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Development of coal fired power plant capacities 2010-2030 (Scenario III: Greenfield and retrofitting)
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In this presentation it is analyzed how the replacement of out-dated power plants can be combined with a German CCS strategy and which environmental impacts this will cause. Although the application of CCS results in net reduction of CO2 emissions, a broader environmental analysis is necessary to show the overall environmental impacts. Based on Lif...
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... time horizon for implementation of 10 years is assumed. As shown in Figure 2 approximately 93% of the whole coal fired power plant stock is equipped with CCS technology in scenario III. Retrofitting causes a loss of capacity because of lower efficiencies which must be compensated with additional Greenfield plants. ...
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... Several recent initiatives aim to evaluate the environmental performance of national CCS deployment strategies (in Germany [5] and the Netherlands [6]). These studies include an assessment of environmental impacts other than the intensification of the greenhouse effect and energy consumption, as well as other capture technologies. ...
This paper presents an environmental assessment of three scenarios postulating a national deployment of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) chain by 2020–2050 on the French biggest industrial CO2 emitters (41 emitters among 9 industrial sectors) that had been carried out as part of the SOCECO2 project.11SOCECO2 project, funded by the French National Research Agency, 2006–2009, involving the following partners: ALSTOM Power, APESA, BRGM, CNRS-CIRED, GDF Suez, IFP Energies nouvelles, INERIS, TOTAL. This analysis is based on the comparison of these CCS scenarios with reference scenarios without CCS at the same timeframe. Results detailed below focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption, although NOx and SOx emissions balances have also been evaluated in the same project. Conclusions of this study provide information about the extent and main contributing factors of potential environmental outcomes (negative or positive) associated to CCS deployment.
... e compared prudently with the result of scenario IV in our study, which showed a reduction in SO 2 and NO x emissions of 27% and 20%, respectively. It should be noted that the CO 2 reduction in scenario IV is significantly less with 25%. Thus if equal CO 2 emission reduction was targeted, then our study would likely produce more comparable results. Markewitz et al. (2009) also reported a change in emission levels of SO 2 and NO x for scenarios that include CCS in the German power sector in the period between 2020 and 2030. For their scenario that encompasses equipping existing and new coal fired power plants with post-combustion capture technology they found a decrease in SO 2 emissions of 83% compared t ...
This study quantifies the trade-offs and synergies between climate and air quality policy objectives for the European power and heat (P&H) sector. An overview is presented of the expected performance data of CO2 capture systems implemented at P&H plants, and the expected emission of key air pollutants, being: SO2, NOX, NH3, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM). The CO2 capture systems investigated include: post-combustion, oxyfuel combustion and pre-combustion capture.For all capture systems it was found that SO2, NOx and PM emissions are expected to be reduced or remain equal per unit of primary energy input compared to power plants without CO2 capture. Increase in primary energy input as a result of the energy penalty for CO2 capture may for some technologies and substances result in a net increase of emissions per kWh output. The emission of ammonia may increase by a factor of up to 45 per unit of primary energy input for post-combustion technologies. No data are available about the emission of VOCs from CO2 capture technologies.A simple model was developed and applied to analyse the impact of CO2 capture in the European P&H sector on the emission level of key air pollutants in 2030. Four scenarios were developed: one without CO2 capture and three with one dominantly implemented CO2 capture system, varying between: post-combustion, oxyfuel combustion and pre-combustion.The results showed a reduction in GHG emissions for the scenarios with CO2 capture compared to the baseline scenario between 12% and 20% in the EU 27 region in 2030. NOx emissions were 15% higher in the P&H sector in a scenario with predominantly post-combustion and lower when oxyfuel combustion (−16%) or pre-combustion (−20%) were implemented on a large scale. Large scale implementation of the post-combustion technology in 2030 may also result in significantly higher, i.e. increase by a factor of 28, NH3 emissions compared to scenarios with other CO2 capture options or without capture. SO2 emissions were very low for all scenarios that include large scale implementation of CO2 capture in 2030, i.e. a reduction varying between 27% and 41%. Particulate Matter emissions were found to be lower in the scenarios with CO2 capture. The scenario with implementation of the oxyfuel technology showed the lowest PM emissions followed by the scenario with a significant share allocated to pre-combustion, respectively −59% and −31%. The scenario with post-combustion capture resulted in PM emissions varying between 35% reduction and 26% increase.
CCS (carbon capture and storage) is a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by capturing and subsequently storing the CO2, while CCU (carbon capture and utilisation) is a way of recycling the carbon in the captured CO2 by converting it into new products. CCS aims at improving the results for one environmental indicator while CCU represents a multi-functional system. It is therefore crucial, when comparing CCU with CCS or no capture, that more than one indicator is used. Also vital is the need to establish relevant system boundaries and to define a joint functional unit, so as to create a robust decision basis for the selection of the environmentally preferable option.
Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment was used to compare the environmental impact of capturing CO2 from the flue gases in a subcritical coal power plant by using three technologies, namely, absorption with two types of amine processes (Econamine and Econamine FG+) and CaO looping. The results were benchmarked against the same power plant with no capture unit. The intended application of the study is to evaluate whether CaO looping can be an alternative to conventional chemical absorption by amine-based processes for capturing CO2. The inclusion of the CO2 capture unit showed a net reduction only in those impact categories directly associated with the reduction of CO2 as flue gas emissions, i.e. climate change, particulate matter and terrestrial acidification. Emissions for the Climate Change category were 0.33, 0.27 and 0.26kgCO2-eq/kWh for the two amine based systems (Econamine and Econamine FG+, respectively) and the CaO looping capture unit, thereby reducing the emissions of the same plant without a capture unit (0.96 kg CO2-eq/k Wh). Consequently, with the assumptions and system boundaries defined in this study, the CaO looping is a viable alternative to amine-based systems from the environmental point of view. However, taking into account that CaO looping is a process still under development, additional research and process scale-up is necessary to confirm this result.
This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.
CO_2 absorption processes have a good potential for large scale capture of CO_2 but a large amount of absorbing solution has to be regenerated, undesirably increasing the consumption of energy such as sensible heat and latent heat of vaporization. In this study, a cooling crystallization process which would separate the CO_2-rich potassium bicarbonate crystals from CO_2-lean water was developed to reduce the energy penalty. Sterically hindered alkanolamine additives were used to enhance the CO_2 removal efficiency and their antisolvent effect on the crystallization was found in a continuous cooling crystallizer. The production yields of crystals were increased in the sequence of 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) nuclear magnetic resonance, the additives favored the formation of bicarbonate ions by steric hindrance effect and increased the supersaturation of KHCO_3. It is shown that the additives increase the mean size of crystals and crystal growth rate by increasing supersaturation. The additives are promising for enhancing the CO_2 removal efficiency and reducing the regeneration energy cost of CO_2 absorbing solution by promoting KHCO_3 crystallization.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to enable significant reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from stationary sources such as coal-fired power stations. The most advanced carbon capture technology is CO2 absorption using amine-based solvents, such as monoethanolamine (MEA). However, there is concern that the increased use of amine-based solvents will lead to other potential negative environmental impacts, such as increased human toxicity. The use of benign inorganic solvents, such as potassium carbonate, which do not degrade in the presence of oxygen or other impurities such as sulphurous or nitrous oxides offer significant advantages over amine-based solvents in terms of environmental impact. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) between the use of MEA and the CO2CRC's potassium carbonate based UNO MIC 3 technology for the capture of 1 tonne of CO2 from a brown-coal fired power station has been completed. The results reveal that the UNO MK 3 process is significantly better than MEA on ecotoxicity and carcinogen emissions and substantially better on all other indicators. The benefits of the UNO MK 3 process compared with MEA are due to avoidance of emissions from MEA degradation along with the savings in energy use for CO2 removal. The significant environmental benefits of the UNO MK 3 process compared with MEA were not altered by an uncertainty analysis or sensitivity analysis of key inputs and assumptions.
Ist CCS - die Abscheidung und Lagerung von CO2 - die Lösung des Klima - problems oder nur ein Nebenton im Konzert der Klimaschutzoptionen? Steht die Techno logie kurz vor dem Durchbruch oder ist sie Zukunftsmusik? Gibt es eine Regulierung, die alle Optionen offenhält und zugleich alle Risiken ausschließt?Recently there has been animated discussion about the contribution of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) to achieve climate protection goals. This overview of the current state of knowledge and discussion about potentials, risks, environmental impacts, costs, as well as questions on the integration of CCS into the energy system shows: There is still a considerable need for research and development until CCS is ready for deployment. Currently, while the EU and national levels invest significant energy to create a legal regulatory framework for CCS, they are confronted with the challenge of adequately dealing with a subject characterized by a large number of "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns".
In order to reduce climate-related CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants CO2 can be captured and stored. Alternatively, CO2 can also be used as resource for new products. One way to use CO2 from flue gases is a photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to methanol or methane using dye-sensitized semiconductors according to the overall equations (1) and (2): CO2 + 2 H2O + solar energy → CH3OH + 1.5 O2 (1); CO2 + 2 H2O → CH4 + 2 O2 (2). These photocatalytic processes have been investigated within the research project “Solar2Fuel (S2F)”, clarifying the technical requirements, economic conditions and ecological impacts of the concepts.
This paper evaluates the energetic and ecological prospects of the two photocatalytic S2F concepts in comparison to conventional technologies for power generation and methanol/methane production. The study uses the Life Cycle Assessment method to determine ecological effects and to identify weak points of the concepts.
Results of global warming potential indicate that the S2F concept has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions in comparison to conventional power generation and methanol/methane production. But the S2F concept needs large amounts of water in regions which suffer from water shortages. Furthermore, distillation of methanol produced by photocatalysis has been identified as a weak point with respect to energetic and ecological impacts. Hence, the methane producing S2F concept shows a better ecological performance than the S2F methanol process.
Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) solvents offer a lower cost and environmentally benign alternative to the traditional amine-based solvents for post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from power station flue gases. The CO2CRC is developing a precipitating K2CO3 process, termed UNO MK 3, which has the potential for significant cost reductions. The costs have been calculated based on capturing 90% of the CO2 emissions from a new build black coal (Illinois No. 6) power station with a net output of 550 MW. With the UNO MK 3 process for CO2 capture, the cost of electricity is predicted to be as low as $73/MWh and the cost of capture as low as $21/tonne of CO2 avoided. The cost of electricity with the UNO MK 3 process represents as low as a 24% increase in the cost of electricity, which meets the target set by the US Department of Energy for capture technologies of adding less than 35% to the cost of electricity.
