Symulacja komputerowa jako narzędzie wspomagania decyzji przy wyborze strategii redukcji 
emisji CO2 w przemyśle cementowym
[Computer simulation as a decision-support tool for selecting CO2 emission reduction 
strategies in the cement industry]

Akhil Kunche (Department of Operations Research & Business Intelligence, PWr, Wrocław)


Cement industry accounts for a quarter of all industrial CO2 emissions in the world. As 
such, there is an increasing need for adoption of mitigation strategies among the cement 
plants, as various governmental bodies pledge to reduce GHG emissions for limiting the 
rise in average global temperatures to 2 °C. However, despite the availability of several 
potent mitigation strategies, the adoption rates in the cement domain have remained 
relatively low when compared to other domains. Different mitigation strategies have 
varying impact on emissions reduced and costing depending on the local conditions of the 
plant site, which acts as a hinderance among the cement plant management in choosing the 
optimal strategy. In order to assist with strategic decision-making, a System Dynamics 
simulation model is developed in this study to represent a typical cement plant with all 
the significant processes that contribute towards the CO2 emissions through electricity 
utilisation, fuel consumption and raw material decarbonisation. Using the model, this 
study then assesses and compares the impact of various mitigation strategies on a given 
cement plant. Additionally, various combinations of mitigation strategies under different 
policy scenarios and market conditions are assessed to determine the optimal approach to 
maximise CO2 emission reduction while minimising resultant expenditure.