Cutting the cost of carbon capture: a case for carbon capture and utilization

A significant part of the cost for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is related to the compression of the captured CO2 to its supercritical state, at 150 bar and typically 99% purity. These stringent conditions may however not always be necessary for specific cases of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU). In this manuscript, we investigate how much the parasitic energy of an adsorbent-based carbon capture process may be lowered by utilizing CO2 at 1 bar and adapting the final purity requirement for CO2 from 99% to 70% or 50%. We compare different CO2 sources: the flue gases of coal-fired or natural gas-fired power plants and ambient air. We evaluate the carbon capture performance of over 60 nanoporous materials and determine the influence of the initial and final purity on the parasitic energy of the carbon capture process. Moreover, we demonstrate the underlying principles of the parasitic energy minimization in more detail using the commercially available NaX zeolite. Finally, the calculated utilization cost of CO2 is compared with reported prices for CO2 and published costs for CCS

Poly(ionic liquid)s: platform for CO2 capture and catalysis

Capture and conversion of CO2 are of great importance for environment-friendly and sustainable development of human society. Poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) combine some unique properties of ILs with that of polymers and are versatile materials for CO2 utilization. In this contribution, we briefly outline innovative poly(ionic liquid)s emerged over the past few years, such as polytriazoliums, deep eutectic monomer (DEM) based PILs, and polyurethane PILs. Additionally, we discuss their advantages and challenges as materials for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and the fixation of CO2 into useful materials.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Utilization of biodegradable wastes as a clean energy source in the developing countries: A case study in Myanmar

Nowadays, waste-to-energy has become a type of renewable energy utilization that can provide environmental and economic benefits in the world. In this paper, we evaluated the quality of twelve biodegradable waste samples from Myanmar by binder laboratory heating and drying oven at 105 degrees C. The calculation methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) were used for the greenhouse gas emission estimation from waste disposal at the open dumpsites, anaerobic digestion, and waste transportation in the current situation of Myanmar. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and fossil fuel consumption of the improved biodegrade waste utilization system were estimated and both were found to be reduced. As a result, volume and weight of the biodegradable wastes with 100% moisture reduction were estimated at approximately 5 million cubic meters per year and 2600 kilotonnes per year, respectively, in 2021. The total GHG emissions in the current situation amounted to approximately 1500 and 1800 Gigagrams of CO2-eq per year in 2019 and 2021, respectively, while the total GHG emission avoidance from a sustainable approach amounted to 3500 and 4000 Gigagrams of CO2-eq per year, respectively. The study aimed at highlighting the utilization of biodegradable wastes as a clean energy source in developing countries.Web of Science1111art. no. 318

Efficient CO2 Utilization via a Hybrid Na-CO2 System Based on CO2 Dissolution

Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies have been extensively studied to utilize carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, as a resource. So far, however, effective technologies have not been proposed owing to the low efficiency conversion rate and high energy requirements. Here, we present a hybrid Na-CO2 cell that can continuously produce electrical energy and hydrogen through efficient CO2 conversion with stable operation for over 1,000 hr from spontaneous CO2 dissolution in aqueous solution. In addition, this system has the advantage of not regenerating CO2 during charging process, unlike aprotic metal-CO2 cells. This system could serve as a novel CO2 utilization technology and high-value-added electrical energy and hydrogen production device

Committed emissions from existing energy infrastructure jeopardize 1.5 °C climate target.

Net anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) must approach zero by mid-century (2050) in order to stabilize the global mean temperature at the level targeted by international efforts1-5. Yet continued expansion of fossil-fuel-burning energy infrastructure implies already 'committed' future CO2 emissions6-13. Here we use detailed datasets of existing fossil-fuel energy infrastructure in 2018 to estimate regional and sectoral patterns of committed CO2 emissions, the sensitivity of such emissions to assumed operating lifetimes and schedules, and the economic value of the associated infrastructure. We estimate that, if operated as historically, existing infrastructure will cumulatively emit about 658 gigatonnes of CO2 (with a range of 226 to 1,479 gigatonnes CO2, depending on the lifetimes and utilization rates assumed). More than half of these emissions are predicted to come from the electricity sector; infrastructure in China, the USA and the 28 member states of the European Union represents approximately 41 per cent, 9 per cent and 7 per cent of the total, respectively. If built, proposed power plants (planned, permitted or under construction) would emit roughly an extra 188 (range 37-427) gigatonnes CO2. Committed emissions from existing and proposed energy infrastructure (about 846 gigatonnes CO2) thus represent more than the entire carbon budget that remains if mean warming is to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) with a probability of 66 to 50 per cent (420-580 gigatonnes CO2)5, and perhaps two-thirds of the remaining carbon budget if mean warming is to be limited to less than 2 °C (1,170-1,500 gigatonnes CO2)5. The remaining carbon budget estimates are varied and nuanced14,15, and depend on the climate target and the availability of large-scale negative emissions16. Nevertheless, our estimates suggest that little or no new CO2-emitting infrastructure can be commissioned, and that existing infrastructure may need to be retired early (or be retrofitted with carbon capture and storage technology) in order to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals17. Given the asset value per tonne of committed emissions, we suggest that the most cost-effective premature infrastructure retirements will be in the electricity and industry sectors, if non-emitting alternatives are available and affordable4,18

To develop a new mineral carbonation process that have a high efficiency in CO2 absorption into industry slag using low energy mechanical milling

Increase in the CO2 emission in atmosphere due to the combustion of fossil fuels has caused serious global warming. Electricity generation, tranportation, and industrial waste are the main sectors indentified to contribute to the emission of CO2 in Malaysia. In dealing with this issue, the absorption of CO2 into industrial waste was experimentally studied by the utilization of mechanical grinding method. This research is to aim a development of new mineral carbonation process that has a high efficiency in the capture and storage of CO2 with low energy consumption. In the first stage of this study, the behavior of CO2 absorption on electric arc furnace and ladle furnace slag was studied by low energy mechanical milling It was found that the absorption is occured during milling. CO2 was stored into the slag mainly as CaCO3. Thus this indicates that the CO2 can be stored permanently inside the slag with this method. In the next stage, the effect of dissolution of metal element into water on the behavior of CO2 absorption was investigated by leaching test experiment. It was found that , concentration value of Fe in pure water is higher but in river water the concentration is lower, the dissolve concentration decreased with the increased in the number of the leaching time. Concentration will be increased at the earlier stage before it decreased at final of concentration. This case because the liquid became saturated and cannot be to dissolved. After the pH steeply increased gradually at an early stage of the elution of slag, it slightly decreased. The pH decreased with the increased in the number of elution. The changes of pH in leaching test it seemed to depend on the content of CaO in the slag. For mechanism of CO2 absorption, morphological change of slag were study and the slag were characteried by using XRD, FE-SEM, and EDS

Energy and CO2 implications of decarbonization strategies for China beyond efficiency: Modeling 2050 maximum renewable resources and accelerated electrification impacts

Energy efficiency has played an important role in helping China achieve its domestic and international energy and climate change mitigation targets, but more significant near-term actions to decarbonize are needed to help China and the world meet the Paris Agreement goals. Accelerating electrification and maximizing supply-side and demand-side renewable adoption are two recent strategies being considered in China, but few bottom-up modeling studies have evaluated the potential near-term impacts of these strategies across multiple sectors. To fill this research gap, we use a bottom-up national end-use model that integrates energy supply and demand systems and conduct scenario analysis to evaluate even lower CO2 emissions strategies and subsequent pathways for China to go beyond cost-effective efficiency and fuel switching. We find that maximizing non-conventional electric and renewable technologies can help China peak its national CO2 emissions as early as 2025, with significant additional CO2 emission reductions on the order of 7 Gt CO2 annually by 2050. Beyond potential CO2 reductions from power sector decarbonization, significant potential lies in fossil fuel displaced by renewable heat in industry. These results suggest accelerating the utilization of non-conventional electric and renewable technologies present additional CO2 reduction opportunities for China, but new policies and strategies are needed to change technology choices in the demand sectors. Managing the pace of electrification in tandem with the pace of decarbonization of the power sector will also be crucial to achieving CO2 reductions from the power sector in a scenario of increased electrification

Investigating the Impact of Carbon Tax to Power Generation in Java-Bali System by Applying Optimization Technique

Java-Bali power system dominates the national installed capacity and will contribute to about 76% of the national CO2 emissions from the electricity sector in the future. Thus, minimizing CO2 emission from the Java-Bali system can help Indonesia to reduce the national CO2 emissions level. We apply optimization approach to investigate this problem by including carbon tax into the cost function. We analyzed data based on electricity generating system in 2008. In general the optimization showed that diesel and gas turbine is not needed in the power plant system. Further, the simulation showed that if Indonesia adopted carbon tax by US$56/ton CO2 - USD 86/tCO2; it will lead to three major changing. First, carbon tax will increase the cost of power plant or equivalently increase tax revenue to about 2.1$ 50/tCO2. There are some weaknesses from this study such as not use strong assumption for availability factor and generating costs. This study proposed that government needs to optimize utilization of combine cycle power plan to offset steam power and implement carbon tax above US$ 50/ ton CO2, to reduce CO2 emissions significantly.Power generation, Carbon tax, Optimization

Experimental investigation on CO2methanation process for solar energy storage compared to CO2-based methanol synthesis

The utilization of the captured CO2 as a carbon source for the production of energy storage media offers a technological solution for overcoming crucial issues in current energy systems. Solar energy production generally does not match with energy demand because of its intermittent and non-programmable nature, entailing the adoption of storage technologies. Hydrogen constitutes a chemical storage for renewable electricity if it is produced by water electrolysis and is also the key reactant for CO2 methanation (Sabatier reaction). The utilization of CO2 as a feedstock for producing methane contributes to alleviate global climate changes and sequestration related problems. The produced methane is a carbon neutral gas that fits into existing infrastructure and allows issues related to the aforementioned intermittency and non-programmability of solar energy to be overcome. In this paper, an experimental apparatus, composed of an electrolyzer and a tubular fixed bed reactor, is built and used to produce methane via Sabatier reaction. The objective of the experimental campaign is the evaluation of the process performance and a comparison with other CO2 valorization paths such as methanol production. The investigated pressure range was 2–20 bar, obtaining a methane volume fraction in outlet gaseous mixture of 64.75% at 8 bar and 97.24% at 20 bar, with conversion efficiencies of, respectively, 84.64% and 99.06%. The methanol and methane processes were compared on the basis of an energy parameter defined as the spent energy/stored energy. It is higher for the methanol process (0.45), with respect to the methane production process (0.41–0.43), which has a higher energy storage capability