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.