Basic Industries

Basic industries produce high-volume, low-value products, mainly as intermediates used by other industries. Here, as examples of basic industries, we look at the production of cement, steel, sulphuric acid, and chlorine/sodium hydroxide in the chlor-alkali process. The cement and steel industries are both hard-to-decarbonise industries operating at high temperatures with process CO 2 emissions in addition to thermal CO 2 emissions. They are currently responsible for a large amount of the anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. Various possible strategies to minimise their emissions are discussed. The sulphuric acid production is a more common example of processes in the chemical industries generating energy from the production process. It is argued that a more sustainable route would involve a reduced input into the process, enhanced recycling of used materials, introduction of renewable energy where possible, and, as a last resort, carbon capture and storage.