Top 7 Best Caron Capture Technology
To keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C
limits depends upon removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere using a mix of land-based carbon sinks and technological removal
approaches, in addition to accelerated action to cut emissions.
Carbon
Capture Technology (CCT) is applied science, used for capturing and storing
carbon dioxide (CO2) before it had released into reprocessing sites. Most
carbon capture companies work on the principles of economic utilization of
renewable resources
of fuel energy and cost-effectiveness of the fuel energy produced to
market-share.
This informative article aims to provide a brief history of
the development of Carbon Capture Technology, and describes the top 7 carbon
capture technologies:
1. CCS
Carbon Capture and Storage/Sequester is the process of
capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it is released into the
atmosphere.
The basic idea of CCS – capturing CO2 and preventing it from being released into the atmosphere was first suggested in 1977; using existing technology in new ways. CO2 capture technology has been used since the 1920s for separating CO2 sometimes found in natural gas reservoirs from the saleable methane gas.
Pros and cons of CCS Technology
Carbon Capture Storage/Sequester is one of the most commonly used types of carbon capture technology. Also, it happens to be one of the fastest-growing sources of reducing co2 emissions and produce additional fuel. However, while there are several environmental benefits to using CSS, there are some downsides. Here are a few of the top pros and cons:
|
Pros CCS Technology |
Cons CCS Technology |
|
reduce greenhouse gas emissions |
Energy intensive process |
|
Generate reliable and affordable power. |
Hazards from sudden accidental leakage of CO2 |
|
Enrich concrete |
complexity of its industrial processes |
|
Create more fuel |
It requires considerable energy input |
Types of CCS Technology
Carbon capture and storage consist of three main methods
based on the combustion of carbon dioxide:
- Pre-combustion:
It refers to removing CO2 from fossil fuels before combustion is completed, plus it’s largely used in industrial processes.
2. Post-combustion:
It refers to capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from a flue gas generated after combusting a carbon-based fuel, such as coal or natural gas.
3. Oxy-fuel combustion:
Oxygen-Enriched Combustion. When a fuel is burned, oxygen in the combustion air chemically combines with the hydrogen and carbon in the fuel to form water and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process.
Efficiency
As of 2019 there are 17 operating CCS projects in the world, capturing 31.5 Mt of CO2 per year, of which 3.7 is stored geologically. Most are industrial not power plants: industries such as cement, steelmaking and fertiliser production are hard to decarbonize.
Top applications of CCS:
- Natural gas processing
- Refining fuels like petroleum
- Generate Electricity
- Hydrogen fuel production
- Global warming mitigation
Example: Shute Creek Project
2. CCUS
Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage is a muti-methods and technologies operation. That aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions from sources like fossil fuel plants and either reuses or stores it so it will not enter the atmosphere.
After years
of a declining investment pipeline, plans for more than 30 new integrated CCUS
facilities have been announced since 2017.
Alberta
Carbon Trunk Line operational site imagePros and Cons of CCUS;
There are both advantages and pitfalls of utilizing CO2 using CCUS technology. Here are a few to keep in mind:
|
Pros CCUS Technology |
Cons CCUS Technology |
|
High reduction of CO2 |
Commodity products get less competitive |
|
production of additional fuel |
Expensive up-front |
|
Cost-effective technology |
involvement of Mutli-methods |
Cost effective
The report
published on CCUS that the technology can be applied to these facilities at a
cost as low as USD 20-50 (United States dollars) per ton of CO2 in some
cases, and provides an opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions by avoiding the
current practice of venting CO2 to the atmosphere.
Efficiency
CCUS accounts
for nearly 15% of the cumulative reduction in emissions in the Sustainable
Development Scenario. Moving the net-zero goalposts from 2020 to 2050 would
require almost 50% more CCUS deployment.
Top applications of CCUS:
- Reduce CO2 emissions
- Enhance oil recovery
- Produce Hydrogen fuel
- Mitigating climate change
Examples. Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL)
3. BECCS
Bio-energy Carbon Capture & Storage is
referred to the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and
storing the carbon, thereby removing it from the atmosphere. The carbon in the
biomass comes from the greenhouse gas CO2. That's extracted from the atmosphere
by the biomass when it grows.
As of 2019, five facilities around the world are actively using
BECCS technologies and capturing approximately 1.5 million tons per year of
CO2. Wide deployment of BECCS is constrained by cost and availability of
biomass.
Pros and Cons of BECCS
Like all carbon capture technologies, BECCS comes with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Here are the main tidal energy pros and cons:
|
Pros BECCS Technology |
Cons BECCS Technology |
|
High reduction of CO2 |
It uses more of valuable resources. |
|
provides reliable low-carbon energy |
It requires high amounts of organic matter to function. |
|
Net Zero emission of CO2 |
It releases CO2 that been captured by organic matter |
|
low cost effeteness |
Ineffective to rely too heavily |
Cost effective
The cost is estimated
vary widely, with one recent expert assessment projecting costs of US$100–200
per ton of CO2 sequestered and another projecting costs of US$20–100 per ton.
Efficiency
BECCS also face technical concerns about efficiency of
burning biomass. While each type of biomass has a different heating value,
biomass in general is a low-quality fuel. Thermal conversion of biomass
typically has an efficiency of 20-27%.
Top applications of CCUS:
- Ethanol production
- Biogas production
- Electrical power plants
- Heat power plants
- Pulp and paper mills
Example: Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and
Storage (ICCS)
4. DAC
Direct air capture is a technology to capture CO2 from the
atmosphere. Also referred to the process of capturing carbon dioxide directly
from the ambient air and generating a concentrated stream of CO 2 for
sequestration or utilization or production of carbon-neutral fuel.
DAC was suggested in 1999 and is still in development, though
several commercial plants are in operation or planning across Europe and the
US.
Pros and Cons of DAC
Direct air capture comes with some key advantages and disadvantages. Here are a few to keep in mind:
|
Pros DAC Technology |
Cons DAC Technology |
|
Full-scale Technology |
Energy intensive process |
|
DAC system can be sited anywhere |
Expensive Technology |
|
DAC system produces additional fuels |
Water consumption concern |
|
Net Zero emission of CO2 |
It requires considerable energy input |
Cost Effective
Depending on the rate of deployment, which can accelerate
through supportive policies and market development, costs for DAC could fall to
around $150-$200
per ton of CO2 over the next 5-10 years. The technology requires further
research to determine its cost-effectiveness.
Efficiency
Both DAC and Air to fuel technologies have been proven at
the pilot plant and are now being scaled up into commercial markets. Individual
DAC facilities can be built to capture 1 million tons of CO2 per year. At that
scale, one Carbon Engineering air capture plant could negate the emissions from
~250,000 cars—either by sequestering the CO2 or by using the recycled carbon
dioxide as a feedstock to produce synthetic fuel.
Top applications of DAC:
- Capture CO2 from the Air
- Enhance Oil Recovery
- Production of Carbon-based Fuel
- Beverage Carbonation
- Carbon Sequestration
- Improving Concrete Strength
- Creating Carbon-neutral Concrete Alternative
- Enrichment of Air in Greenhouses
- Mitigating climate change
Example: Carbon Engineering
5. OCR
Ocean-based
Carbon Removal is a process in which carbon dioxide gas (CO2) is
removed from the atmosphere and sequestered through ocean-based technology for
long periods.
Potential
Approaches to storing carbon in the ocean
Pros and
cons of OCR
OCR has been used to capture CO2 and utilize it for further applications, and as with any carbon capture technology, it comes with various advantages and disadvantages.
|
Pros OCR Technology |
Cons OCR Technology |
|
Tons of CO2 absorbed by new growth of
phytoplankton |
It has less potential to sequester
carbon over the long term. |
|
Enhance weathering of minerals added to
the oceans |
It effects local and regional food
productivity |
|
Large-scale ocean fertilizations |
Vast algal blooms could cause
eutrophication |
Cost
Effective
A crucial issue for CDR is the cost, which differs substantially among the different methods: some of these are not sufficiently developed to perform cost assessments. A study estimated the cost of Ocean-based carbon removal as between $150 to $300 per ton of carbon dioxide.
Efficiency
A consensus report by NASEM concluded that using existing CDR methods at scales that can be safely and economically deployed, there is potential to remove and sequester up to 10 Gigatons of carbon dioxide per year. This would offset greenhouse gas emissions at about a fifth of the rate at which they are being produced.
Top
Applications of OCR technology
- Recovery of ocean and coastal ecosystems,
- Iron, nitrogen or phosphorus fertilization
- Artificial upwelling and down-welling
- Electrochemical ocean CDR approaches
- Seaweed cultivation
- Ocean alkalinity enhancement
- Mitigating climate change
Example: OCS, Inc.
6. Biochar
Bochar is charcoal-like substance that’s made by burning
organic material from agricultural and forestry wastes (also called biomass). It’s
is produced during pyrolysis, a thermal decomposition of biomass in an
oxygen-limited environment. Biochar is ideal for building resilient green
infrastructure. Its high chemical and physical absorption capacity enhances
nutrient cycling, water collection and contaminant, toxin and heavy metal
removal in a natural, long-lasting manner.
In the 1960s, a Dutch soil scientist, Wim Sombroek, discovered a soil rich in black matter in the Amazon basin of Brazil, Which latter become known as Biochar.
Pros and cons of Biochar technology
|
Pros Biochar Technology |
Cons Biochar Technology |
|
The potential to store carbon in the soil medium for long term |
Biochar fights against desertification in drylands is absolutely not proven |
|
Biofuel production and development of the carbon market |
It could increase the activity of soil microbes |
|
Boost soil's fertility |
Some Biochar act as a source of contaminants |
|
increased yields of up to a doubling |
It reduces the efficacy of pesticides and herbicides |
Cost Effective
Pyrolysis might be cost-effective for a combination of
sequestration and energy production when the cost of a CO2 ton
reaches $37
Efficiency
In general, the biochars produced at higher temperature had better CO2 capture
performance. It’s porous structure and unique surface properties enable it to
be an efficient CO2 adsorbent, while being sustainable and inexpensive.
Top applications of Biochar
- Carbon sink
- Water retention
- Soil amendment
- Improving Soil Quality
- Energy production: bio-oil and syngas
- Global warming mitigation
Example: Carbo
Culture
7. APT
The artificial photosynthesis technology is the system that includes an enzyme bed reactor to fix CO2 in the air (or any other source needing CO2 to be removed).
Artificial photosynthesis was first anticipated by the Italian chemist Giacomo Ciamician during 1912. In a lecture that was later published in Science, he proposed a switch from the use of fossil fuels to radiant energy provided by the sun and captured by technical photochemistry devices.
APT basic working mechanism
Image Courtesy BIONINJA
|
Pros of APT |
Cons of APT |
|
carbon-neutral source of energy |
Complexity of its industrial processes |
|
Produce additional fuel such as: Hydrogen and methane |
Expensive up-front |
|
The solar energy can be immediately converted and stored |
Photo-damage may occur over time |
|
The byproducts of these reactions are environmentally friendly. |
The cost is not (yet) advantageous enough to compete with fossil fuels |
Cost effective
Because artificial photosynthesis is a newer technology, The
cost targets for hydrogen produced by those devices are not as aggressive. The
goal is to reach $7.00 per kilogram produced by artificial leaves by 2020, says
Sunita Satyapal, director of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office.
Efficiency
Even the most efficient plants convert only about 2 %. Algae and cyanobacteria are more efficient: they can potentially utilize 5–10 % of solar energy. In the field of artificial photosynthesis, an efficiency of 18-20 % appears attainable in practice and the theoretical limit is roughly 40 %.
Top applications of APT
- Enhance oil and gas production
- Electricity production
- Hydrogen fuel production
- Green energy
- Economical and co-friendly
- Global warming mitigation
Example:
Summary on Top 7 Best Carbon Capture Technology
Technology |
Average
CO2 Capturing Capacity per one Project. |
Cost
Effective |
Location |
Example |
|
CCS |
7.0 MT Per Annum
|
USD 50– 125 Per Ton of Co2 Sequestered |
Wyoming, USA |
|
|
CCUS |
14.6 MT Per Annum |
USD 15-25 Per Ton of Co2 Sequestered |
Alberta, Canada |
|
|
BECCS |
1.5
MT Per Annum |
USD 14– 400 Per Ton of Co2
Sequestered |
Illinois, USA |
|
|
DAC |
1.0 MT Per Annum |
USD 50-200 Per Ton of Co2 Sequestered |
B.C, Canada
|
|
|
OCR |
0.5 MT Per Annum |
USD 200-300 Per Ton of Co2
Sequestered |
New Mexico, USA |
|
|
APT |
1.0 MT Per Annum |
USD 50-100 Per Ton of Co2 Sequestered |
Zurich, Switzerland |
|
|
Biochar |
3.2 MT Per Annum |
USD 30-120 Per Ton of Co2 Sequestered |
USA & Finland |
|
|
Abbreviations used: MT
––––– Million Tons of CO₂ Per Year CO2
––––
Carbon Dioxide CCS ––––
Carbon Capture And Sequestering/Storage CCUS ––– Carbon Capture, Utilization And Storage BECCS ––– Bio-Energy
With Carbon Capture And Storage DAS ––––– Direct
Air Capture OCR ––––
Ocean-Based Carbon Removal
APT ––––– Artificial Photosynthesis Technology Biochar
–– Charcoal
That Is Produced By Pyrolysis of Biomass
|
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