Carbon Capture Systems for Building-Level Heating Systems—A Socio-Economic and Environmental Evaluation

Don Rukmal Liyanage,Kasun Hewage,Rehan Sadiq,Hirushie Karunathilake,Gyan Chhipi-Shrestha

doi:10.3390/su131910681

Abstract

The energy consumption of buildings contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Energy use for space and water heating in buildings causes a major portion of these emissions. Natural gas (NG) is one of the dominant fuels used for building heating, emitting GHG emissions directly to the atmosphere. Many studies have been conducted on improving energy efficiency and using cleaner energy sources in buildings. However, implementing carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) on NG building heating systems is overlooked in the literature. CCUS technologies have proved their potential to reduce GHG emissions in fossil fuel power plants. However, their applicability for building-level applications has not been adequately established. A critical literature review was conducted to understand the feasibility and viability of adapting CCUS technologies to co-function in building heating systems. This study investigated the technical requirements, environmental and socio-economic impacts, and the drivers and barriers towards implementing building-level CCUS technologies. The findings indicated that implementing building-level CCUS technologies has significant overall benefits despite the marginal increase in energy consumption, operational costs, and capital costs. The information presented in this paper is valuable to academics, building owners and managers, innovators, investors, and policy makers involved in the clean energy sector.

Highlights

The current phenomena of extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increases in droughts and floods indicate that the world is becoming more vulnerable to the ill effects of climate change [1]
The study presented a reduction of life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when using the KOH-based building-level carbon capture technology discussed in Section 4 and when adopting Methyl Ethanolamine (MEA)-based chemical absorption technology
The life cycle GHG emissions was determined by using Simapro software and the TRACI 2.0 impact assessment method

Summary

Introduction

The current phenomena of extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increases in droughts and floods indicate that the world is becoming more vulnerable to the ill effects of climate change [1]. Anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel combustion for energy generation that generates greenhouse gases (GHGs), have been identified as the dominant causes of increasing average global temperature levels and climate change [2]. Coal-operated building heating systems are very rare This is mainly due to the availability of less expensive alternatives such as natural gas. Coal combustion has adverse environmental and health impacts such as causing respiratory issues and

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Conclusion