The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030390662
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

2.4 Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage

Another technological solution that may play a significant role in the decarbonization of the power sector is the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), aiming at complementing power plants based on combustion, both for fossil fuels and eventually for bioenergy (BECCUS), to reach net negative emissions. Different technologies and concepts are available.

The first projects related to CCS were aimed at exploiting the carbon dioxide to enhance oil recovery in depleted reservoirs. Since the first large-scale facility, which dates back to 1972, almost one hundred CCS facilities and nine test centers worldwide have started up or begun construction (Global CCS Institute 2018). These projects generally involve the post-combustion separation of the CO2, with removal efficiencies around 90%, and require additional power consumption and a dedicated infrastructure for the transport of the gas to the storage site. Transport and storage risks are among the causes leading to a low public acceptance of these projects, which appears to be higher when carbon dioxide is reused instead of sequestrated (Arning et al. 2019).

Many alternative solutions are being proposed for CO2 utilization. Sometimes referred to as carbon-to-value, CCU includes the multiple technologies that allow to recycle the carbon dioxide stream obtained by flue gases or air to manufacture a range of products, including cement, carbonates, chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fuels. The aim of these processes is to find an alternative to CCS, by overcoming the concept of burying carbon emissions underground and providing effective value by creating market products that would have consumed other resources for their production. In some cases, e.g., when producing fuels, the carbon dioxide is released again into the atmosphere, but the entire cycle is (almost) carbon-neutral. There is a growing interest in CCU applications worldwide, and some companies are already providing commercially competitive solutions, although often at limited scale.

While the previous concepts are generally coupled to the combustion flue gases of thermoelectric power plants, another technology still in early maturity is gaining interest in the scientific community: direct air capture (DAC). The idea of DAC is to use specific solutions, including membranes, to capture the CO2 directly from the concentration in the air. This would allow a broader flexibility in locating the facility. One of its main challenges is related to its significant energy consumption, although experts are confident it can become cost-competitive with other CO2 capture technologies if massively deployed (Fasihi et al. 2019). Another limitation appears to be the rate at which this technology can be scaled up (Realmonte et al. 2019).

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