Tracing Process-Related Carbon Emissions and Associated Utilizable Exhausts in China

With global efforts toward sustainable development, there
has been
a growing focus on the utilization of CO2-centered exhaust
gases. However, the majority of the current research only considers
single component and dissatisfies the requirements of real-world production.
Here, we report a quantitative framework to analyze the historical
evolution and future prospects of utilizable CO2-centered
exhaust gas, considering various industrial decarbonization strategies
for future projections. Taking China as an example, this study redefined
the emission accounting boundaries with the perspective of resource
utilization and actual production, including process-related and associated
energy-related carbon emissions and associated CO and H2. The production and emission databases of 15 industries among 31
provinces during 2000–2060 and the dynamic databases of emission
coefficients and technology adoption rates were constructed. The results
show that China has huge potential for exhaust gas utilization, which
will be influenced by future industrial decarbonization strategies.
The regional distribution of utilizable exhaust gases generally follows
a westward migration trend. The evolutionary trends, driving factors,
impacts of strategic choices, and regional distributions vary across
industries, offering critical insights for the future deployment of
exhaust gas utilization technologies.