System characterisation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems

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Abstract

Sustainability‐related performance criteria for the system characterisation of 'carbon capture & storage' (CCS) facilities have been identified to lay the groundwork for the evaluation of forthcoming bioenergy-CCS (BECCS) technologies aimed at providing a net negative emissions option within a low‑carbon transition pathway to 2050 and beyond. These are based on well‐ established, often quantifiable, economic, energy‐related and environmental (including climatechange) indicators. They are an essential component in the preparation for a new phase of BECCS deployment in the power sector and industry. Carbon‐capture facilities will hinder the performance of power plants and industrial processes as they give rise to an energy penalty, which, in turn, lowers the system (thermodynamic) efficiency. The 'levelised cost of electricity' (LCOE) can then be used as an indicator of the impact on plant economics of adding capture equipment. However, given the present state of play with CCS research, devel‑ opment and demonstration, many of the system performance characteristics need to be determined on a 'First-of-a-Kind' (FOAK) basis. All such cost figures should therefore be viewed as indicative or suggestive. They are nonetheless helpful to various CCS stakeholder groups, such as those in industry, policymakers (civil servants and the staff of various government agencies), and civil society and environmental NGOs to enable them to assess the role of this technology in national energy strategies and its impact on local communities. Finally, the environmental performance of CCS developments can be assessed in terms of climate‐change impacts (including parameters such as the carbon intensity and the cost of carbon avoided or captured), as well as the effects on biodiversity, land use and water resources. Values for the various CCS performance criteria are illustrated by ref‑ erence to data for contemporary fossil‐fuelled systems. They represent the challenges against which BECCS will need to be evaluated. Carbon dioxide geological storage will, in many cases, have potential consequences for the marine environment, including reduced rates of reproduction among organisms, their growth and longer‐term mortality. A number of organisations have taken the lead in developing geological storage site selection criteria.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBiomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)
Subtitle of host publicationUnlocking Negative Emissions
EditorsClair Gough, Patricia Thornley, Sarah Mander , Naomi Vaughan , Amanda Lea-Langton
Place of PublicationChichester
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons
Chapter7
Pages129-162
ISBN (Print)978-1-119-23768-6
Publication statusPublished - 2018

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