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Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Clayoquot (talk | contribs) at 21:11, 6 November 2024 (→At waste incineration plants: Removing as neither of these examples are BECCS. Using CO2 for agriculture doesn't sequester it.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

At bioenergy power stations

Starting in 2021, the European Union funded the transformation of an existing cogeneration biomass plant of Stockholm's energy company Stockholm Exergi.[1] CO2 is captured by mixing hot potassium carbonate with the flue gases emitted by the power plant, marking the first time this technology is applied on a large scale. The captured CO2 is liquefied for more efficient transport and stored at around 800 meter depth in sub-sea geological aquifers and in depleted oil and gas fields. In 2024, it was announced that Microsoft purchased Carbon Dioxide Removal credits for the permanent removal of 3.3 million metric tonnes of CO2 from Stockholm Exergi.[2]

In 2024, the British government approved investments into installing carbon capture on two out of four biomass units of the Drax biomass power plant, which has the potential to capture close to eight million tonnes of CO2 annually.[3]

Challenges

Environmental considerations

See also: Issues relating to biofuels

Some of the environmental considerations and other concerns about the widespread implementation of BECCS are similar to those of CCS. However, much of the critique towards CCS is that it may strengthen the dependency on depletable fossil fuels and environmentally invasive coal mining. This is not the case with BECCS, as it relies on renewable biomass. There are however other considerations which involve BECCS and these concerns are related to the possible increased use of biofuels. Biomass production is subject to a range of sustainability constraints, such as: scarcity of arable land and fresh water, loss of biodiversity, competition with food production and deforestation.[4][obsolete source] It is important to make sure that biomass is used in a way that maximizes both energy and climate benefits. There has been criticism to some suggested BECCS deployment scenarios, where there would be a very heavy reliance on increased biomass input.[5]

Large areas of land would be required to operate BECCS on an industrial scale. To remove 10 billion tonnes of CO2, upwards of 300 million hectares of land area (larger than India) would be required.[6] As a result, BECCS risks using land that could be better suited to agriculture and food production, especially in developing countries.[citation needed]

These systems may have other negative side effects. There is however presently no need to expand the use of biofuels in energy or industry applications to allow for BECCS deployment. There is already today considerable emissions from point sources of biomass derived CO2, which could be utilized for BECCS. Though, in possible future bioenergy system upscaling scenarios, this may be an important consideration.[citation needed]

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report says: “Extensive deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation would require larger amounts of freshwater resources than used by the previous vegetation, altering the water cycle at regional scales (high confidence) with potential consequences for downstream uses, biodiversity, and regional climate, depending on prior land cover, background climate conditions, and scale of deployment (high confidence).”[7]

Technical challenges

See also: Biomass heating system

A challenge for applying BECCS technology, as with other carbon capture and storage technologies, is to find suitable geographic locations to build combustion plant and to sequester captured CO2. If biomass sources are not close by the combustion unit, transporting biomass emits CO2 offsetting the amount of CO2 captured by BECCS. 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%.[8] For comparison, coal-fired plants have an efficiency of about 37%.[9]

BECCS also faces a question whether the process is actually energy positive. Low energy conversion efficiency, energy-intensive biomass supply, combined with the energy required to power the CO2 capture and storage unit impose energy penalty on the system. This might lead to a low power generation efficiency.[10]

Alternative biomass sources

Source CO2 Source Sector
Ethanol production Fermentation of biomass such as sugarcane, wheat or corn releases CO2 as a by-product. Industry
Pulp and paper mills

Cement production

Industry
Biogas production In the biogas upgrading process, CO2 is separated from the methane to produce a higher quality gas. Industry
Electrical power plants Combustion of biomass or biofuel in steam or gas powered generators releases CO2 as a by-product. Energy
Heat power plants Combustion of biofuel for heat generation releases CO2 as a by-product. Usually used for district heating. Energy

Agricultural and forestry residues

Globally, 14 Gt of forestry residue and 4.4 Gt residues from crop production (mainly barley, wheat, corn, sugarcane and rice) are generated every year. This is a significant amount of biomass which can be combusted to generate 26 EJ/year and achieve a 2.8 Gt of negative CO2 emission through BECCS. Utilizing residues for carbon capture will provide social and economic benefits to rural communities. Using waste from crops and forestry is a way to avoid the ecological and social challenges of BECCS.[12]

Among the forest bioenergy strategies being promoted, forest residue gasification for electricity production has gained policy traction in many developing countries because of the abundance of forest biomass, and their affordability, given that they are a by-products of conventional forestry functioning.[13] Additionally, unlike the sporadic nature of wind and solar, forest residue gasification for electricity can be uninterrupted, and modified to meet switch in energy demand. Forest industries are well positioned to play a prominent role in facilitating the adoption and upscale of forest bioenergy strategies in response to energy security and climate change challenges.[13] However, the economic costs of forest residue utilization for bioelectricity production and its potential financial impact on conventional forestry operations are poorly represented in forest bioenergy studies. Exploring these opportunities, particularly in developing country contexts can be buttressed by investigations that assess the financial feasibility of joint production for timber and bioelectricity.[13]

Despite the growing policy directives and mandates to produce electricity from woody biomass, the uncertainty around the financial feasibility and risks to investors continue to impede the transition to this renewable energy pathway, particularly in developing countries where the demand are the highest. This is because investments in forest bioenergy projects are exposed to high levels of financial risks. The high capital costs, operation costs, and maintenance costs of harvest residue-based gasification plant and their associated risks can keep the potential investor from investing in a forest-based bioelectricity project.[13]

Municipal solid waste

Since municipal solid waste contains some biogenic substances like food, wood and paper, waste incineration can to a degree considered a source of bioenergy. Around 44% of waste globally is estimated to consist of food and green waste; a further 17% is paper and cardboard.[14] It has been estimated that carbon capture would reduce the carbon emissions associated with waste incinerators by 700 kg CO2 per kg of waste, assuming an 85% capture rate. The specific waste composition does not greatly affect this.[15]

Co-firing coal with biomass

See also: Cofiring

As of 2017 there were roughly 250 cofiring plants in the world, including 40 in the US.[16] Biomass cofiring with coal has efficiency near those of coal combustion.[9] Instead of co-firing, full conversion from coal to biomass of one or more generating units in a plant may be preferred.[17]

Policy

Based on the Kyoto Protocol agreement, carbon capture and storage projects were not applicable as an emission reduction tool to be used for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or for Joint Implementation (JI) projects.[18] As of 2006, there had been growing support to have fossil CCS and BECCS included in the protocol and the Paris Agreement. Accounting studies on how this could be implemented, including BECCS, have also been done.[19]

European Union

There were policies to incentivice to use bioenergy such as Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and Fuel Quality Directive (FQD), which require 20% of total energy consumption to be based on biomass, bioliquids and biogas by 2020.[20]

Sweden

The Swedish Energy Agency was commissioned by the Swedish government to design a Swedish support system for BECCS to be implemented by 2022.[21]

United Kingdom

In 2018 the Committee on Climate Change recommended that aviation biofuels should provide up to 10% of total aviation fuel demand by 2050, and that all aviation biofuels should be produced with CCS as soon as the technology is available.[22]: 159 

United States

In 2018, the US congress increased and extended the section 45Q tax credit for sequestration of carbon oxides, a top priority of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) supporters for several years. It increased $25.70 to $50 tax credit per tonnes of CO2 for secure geological storage and $15.30 to $35 tax credit per tonne of CO2 used in enhanced oil recovery.[23]

Public perception

Limited studies have investigated public perceptions of BECCS.[citation needed] Of those studies, most originate from developed countries in the northern hemisphere and therefore may not represent a worldwide view.

In a 2018 study involving online panel respondents from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and New Zealand, respondents showed little prior awareness of BECCS technologies. Measures of respondents perceptions suggest that the public associate BECCS with a balance of both positive and negative attributes. Across the four countries, 45% of the respondents indicated they would support small scale trials of BECCS, whereas only 21% were opposed. BECCS was moderately preferred among other methods of carbon dioxide removal like direct air capture or enhanced weathering, and greatly preferred over methods of solar radiation management.[24]

A 2019 study in Oxfordshire, UK found that public perception of BECCS was significantly influenced by the policies used to support the practice. Participants generally approved of taxes and standards, but they had mixed feelings about the government providing funding support.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Beccs Stockholm: delivering net carbon removals with clean energy - European Commission". cinea.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  2. ^ Kimball, Spencer (2024-05-06). "Microsoft signs deal with Swedish partner to remove 3.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  3. ^ "Government approves Drax Power Station carbon capture plans". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  4. ^ Ignacy, S.: (2007) "The Biofuels Controversy" Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 12
  5. ^ "Carbon-negative bioenergy to cut global warming could drive deforestation: An interview on BECS with Biopact's Laurens Rademakers". Mongabay. November 6, 2007. Archived from the original on 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  6. ^ "Extracting carbon from nature can aid climate but will be costly: U.N." Reuters. 2017-03-26. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  7. ^ "Climate information relevant for Forestry" (PDF).
  8. ^ Baxter, Larry (July 2005). "Biomass-coal co-combustion: opportunity for affordable renewable energy". Fuel. 84 (10): 1295–1302. Bibcode:2005Fuel...84.1295B. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.471.1281. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2004.09.023. ISSN 0016-2361.
  9. ^ a b "CCS Retrofit: Analysis of the Globally Installed Coal-Fired Power Plant Fleet". IEA Energy Papers. 2012-03-29. doi:10.1787/5k9crztg40g1-en. ISSN 2079-2581.
  10. ^ Bui, Mai; Fajardy, Mathilde; Mac Dowell, Niall (June 2017). "Bio-Energy with CCS (BECCS) performance evaluation: Efficiency enhancement and emissions reduction". Applied Energy. 195: 289–302. Bibcode:2017ApEn..195..289B. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.03.063. hdl:10044/1/49332. ISSN 0306-2619.
  11. ^ "How cement may yet help slow global warming". The Economist. 2021-11-04. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  12. ^ Pour, Nasim; Webley, Paul A.; Cook, Peter J. (July 2017). "A Sustainability Framework for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) Technologies". Energy Procedia. 114: 6044–6056. Bibcode:2017EnPro.114.6044P. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1741. ISSN 1876-6102.
  13. ^ a b c d Ofoegbu, Chidiebere (2023-12-31). Yuan, Xiangzhou (ed.). "Feasibility assessment of harvest residue gasification for bioelectricity and its financial impact on conventional plantation forestry". Sustainable Environment. 9 (1). Bibcode:2023SusEn...906506O. doi:10.1080/27658511.2023.2206506. ISSN 2765-8511. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  14. ^ Wienchol, Paulina; Szlęk, Andrzej; Ditaranto, Mario (May 2020). "Waste-to-energy technology integrated with carbon capture – Challenges and opportunities". Energy. 198: 117352. Bibcode:2020Ene...19817352W. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2020.117352. hdl:11250/2659562.
  15. ^ Bisinella, Valentina; Hulgaard, Tore; Riber, Christian; Damgaard, Anders; Christensen, Thomas H. (May 2021). "Environmental assessment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a post-treatment technology in waste incineration". Waste Management. 128: 99–113. Bibcode:2021WaMan.128...99B. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2021.04.046. PMID 33975140.
  16. ^ "Projects | Bioenergy Task 32". demoplants21.bioenergy2020.eu. IEA Bioenergy. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  17. ^ "How to switch a power station off coal". Drax. 2018-08-22. Archived from the original on 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  18. ^ "Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) from ec.europa.eu". Archived from the original on 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  19. ^ Grönkvist, Stefan; Möllersten, Kenneth; Pingoud, Kim (2006). "Equal Opportunity for Biomass in Greenhouse Gas Accounting of CO2 Capture and Storage: A Step Towards More Cost-Effective Climate Change Mitigation Regimes". Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. 11 (5–6): 1083. Bibcode:2006MASGC..11.1083G. doi:10.1007/s11027-006-9034-9. S2CID 154172898.
  20. ^ "Renewable energy directive". European Commission. 2014-07-16. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Promoting carbon dioxide removals: the Nordic case study". Climate Strategies. 2021-10-26. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  22. ^ UK Committee on Climate Change (2018). Biomass in a low-carbon economy (PDF).
  23. ^ "[USC04] 26 USC 45Q: Credit for carbon oxide sequestration". uscode.house.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  24. ^ Carlisle, Daniel P.; Feetham, Pamela M.; Wright, Malcolm J.; Teagle, Damon A. H. (2020-04-12). "The public remain uninformed and wary of climate engineering" (PDF). Climatic Change. 160 (2): 303–322. Bibcode:2020ClCh..160..303C. doi:10.1007/s10584-020-02706-5. ISSN 1573-1480. S2CID 215731777. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  25. ^ Bellamy, Rob; Lezuan, Javier; Palmer, James (2019). "Perceptions of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in different policy scenarios". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 743. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10..743B. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08592-5. PMC 6375928. PMID 30765708.
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