Cutting Cost of CO2 capture in process industry

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions is one the most important challenges of our time. The four year CO2stCap project investigates where and how CO2 capture may be applied cost efficiently to the process industry. The working hypothesis is that cost reductions of at least 20% should be possible to achieve through implementing partial capture and technological optimizations.

The energy intensive process industry has a series of tools to reduce their emissions of CO2: increased use of solar and wind power as well as biomass, energy efficiency measures, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The CO2stCap project, which started in 2015, investigates where and how partial CO2 capture may be applied cost efficiently to emission intensive industry, focusing on cement, pulp and paper, steel and ferroalloys.
In process industry, utilization of waste heat energy may reduce the need for additional energy supply, or even eliminate the need completely. The project’s working hypothesis is that cost reductions of around at least 20% should be possible to achieve through implementing partial capture including associated technological optimizations. Even if waste heat amounts are limited on a given site, capture cost may be reduced. The overall aim is, thus, to suggest a cost effective carbon capture strategy for future CCS systems considering utilization of waste heat and intermittent power generation, a more efficient use of biomass resources, different capture technologies and optimization, as well as changed market conditions. Innventia is a research partner in this four-year project coordinated by the Norwegian research institute Tel-Tek. The other partners are Telemark University College, Chalmers, Swerea MEFOS and industry partners Elkem, SSAB, Norcem and AGA Gas as well as Global CCS Institute and IEA Environmental Projects.
Marie Anheden is one of Innventia’s experts:

“One specific challenge for the pulp mill is that the available low temperature heat possible to use for CO2 capture has a relatively high use and value compared to other industries, and that the excess heat is at too low temperature. Ways to overcome this challenge will be investigated in the project. An additional challenge is that the economic incentives for capture of CO2 which originates from biomass, which is the case in the pulp and paper industry, are unclear.”