Carbon Capture Storage Research Articles

Trace gas analysis with laser dispersion spectroscopy.

Trace gas analysis provides a wide range of insights into environmental processes, particularly with regards to global warming and air quality. With the urgent need to identify sources and accurately measure the harmful emissions negatively impacting our planet, Laser Dispersion Spectroscopy (LDS) offers a unique approach. LDS technology measures optical molecular dispersion via a differential phase measurement of light and, operating in the mid-infrared, provides highly sensitive and robust measurements. This enables highly precise, real-time gas measurements even in adverse environmental conditions such as rain, fog, snow or dust. The technology can be used in both extractive and open-path formats, with real-world applications including emissions monitoring on oil and gas sites, measuring the impact of agricultural activities and monitoring carbon capture storage facilities.

Analysis of innovative decarbonation technologies by methanation

:In the development process of Romania, the energy sector for 2030 contributes essentially through its influence on the quality of life, the environment, the competitiveness of the economy, as well as the climate [1]. Thus, the energy sector from Romania must become more economically efficient, less polluting, and more technologically advanced.This paper presents the analysis of innovative methanation decarbonation technologies, the following aspects were pursued: methanisation, the reactions involved and the importance of the methanisation process, methanisation technologies and methane use, decarbonisation through methanisation, the importance of catalysts in methanation processes, decarbonisation with Carbon Capture Storage (CCS), catalyst enabled processes. Behind modern methanation decarbonization technologies is a history of over 100 years based on research and development [2]. At present, methanization is in the attention of scientists, industry, and energy companies, because: fossil fuels are a finite resource that will soon be exhausted; the energy system is constantly changing, and renewable energies are playing an increasingly important role in it; increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere contributes to global climate change.

Sustainable Recovery: The Multiple Benefits of Collaboration

The oil and gas industry is recovering along with the health situation and the world’s economy following one of the largest downturns in its 160-year history caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. What comes ahead brings its own challenges. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Working Group 1 contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis, published in August, highlighted the “widespread and rapid acceleration of climate change,” with the 1.5°C threshold reached as early as the end of this decade. The dramatic weather events around the globe this summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) with historical temperature records on the North American Pacific Coast and in the central and eastern Mediterranean regions, and huge fires impacting those regions and others such as Siberia, were a reminder that the transformation is occurring now. In this context, the energy mix that the world uses today needs to evolve to a more rational use through energy efficiency and with a lower carbon content, starting from the use of coal. The oil and gas industry has been pioneering the development of technologies such as carbon capture and underground storage and blue hydrogen. International oil companies and national oil companies rank amongst the largest technology investors in renewables and energy storage. Renewables also have a strong potential in applications such as steam injection. Collaboration among the industry and with other peripheral sectors will be an essential ingredient to accelerate the transformation of the energy sector. I personally started in the oil and gas industry more than 4 decades ago in research and development (R&D) with a large oilfield service company, where I led a team of scientists investigating hydraulic fracturing. One of the projects was related to acid fracturing, which required the injection of a viscous non-Newtonian pad to fracture the formation and keep the fracture open, followed by acid which had a much lower viscosity. The two-fluid displacement inside the fracture led to an instability called viscous fingering. In order to understand the phenomenon, we put together a very diverse team, comprising a mathematician, an astrophysicist, a physicochemist, and a geologist. The team was unable to initially work well together and collaborate. The breakthrough came when a high-level scientist from Boston University, a specialist in critical phenomena, was added as a catalyst to the team. Within a few months, the team managed to develop and validate a model for viscous fingering using diffusion-limited aggregation and fractal theory, and its work was published in Nature and the American Physical Society’s Physical Reviews Journals. The team then developed a new set of models for wormholes created by the injection of acid through matrix acidizing and fracture acidizing which were used to create the required chemistry to ensure effectiveness of the treatments. I remain convinced that if we had not included the diversity of the skills and used a catalyst for collaboration, we would not have cracked the research code so rapidly.

Tolerant Larvae and Sensitive Juveniles: Integrating Metabolomics and Whole-Organism Responses to Define Life-Stage Specific Sensitivity to Ocean Acidification in the American Lobster.

Bentho-pelagic life cycles are the dominant reproductive strategy in marine invertebrates, providing great dispersal ability, access to different resources, and the opportunity to settle in suitable habitats upon the trigger of environmental cues at key developmental moments. However, free-dispersing larvae can be highly sensitive to environmental changes. Among these, the magnitude and the occurrence of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in oceanic habitats is predicted to exacerbate over the next decades, particularly in coastal areas, reaching levels beyond those historically experienced by most marine organisms. Here, we aimed to determine the sensitivity to elevated pCO2 of successive life stages of a marine invertebrate species with a bentho-pelagic life cycle, exposed continuously during its early ontogeny, whilst providing in-depth insights on their metabolic responses. We selected, as an ideal study species, the American lobster Homarus americanus, and investigated life history traits, whole-organism physiology, and metabolomic fingerprints from larval stage I to juvenile stage V exposed to different pCO2 levels. Current and future ocean acidification scenarios were tested, as well as extreme high pCO2/low pH conditions that are predicted to occur in coastal benthic habitats and with leakages from underwater carbon capture storage (CCS) sites. Larvae demonstrated greater tolerance to elevated pCO2, showing no significant changes in survival, developmental time, morphology, and mineralisation, although they underwent intense metabolomic reprogramming. Conversely, juveniles showed the inverse pattern, with a reduction in survival and an increase in development time at the highest pCO2 levels tested, with no indication of metabolomic reprogramming. Metabolomic sensitivity to elevated pCO2 increased until metamorphosis (between larval and juvenile stages) and decreased afterward, suggesting this transition as a metabolic keystone for marine invertebrates with complex life cycles.

EFFECTIVENESS OF INTEGRATED CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY IN WASTE TO ENERGY PLANTS AND IMPLEMENTATION PROSPECTS

The population in ASEAN is projected to increase to 722 million by 2030. This massive population increase had an impact not only on population quantity but also on the environment. This is reflected in the increasing number of pollution results such as waste products and carbon pollution. Waste to Energy Plants has been successful in converting waste to electrical energy by incineration, but there are still carbon emissions that has to be dealt with and on the other hand carbon pollution has been a major problem for ASEAN this past 10 years, with the data from Global Carbon Atlas showing 1671.7 MtCO2 are emitted from the combined 10 countries in 2019. The industry categories of petroleum refineries, chemicals and others are responsible for contributing the most greenhouse gases. Analysis from the International Energy Agency shows comparison between few of the most promising solutions for carbon emission, one of them being Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). This technology captures CO2 that has been emitted to the atmosphere. Indonesia, the biggest country in ASEAN is also the region’s most contributing country in terms of carbon emission where the CCS technology should be developed more. In this paper, the author uses a descriptive qualitative method and data reference from previous research. The results indicate that the usage of CCS is very effective to reduce the CO2 emissions emitted from Waste-to- Energy Plants with 95% accuracy. This, in effect, will ensure effective expert knowledge communication to the general public and foster social acceptance of this technology.
 
 Keywords: Carbon dioxide, Carbon Capture and Storage, WtE Plants, and Process Integration
 
 

A CFD study of a direct solar-driven desorption process for carbon capture under transient conditions

Solvent-based post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) is the most accessible technology to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coal-fired power plants, however with a substantial energy penalty. This study investigates a novel concept of solar-powered solvent-based PCC, replacing the traditional stripper unit with a solar collector field (SCF) pipe network. This SCF pipe network consists of modular units termed “solar-strippers” (So-St)s that function to desorb the CO2 gas directly within the solar collector tubes. The internal design complexities of the So-St unit are poorly understood and yet to be optimised. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is ideal for modelling complex thermo-physical phenomena that appear in the So-St, including boiling flow, heat transfer, reaction kinetics and thermodynamics. This study develops a rigorous CFD model for a single So-St segment; the first of its kind. The model is used to assess possible design improvements using methods of enhanced heat transfer (EHT), in particular the insertion of porous and solid baffles which increase thermal efficiency and boost vapour formation. The porous and solid baffles are estimated to reduce the So-St field size by 56% and 65%, however demanding 2.5 and 6 times more pumping power, respectively. These incremental design enhancements display the utility of CFD in enabling the So-St concept to become a sustainable low-emissions carbon capture & storage (CCS) technology for cleaner energy production.

Multi-criteria decision approach to select carbon dioxide and hydrogen sources as potential raw materials for the production of chemicals

The use of fossil resources has lead to great increase in concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere beyond sustainable limits, which causes environmental issues such as greenhouse gas effect, climate change and extreme weather events and threats the human life. Thus, several researches have been focused on mitigate this problem. Possible strategies involve implementing technologies of carbon capture storage and utilization. Among them, integrated processes for carbon dioxide capture and its conversion into value-added products have gained attention. Carbon dioxide hydrogenation is among the most developed technologies for its conversion, but requires an external hydrogen (H2) source. Since the conversion of carbon dioxide is highly energy-demanding, assessing its overall process sustainability requires a comprehensive study on the whole system, including its raw material sources (carbon dioxide and hydrogen). Thus, this work proposes a multi-criteria framework to select suitable sources of carbon dioxide and hydrogen to be used in the conversion of carbon dioxide. Potential sources of carbon dioxide (from power plants to ethanol fermentation) and hydrogen (from dedicated production to by-product hydrogen) were evaluated considering environmental, economic, and technical aspects associated with the usage of each source. The Technique of Order Preference Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is the multi-criteria decision analysis method used to aggregate the criteria and to rank each source individually and further in a pair-wise assessment to identify potential synergic combinations between carbon dioxide and hydrogen sources. Results suggested that using carbon dioxide from natural gas steam reforming, iron and steel industries, ethylene oxide and other high concentration point sources may be the ideal choice for sustainability. The analysis also indicated that hydrogen may be more sustainable if it is a process by-product or is produced by low-cost wind-powered electrolysis. It is important to consider that the analysis is based on several specific data inputs and assumptions, and that a lower score does not mean that the source is not worth investing in.

Degradation of nickel-based alloys for precise casting in high-temperature gas environment

The corrosion resistance of the alloys designed for precise casting Inconel 713LC and Inconel 738 in high temperature gas environment were tested. The environments during tests simulated helium coolant of advanced gas cooled reactors and high temperature carbon capture storage environment (CO2). The specimens were exposed in helium containing 500 vppm CO, 100 vppm CH4, 100 vppm H2 a 10 vppm H2O at 900 °C for 1000 hours and in CO2 at 900 °C during 200 hours. After exposure weight changes were investigated, the corrosion damage was observed by optical and electron microscope, the samples exposed in CO2 were investigated by XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), GD-OES (Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry). After exposure in helium, 2 types of scales with different composition were observed on the sample surface. The depth corrosion damage was up to 20 μm, on the alloy Inconel 738 was deep corrosion damage only local, on the alloy Inconel 713LCcontinuous. After exposure in CO2 the surface corrosion layer was compact and almost uniform, corrosion interfered up to 30 μm under the surface layer. In high temperature helium, the alloy Inconel 738 could be said to bo more corrosion resistant than Inconel 713LC. In high temperature CO2 both tested alloys performed almost the same corrosion resistance.

Reservoir quality and diagenesis of Triassic sandstones and siltstones from arid fluvial and playa margin environments: A study of one of the UK's earliest producing oilfields

The Triassic stratigraphy of the UK contains many important reservoir rock units, present in all major offshore and onshore basins, that are rich in oil, gas and water resources. The Ormskirk Sandstone Formation (Sherwood Sandstone Group) and Tarporley Siltstone Formation (Mercia Mudstone Group) represent the main reservoirs found in one of the UK's earliest producing oilfields, at an unusually shallow depth of 30–90 m. In this study, environments of deposition, maximum burial depth, and reservoir quality have been evaluated from well Formby-7, drilled in 2012, using modern analytical techniques. Wireline data and core analysis data were made available by Aurora Energy Resources for the purposes of this study. Formby-7 was continuously cored so that the whole section was logged for sedimentary structures and grain size. Optical analysis of thin sections was conducted, along with SEM-EDS, using thin sections from core plugs. The Ormskirk Sandstone Formation was deposited in a proximal setting by a braided, dryland river with aeolian influence; the Tarporley Siltstone Formation was deposited in a more distal setting on the margins of a playa environment. The study found that the reservoir quality is excellent in the deeper Ormskirk sediments, but relatively poor in the overlying Tarporley sediments. Good reservoir quality present in the Ormskirk Sandstone Formation is linked to early depositional textures, grain size (medium sand) and general lack of pore-filling cements. In the Tarporley, reservoir quality is poor due to the grain size (very fine sand) and the variable presence of pore-filling gypsum associated with playa deposits. Minor feldspar diagenesis (both dissolution and precipitation) occurred in both the Sherwood and Mercia sediments. The small degree of mechanical compaction and lack of any signs of mesodiagenesis suggest that the clastic sediments in the Formby-7 well have not been buried deeper than about 1000 m. The findings reported here can be used to help the understanding of UK Triassic sedimentology and reservoir quality for oil and gas, geothermal energy, CCS (carbon capture storage) and water supply.

A framework for assessing economics of blue hydrogen production from steam methane reforming using carbon capture storage & utilisation

Hydrogen (H2) generation using Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) is at present the most economical and preferred pathway for commercial H2 generation. This process, however, emits a considerable amount of CO2, ultimately negating the benefit of using H2 as a clean industrial feedstock and energy carrier. That has prompted growing interest in enabling CO2 capture from SMR for either storage or utilisation and producing zero-emission “blue H2”. In this paper, we propose a spatial techno-economic framework for assessing blue hydrogen production SMR hubs with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), using Australia as a case study. Australia offers a unique opportunity for developing such ‘blue H2’ hubs given its extensive natural gas resources, availability of known carbon storage reservoirs and an ambitious government target to produce clean/zero-emission H2 at the cost of <A$2 kg−1 by 2030. Our results highlight that the H2 production costs are unsurprisingly dominated by natural gas, with the additional capital requirement of carbon capture and storage (CCS) also playing a critical role. These outcomes are especially pertinent for eastern Australian states, as they are experiencing high natural gas costs and would generally require extensive CO2 transport and storage infrastructure to tap potential storage reservoirs, ultimately resulting in a higher cost of producing H2 (>A$2.7 kgH2−1). On the other hand, Western Australia offers lower gas pricing and relatively lesser storage costs, which would lead to more economically favourable hydrogen production (<A$2.2 kgH2−1). We further explore the possibility of utilising the emissions captured at blue SMR hubs by converting them into formic acid through CO2 electroreduction, yielding revenue that will decrease the cost of blue H2 and reduce the reliance on CO2 storage. Our analysis reveals that formic acid production utilising a 10 MW CO2 electrolyser can potentially reduce H2 production costs by between 4 and 9%. Further cost reduction is possible by scaling the CO2 electrolyser capacity to convert a larger portion of the emissions captured, albeit at the cost of higher capital investment, electricity consumption and saturating the market for formic acid. Thus, carbon utilisation for a range of products with high market demand represents a more promising approach to replacing the need for costly carbon storage. Overall, our modelling framework can be adapted for global application, particularly for regions interested in generating blue H2 and extended to include other CO2 utilisation opportunities and evaluate other hydrogen production technologies.

Current Developments of Carbon Capture Storage and/or Utilization–Looking for Net-Zero Emissions Defined in the Paris Agreement

An essential line of worldwide research towards a sustainable energy future is the materials and processes for carbon dioxide capture and storage. Energy from fossil fuels combustion always generates carbon dioxide, leading to a considerable environmental concern with the values of CO2 produced in the world. The increase in emissions leads to a significant challenge in reducing the quantity of this gas in the atmosphere. Many research areas are involved solving this problem, such as process engineering, materials science, chemistry, waste management, and politics and public engagement. To decrease this problem, green and efficient solutions have been extensively studied, such as Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) processes. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was established, wherein the global temperature increase limit of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels was defined as maximum. To achieve this goal, a global balance between anthropogenic emissions and capture of greenhouse gases in the second half of the 21st century is imperative, i.e., net-zero emissions. Several projects and strategies have been implemented in the existing systems and facilities for greenhouse gas reduction, and new processes have been studied. This review starts with the current data of CO2 emissions to understand the need for drastic reduction. After that, the study reviews the recent progress of CCUS facilities and the implementation of climate-positive solutions, such as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and Direct Air Capture. Future changes in industrial processes are also discussed.

Optimizing metakaolin and silica-fume in rc beams with/without strengthening

Although cement is considered one of the most common materials as a basic component in producing concrete, its manufacturing consumes high energy accompanied by high carbon dioxide emission. Many types of metakaolin and silica-fume are used as a partial cement substitute. Most of the previous researches were conducted on relatively small-scale specimens. In this research, two folds are targeted to investigate the optimum cement replacements then their influential co-effect with external strengthening techniques of RC beams with a total of twenty-two relatively larger specimens. In the first fold, the attempt is made to use such partial cement replacements to reduce embodied carbon emission and hence carbon capture storage costs. For this purpose, thirteen beams with two types of metakaolin MKA, MKB and silica-fume are considered as cement replacements by 8, 12, 15 and 20% by weight. Effects on strength parameters, flexural behavior and ductility are studied and in turn, the optimum cement replacement ratios are determined as such. In the second fold of this investigation, nine specimens with cement replacement by 15% SF and MKA with three different strengthening techniques are considered. External steel plate bonding with end fasteners, near-surface mounted steel rebars and CFRP strips with end U-shaped wrapping are examined. The effects of cement replacement of each case are determined for compressive and tensile strengths. Cracking patterns, failure mechanism, load–deflection besides load–strain relationships and ductility index are investigated for the beam specimens. The research indicated that SF and MK may be used as a cement replacement up to 20% without any adverse effect for environment friendly concrete. The type of MK influences the optimum cement replacement ratio for enhancing the compressive or flexural strength. Size effect is proven to an aspect of consideration for a standardization of the optimum SF or MK replacement for flexure. Unless brittle modes of failure are secured, CFRP strengthening provides the highest ductility with reasonable strength enhancement. Durability characteristics in aggressive environments need further studies that expound their long-term features.

Delivering negative emissions with BECCS – A Life Cycle Assessment of coal-waste co-firing with CO2 transport and storage

Coal-fired power plants are a major source of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions that drive climate change and associated environmental impacts. Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) has been identified as a renewable technology with the potential to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, as it refers to power generation through combusting biomass and capturing CO2 in the flue-gas using carbon capture storage (CCS). Wood and paper wastes have gained popularity as biofuels, due in part to their potential benefits as they do not directly compete with other industries for agricultural land and can significantly reduce the quantity of waste diverted to landfills. This study assesses the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction capability of retrofitting biomass co-firing and CCS technologies to an existing coal-fired power plant, using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The biomass considered in this study is wood-based waste, including paper, cardboard, palletised wood, chipboard, and furniture. The LCA utilises a “cradle-to-grave” approach, incorporating emissions associated with coal mining, procurement, treatment, combustion, and ash disposal. The system boundary excludes upstream emissions from the manufacture of the waste products, as these were considered “avoided products”. Thus, avoided landfill emissions from the disposal of wood-wastes were included as negative emissions. The life cycle GHG emissions of six different scenarios are considered (co-firing ratios of 0%, 5%, and 10%, each with and without CCS). Power-plant characteristics, waste transportation and pipeline transportation distances were based on existing coal-fired power plants at Mt. Piper, Bayswater, and Eraring, in NSW, Australia. Without CCS, co-firing waste at 5% and 10% without CCS only slightly reduced overall emissions (around 1% and 2% respectively) relative to the current coal-fired power arrangement (no co-firing without CCS). On the other hand, implementing BECCS with 10% co-firing can reduce life cycle CO2 emissions by around 80%, and negative life-cycle CO2 emissions are achievable at co-firing ratios above 30%. The life cycle GHG emissions are most sensitive to the energy penalty imposed by CCS on the power plant. At co-firing ratios of 15%, life-cycle CO2 emissions of BECCS are comparable to those of solar PV energy generation. Moreover, at co-firing ratios around 25%, BECCS life-cycle CO2 emissions are competitive with those of nuclear, wind and hydroelectric generation. This highlights how CCS has the ability to make biomass co-firing compare favourably with other renewable or low-emissions alternatives. Although those technologies possess a lower emission intensity than BECCS at co-firing ratios below 15%, if improvements in boiler efficiency and resource recovery continue then this will allow operation at higher co-firing ratios, lowering emissions intensity further. To determine if BECCS should form part of future plans to meet emissions reduction targets, further research into additional sources of suitable waste biomass is recommended.

Investigation into simulating Selective Exhaust Gas Recirculation and varying Pressurized Hot Water temperature on the performance of the Pilot-scale Advanced CO2 Capture Plant with 40 wt(%) MEA

The concentration of an aqueous solution of amine affects the solvent regeneration energy requirement in the Post-combustion CO2 Capture (PCC) process. Therefore, this study investigates the performance of the impact of Selective Exhaust Gas Recirculation (S-EGR) under the influence of 40 wt(%) MEA i.e. 10 % above the benchmark Monoethanolamine (MEA) concentration and at 90 % CO2 capture efficiency due to its potential to reduce the Normalized Specific Reboiler Duty (N-SRD) of the CO2 capture process. The experimental research work was carried out at the United Kingdom Carbon Capture Storage Research Centre - Pilot-scale Advanced CO2 Capture Technology (UKCCSRC-PACT) National Core Facility, UK. The S-EGR was proposed as a means of CO2 enhancement at the inlet of the absorber column to expedite the driving force of CO2 absorption and consequently reduce the N-SRD. CO2 concentrations from 5.0 to 9.9 vol(%) of CO2 were studied. Also, this experiment studied the influence of the Pressurized Hot Water (PHW) inlet temperature at the reboiler on the performance of the CO2 capture process that includes the CO2 recovery rate, CO2 loadings and N-SRD of the Solvent-based CO2 Capture Plant (SCCP) in order to study the variation of N-SRD with varying reboiler thermal inlet temperature at 9.0 vol(%) CO2.It is found that a pilot-scale CO2 capture process under the influence of simulated S-EGR reduces the N-SRD by 25.1 % under the test condition at 6.6 vol(%) CO2. This test condition was observed to have lower N-SRD as with regards to the other tests with different CO2 concentrations, below and above which the N-SRD begins to lose its value. It was also established that within the boundary of the process conditions used in these tests, the impact of the PHW temperature on the CO2 capture efficiency increases with increasing the PHW temperature, but at the detriment of N-SRD, which begins to increase above 125 °C despite more CO2 being captured.

A Carbon Intensity Analysis of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Pathways

&lt;div class="section abstract"&gt;&lt;div class="htmlview paragraph"&gt;A hydrogen economy is an increasingly popular solution to lower global carbon dioxide emissions. Previous research has been focused on the economic conditions necessary for hydrogen to be cost competitive, which tends to neglect the effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation for the very solutions proposed. The holistic carbon footprint assessment of hydrogen production, distribution, and utilization methods, otherwise known as “well-to-wheels” carbon intensity, is critical to ensure the new hydrogen strategies proposed are effective in reducing global carbon emissions. When looking at these total carbon intensities, however, there is no single clear consensus regarding the pathway forward. When comparing the two fundamental technologies of steam methane reforming and electrolysis, there are different scenarios where either technology has a “greener” outcome. Despite misconceptions, steam methane reforming produces fewer total carbon emissions than current on-grid electrolysis due to the carbon emissions released by power plants. Similarly, for storing and deploying hydrogen, the optimal solution set will depend upon use case and geographic location. For example, truck transportation of gaseous hydrogen becomes less carbon efficient than liquification for distances greater than 614 miles. This paper explores the nuances of the factors of production that affect the total carbon footprint of a given technology, and how other emerging complimentary technologies, such as carbon capture storage and utilization, may change this carbon footprint calculation. As new technologies are evaluated, there are technological, political, and economic factors that will shape the landscape of how and where, hydrogen is produced, and the global infrastructure by which it is distributed.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

What is required for resource-circular CO2 utilization within Mega-Methanol (MM) production?

The negative effects of climate change coupled with declining fossil fuel reserves have sparked interest in cleaner alternative fuel sources. Methanol has surfaced as an acceptable solution due to its practicality and high hydrogen content. With its increased popularity, global demand supports the advent of the mega-methanol (MM) industry. Considering current MM technologies, auto-thermal reforming presents a viable low cost, low carbon option over traditional steam methane reforming. However, greater climate mitigation can be achieved utilizing carbon capture storage (CCS) and utilization (CCU) platforms. Through the hydrogenation of captured CO₂ with clean hydrogen, directly within conventional MM production, greater methanol productivity and lower GHG emissions can be realized. Thus, in this study, we examine the use of CCU in achieving sustainable operations within the MM process through techno-economic and environmental assessments- informing on process development for future MM projects. Although our results illustrate lower GHG emissions associated with CCUS, CCS arises as the more sustainable option while CCU pathways lead to significant burden-shifting linked to increased electricity consumption. Thus, only with greater commitments to decarbonize the US electricity grid and increase research and development can CCU support a sustainable resource-circular strategy, with methane pyrolysis emerging as the most viable technological platform.

Monitoring Migration of Injected CO2 at a Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Via Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) and Behind-Casing Sensors

Conventional reservoir monitoring techniques in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) and CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) sites include surface and bottomhole pressure and temperature monitoring at injection and monitoring wells, along with flow rate measurements of injected CO2. In this paper, novel monitoring techniques involving a realtime distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system and multi-depth behind-casing pressure and temperature sensors are evaluated at a CO2-EOR reef in the Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend (NNPRT). Data from these monitoring technologies are evaluated for the purpose of monitoring bottomhole conditions in response to injection of CO2 at a nearby injection well and monitoring migration of injected CO2 within the storage formation after the monitoring well was converted to an injection well.

Technical Economic and Environmental analysis of Chemical Looping versus oxyfuel combustion for NGCC power plant

The Power Sector is undergoing a rapid technological change with respect to implementation of low carbon technologies. The IEA Energy Outlook 2017 shows that the investments in Renewables for the first time are equal to those on the fossil sources. It is likely that the conventional gas turbines and internal combustion engines will need to be integrated in systems employing biofuels and/or CCUS (Carbon Capture Usage and Storage). Also, the European Union is moving rapidly towards low carbon technologies (i.e. Energy Efficiency, Smart Grids, Renewables and CCUS), see the Energy Union Strategy. Currently 28% of the installed power capacity in Europe is based on natural gas plants. Gas-based power capacity has reached 418 GW in 2016 and is likely to continue to grow in the future. To efficiently capture the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the combustion of natural gas in the combustion chamber a possible solution could be to adopt new combustion processes, like Chemical Looping Combustion. The combination of CLC and GTs can decrease the efficiency of a combined cycle power plant from 60% to about 40.34%. These performances influence costs and environmental burdens and this is also the same for oxyfuel combustion, which is a competing technology to realize CCS. This paper, starting from literature mass and energy balances of a conventional combined cycle, a combined cycle coupled with chemical looping combustor and a combined cycle coupled with oxyfuel combustion, calculates the reduction of CO2 emissions which can be achieved during the whole life cycle of the power plant and then identifies the value of the carbon credit which is needed to have an interesting payback period for such kind of investment.

Concrete and Sustainability – Some Thoughts from a Swedish Horizon

Abstract Concrete production, especially the cement production, stands for 5-8 percent of the global CO2 emissions. Since concrete is the most frequently used man-made construction materials, this fact is not surprising. Concrete is also the only realistic alternative in order to improve the living circumstances in many countries around the world. Due to its size, the concrete sector has a great responsibility for limiting the consequences of the on-going climate change. The Swedish cement producer Cementa has an ambitious zero vision stating zero CO2 emissions in year 2030. The measures include energy efficiency, bio mass instead of fossil fuels, blended cements, CO2 uptake through carbonation and Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). This paper discusses these measures but also others such as optimization of the concrete mix, optimization of the structural geometry and prolongation of the service life. The paper is ended by a section on adaptation since concrete will also have an important role concerning protection of the built environment for climate change. Protection structures against flood, reconstruction of dams, new waste-water systems and bright permeable concrete pavements reflecting sunlight and improving drainage after heavy rain constitute some examples.

Tech-economic and environmental analysis of energy-efficient shale gas and flue gas coupling system for chemicals manufacture and carbon capture storage and utilization

Shale gas and flue gas complementary co-conversion for simultaneous value added chemicals synthesis and carbon capture, utilization and storage are crucial way to energy source utilization and carbon emission mitigation. This paper put forward a novel process design converting shale gas and flue gas into value added chemicals including sulfur, urea and methanol. Three scenarios, urea and methanol parallel, urea priority and methanol priority cases, are placed to make comparison. Process simulation and pinch analysis are employed to simulate the whole process and synthesize heat exchange network. Waste heat recovery and reuse of ready-made CO2 and N2 in flue gas greatly reduce the total energy consumption under same amount of chemicals production and CO2 capture over individual production basis. Tech-economic and environmental analysis results indicate that the urea priority scenario process is superior in economic performance and its net present value is 109.5 MM$, the methanol-urea parallel scenario has the lowest greenhouse gas emission, 367.7 kton CO2-Eq/year while the methanol priority process has highest CO2 utilization proportion 55.57%. This work is great progress for shale gas energy-efficient and economical conversion to chemicals and lower energy penalty of flue gas CCUS of coal-based power plant.