the EU across several industries. It specifically focuses on PCC. This study examines 111 industrial facilities across Europe, documenting the PCC technologies deployed at plants of varying capacities, geographic locations, and operational stakeholders. The review further evaluates the techno-economic performance of these systems, assessing their potential to advance carbon neutrality in heavy industries.

The cement industry is a significant contributor (around 8%) to CO₂ global emissions. About 60% of the industry’s emissions come from limestone calcination, which is essential for clinker production, while 40% are the result of fuel combustion. Reducing these emissions is challenging due to limestone’s role as the primary raw material for cement. Cement plants are required to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as outlined in the 13th United Nations Sustainable Goals. One strategy to achieve this goal, involves Carbon Capture and utilization (CCU). Among the options for CO₂ utilization, the Power-to-Liquid (PtL) strategy offers a means to mitigate CO₂ emissions. In PtL, the CO₂ captured from cement industrial flue gas is combined with the hydrogen generated by renewable electrolysis (green hydrogen) and is catalytically converted into renewable methanol (e-MeOH). In this sense, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the worldwide existing pilot and demonstration units and projects funded by the EU across several industries. It specifically focuses on PtL technology worldwide within cement plants. This work covers 18 locations worldwide, detailing technology existent at plants of different capacities, location, and project partners. Finally, the review analyses techno-economic assessments related to e-MeOH production processes, highlighting the potential impact on achieving carbon neutrality in the cement industry.

Ten different amines of different molar mass and structure were deposited from aqueous and methanolic solutions of different concentrations onto two types of carbon aerogel. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to quantify the loading, thermal stability and CO₂ capture capacity of the materials. Our results show that the amount of amine deposited did not depend on the solvent used, but was generally greater from more concentrated solutions, and increased with increasing molar mass. Deposition of amines was principally achieved by adsorption onto the mesopore walls, but without complete pore filling, and also, in some cases, by adsorption in the aerogel micropores. It was also concluded that the thermal stability of the amines deposited on the walls of the mesopores was independent of the solvent used, concentration or aerogel type. Preliminary studies of CO₂ adsorption–desorption were carried out and a good correlation between ln(C_n) and 1/T, where C_n is the capacity at temperature T, was found. This enabled direct comparison to be made with published results obtained at different temperatures, and it was found that those obtained in this work were highly comparable with others found for amine-impregnated porous materials with similar amine loadings.