@article{201621,
  author = {Yang Guo+ and Jieyi Lu and Qi Zhang and Lyujun Chen and Denise Mauzerall+},
  title = {Co-production of steel and chemicals to mitigate hard-to-abate carbon emissions},
  abstract = {<p>Hard-to-abate sectors emitted ~30\% of global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in 2018. As the world{\textquoteright}s largest producer of chemicals and steel, China{\textquoteright}s mitigation efforts in these sectors are crucial. Here we examine the greenhouse gas mitigation and costs of co-producing steel and chemicals in China by extracting H<sub>2</sub> and CO from steelmaking off-gas for chemical production and using a customized optimization model with a life-cycle assessment. Without carbon pricing, co-production reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 36 MtCO<sub>2</sub>eq yr<sup>-1</sup> (-7\%) and costs by 1.5 billion CNY per year (-1\%) relative to independent production. A carbon price of 350 CNY per tCO<sub>2</sub> enhances emissions and cost reductions to 113 MtCO<sub>2</sub>eq yr<sup>-1</sup> (-22\%) and 25.5 billion CNY per year (-10\%), respectively. Furthermore, 60\% of total emissions and cost reductions can be achieved via 24\% of connections, ~50\% of which are in Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shandong provinces. This study demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of using co-production to mitigate these hard-to-abate emissions and the importance of targeting critical connections to obtain the majority of reductions.</p>},
  year = {2024},
  journal = {Nature Chemical Engineering},
}