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Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Utilisation

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Chemical Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 27920

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carolina Font Palma

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
Interests: low carbon technologies; carbon capture; CO₂ separation methods; process systems engineering

Dr. Abigail González-Díaz

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Guest Editor

Instituto Nacional de Electricidad y Energías Limpias
Interests: low carbon technologies; carbon capture; CO2 separation methods; process systems engineering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ambitious target of net zero-carbon emissions by 2050, agreed by European and other countries, has now made carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) a necessity. There are mature technologies for carbon capture that have already been used for cleaning natural gas or in hydrogen production. However, mature technologies face a range of technical, environmental and economic challenges. This shortcoming is promoting research on new methods and novel technologies to capture and utilise carbon dioxide needed to overcome some of these challenges and tackle the climate change crisis. Therefore, this Special Issue of Sustainability calls for articles on emerging technologies including membranes, calcium looping, catalysed sorbents, algae-based capture, direct air capture, liquefaction and cryogenic separation, and seeks to consolidate the alternative options which face different technological challenges and are at different and/or lower technology readiness levels (TRL). Original and review articles covering the suggested areas are invited for consideration and peer-review for this Special Issue.

Mature and novel carbon capture technologies
‘Blue’ hydrogen and CCS
Advances on CO₂ utilisation
Technology assessment: economic, environmental, social
Education and training on sustainable carbon capture

Dr. Carolina Font-Palma
Dr. Abigail González Díaz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

carbon capture
CO₂ separation
hydrogen
techno-economic analysis (TEA)
process modelling and simulation
life cycle assessment (LCA)

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1086 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Techno-Environmental Analysis of the Use of Green Hydrogen for Cogeneration from the Gasification of Wood and Fuel Cell

by Abigail Gonzalez-Diaz, Juan Carlos Sánchez Ladrón de Guevara, Long Jiang, Maria Ortencia Gonzalez-Diaz, Pablo Díaz-Herrera and Carolina Font-Palma

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3232; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063232 - 15 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2631

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the use of wood biomass in a gasifier integrated with a fuel cell system as a low carbon technology. Experimental information of the wood is provided by the literature. The syngas is purified by using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) in order to obtain H₂ with 99.99% purity. Using 132 kg/h of wood, it is possible to generate 10.57 kg/h of H₂ that is used in a tubular solid oxide fuel cell (TSOFC). Then, the TSOFC generates 197.92 kW. The heat generated in the fuel cell produces 60 kg/h of steam that is needed in the gasifier. The net efficiency of the integrated system considering only the electric power generated in the TSOFC is 27.2%, which is lower than a gas turbine with the same capacity where the efficiency is around 33.1%. It is concluded that there is great potential for cogeneration with low carbon emission by using wood biomass in rural areas of developing countries e.g., with a carbon intensity of 98.35 kgCO₂/MWh when compared with those of natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) without and with CO₂ capture i.e., 331 kgCO₂/MWh and 40 kgCO₂/MWh, respectively. This is an alternative technology for places where biomass is abundant and where it is difficult to get electricity from the grid due to limits in geographical location. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Utilisation)

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17 pages, 3120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influencing Factors of the Mineral Carbonation Process of Iron Ore Mining Waste in Sequestering Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

by Noor Allesya Alis Ramli, Faradiella Mohd Kusin and Verma Loretta M. Molahid

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1866; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041866 - 09 Feb 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2405

Abstract

Mining waste may contain potential minerals that can act as essential feedstock for long-term carbon sequestration through a mineral carbonation process. This study attempts to identify the mineralogical and chemical composition of iron ore mining waste alongside the effects of particle size, temperature, and pH on carbonation efficiency. The samples were found to be alkaline in nature (pH of 6.9–7.5) and contained small-sized particles of clay and silt, thus indicating their suitability for mineral carbonation reactions. Samples were composed of important silicate minerals needed for the formation of carbonates such as wollastonite, anorthite, diopside, perovskite, johannsenite, and magnesium aluminum silicate, and the Fe-bearing mineral magnetite. The presence of Fe₂O₃ (39.6–62.9%) and CaO (7.2–15.2%) indicated the potential of the waste to sequester carbon dioxide because these oxides are important divalent cations for mineral carbonation. The use of small-sized mine-waste particles enables the enhancement of carbonation efficiency, i.e., particles of <38 µm showed a greater extent of Fe and Ca carbonation efficiency (between 1.6–6.7%) compared to particles of <63 µm (0.9–5.7%) and 75 µm (0.7–6.0%). Increasing the reaction temperature from 80 °C to 150–200 °C resulted in a higher Fe and Ca carbonation efficiency of some samples between 0.9–5.8% and 0.8–4.0%, respectively. The effect of increasing the pH from 8–12 was notably observed in Fe carbonation efficiency of between 0.7–5.9% (pH 12) compared to 0.6–3.3% (pH 8). Ca carbonation efficiency was moderately observed (0.7–5.5%) as with the increasing pH between 8–10. Therefore, it has been evidenced that mineralogical and chemical composition were of great importance for the mineral carbonation process, and that the effects of particle size, pH, and temperature of iron mining waste were influential in determining carbonation efficiency. Findings would be beneficial for sustaining the mining industry while taking into account the issue of waste production in tackling the global carbon emission concerns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Utilisation)

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20 pages, 3089 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Advanced Ultra-Supercritical Coal-Fired Power Plant with Post-Combustion Carbon Capture: Analysis of Electricity Penalty and CO₂ Emission Reduction

by Branimir Tramošljika, Paolo Blecich, Igor Bonefačić and Vladimir Glažar

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 801; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020801 - 15 Jan 2021

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7658

Abstract

This article presents the performance analysis of a 700 MW future planned advanced ultra-supercritical (A-USC) coal-fired power plant fitted with post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The reference A-USC unit without CCS achieves a net efficiency of 47.6% with CO₂ emissions of 700 kgCO₂/MWh. Relatively to subcritical units, the net efficiency of the A-USC is 8%-pts higher while CO₂ emissions are 16.5% lower. For a CO₂ removal rate of 90%, the net efficiency of the CCS integrated A-USC unit is 36.8%. The resulting net efficiency loss is 10.8%-pts and the electricity output penalty is 362.3 kWh_el/t_CO2 for present state CCS technology. The study continues with the assessment of interface quantities between the capture unit and the steam cycle affecting the performance of the A-USC. Improved CO₂ absorbents could alleviate the net efficiency loss by 2–3%-pts, and enhanced CO₂ compression strategies and advanced heat integration could further reduce the efficiency loss by 0.5–1.2%-pts and 0.4–0.6%-pts, respectively. The total efficiency gain from CCS technology upgrades is estimated at 3.6%-pts, thus bringing down the net efficiency loss to 7.2%-pts and the electricity output penalty to 241.7 kWh_el/t_CO2. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Utilisation)

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13 pages, 1170 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Minimization in Piperazine Promoted MDEA-Based CO₂ Capture Process

by Bilal Alam Khan, Asad Ullah, Muhammad Wajid Saleem, Abdullah Nawaz Khan, Muhammad Faiq and Mir Haris

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8524; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208524 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5460

Abstract

A piperazine (PZ)-promoted methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) solution for a carbon dioxide (CO₂) removal process from the flue gas of a large-scale coal power plant has been simulated. An Aspen Plus^® was used to perform the simulation process. Initially, the effects of MDEA/PZ concentration ratio and stripper pressure on the regeneration energy of CO₂ capture process were investigated. The MDEA/PZ concentration ratio of 35/15 wt.% (35 wt. MDEA and 15 wt.% PZ) was selected as an appropriate concentration. The reboiler duty of 3.235 MJ/kg CO₂ was obtained at 35/15 wt.% concentration ratio of MDEA/PZ. It was considered a reference or base case, and process modifications including rich vapor compression (RVC) process, cold solvent split (CSS), and the combination of both processes were investigated to check its effect on the energy requirement. A total equivalent work of 0.7 MJ_e/kg CO₂ in the RVC and a reboiler duty of 2.78 MJ/kg CO₂ was achieved in the CSS process. Similarly, the total equivalent work, reboiler duty, and condenser duty of 0.627 MJ_e/kg CO₂, 2.44 MJ/kg CO₂, and 0.33 MJ/kg CO₂, respectively, were obtained in the combined process. The reboiler duty and the total equivalent work were reduced by about 24.6 and 16.2%, respectively, as compared to the reference case. The total energy cost saving was 1.79 M$/yr. Considering the additional equipment cost in the combined process, the total cost saving was 0.67 M$ per year. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Utilisation)

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Review

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27 pages, 4930 KiB

Open AccessReview

Significance of Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbon Dioxide Emission Reduction

by Karolina Novak Mavar, Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec and Lidia Hrnčević

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1800; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041800 - 07 Feb 2021

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 8146

Abstract

Limiting the increase in CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere, and at the same time, meeting the increased energy demand can be achieved by applying carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, which hold potential as the bridge for energy and emission-intensive industries to decarbonization goals. At the moment, the only profitable industrial large-scale carbon sequestration projects are large-scale carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) projects. This paper gives a general overview of the indirect and direct use of captured CO₂ in CCUS with a special focus on worldwide large-scale CO₂-EOR projects and their lifecycle emissions. On the basis of scientific papers and technical reports, data from 23 contemporary large-scale CO₂-EOR projects in different project stages were aggregated, pointing out all the specificities of the projects. The specificities of individual projects, along with the lack of standardized methodologies specific for estimating the full lifecycle emissions resulting from CO₂-EOR projects, pose a challenge and contribute to uncertainties and wide flexibilities when estimating emissions from CO₂-EOR projects, making the cross-referencing of CO₂-EOR projects and its comparison to other climate-mitigation strategies rather difficult. Pointing out the mentioned project’s differentiations and aggregating data on the basis of an overview of large-scale CO₂-EOR projects gives useful information for future work on the topic of a CO₂-EOR project’s lifecycle emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Utilisation)

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