Carbon capture and storage

Technology for carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been known in Trinidad and Tobago for decades but is yet to be a component in reducing carbon dioxide emissions of major greenhouse gas-emitting industries. Most recently, a pilot sanctioned by the Ministry of Energy – for the dual purpose of enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration – was undertaken in 2010. Anjani Ganase explains the technology and wonders why it is not used widely in Trinidad’s industrialised centres.

What is carbon capture and storage?

The idea of capturing carbon dioxide emissions to curb global warming was first suggested in 1970s and was developed in 1992 in Norway. It is the method in which carbon dioxide is removed from industrial processes and stored for the long term as an active climate mitigation strategy. Carbon capture is done in three main forms: (1) post-combustion, when the CO2 is extracted from the flue gas (exhaust gas) when the fuel is burned; (2) precombustion, when the gas is heated to allow the separation of gases but before combustion; (3) oxy-fuel combustion, where the fuel is burned in pure oxygen to produce CO2 and water, and then the CO2 is separated.

Storage options of carbon dioxide include pumping the CO2 into geological formations (such as spent oil wells) or the fixation of carbon dioxide in other downstream processes. Carbon dioxide can naturally be found deep in the earth and the technology for storing CO2 is well known as the method used for “enhanced oil recovery.”

CO2 is pumped into oil reservoirs to make it easier to extract residual oil. Success in carbon dioxide capture and storage largely depends on the amount of CO2 being removed in the process and the amount of energy and costs needed to run the technology. Trinidad and Tobago’s industrial plants such as manufacture of LNG or methanol or ammonia potentially generate enough carbon dioxide to make this technology worthwhile, according to Dr Krishna Persad whose KPA company performed the trial in 2010.

Where should carbon capture technology be implemented?

Major industries, such as power generation, cement production, refineries, iron and steel production and petrochemical industries combined contribute up to 31 per cent of global emissions. These industries are expected to become bigger as the world continues to develop and economies grow. The few industries that have adopted the use of carbon capture have successfully captured 85-95 per cent of carbon dioxide from their flue gases.

Another industry where carbon capture and utilisation technology can be used is the manufacture of fertilisers, which is another major emitter of CO2 (two per cent of global emissions). The CO2 released from the production of ammonia is then used to make calcium carbonate, both used to create the fertiliser – calcium ammonium nitrate.

Unfortunately, only about 35 commercial entities around the world use this technology as the focus has been on other strategies for decarbonisation – switching to renewables, increasing fuel efficiency and conservation efforts for natural carbon dioxide sequestration. Nevertheless, any carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere remains there for up to 3,000 years.

Current status of carbon capture and storage (CCS)

The large industries around the world that use carbon capture facilities have collectively captured about 44 megatonnes of carbon dioxide – less than one percent of the CO2 that needs to be removed – this year. Despite the technology being well understood, the handful of industries that use it are mainly in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The majority (65 per cent) of the facilities that utilise CCS are natural gas processing plants; but plans are in train for about 200 other facilities – such as concrete plants, power generators – to adopt the technology by 2030, which should result in the capture of about 220 megatonnes of carbon dioxide. Future use of CCS is hopeful as there are several projects in the planning and development stage.

Why hasn’t carbon capture been implemented sooner?

Trinidad and Tobago could have been in the forefront of the use of this technology. There are no technological limitations; and CCS requires mainly political will and economic strategy. The technology is expensive, but over time technology has become cheaper and applicable at large scales.

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ran an economic projection and policy analysis model for the integration of carbon capture and storage to complement industries. Under the existing policy to limit the global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius, without widespread use of carbon capture and storage, it was found that the global cost of mitigation would be 12 per cent higher by 2075 and 71 per cent higher by 2100. The model also showed that CCS permitted continued growth in these industries, that was less likely with the development of alternatives.

The IPCC has stated that CCS technology must be an essential component of mitigation to stay within the less-than-2 degree rise.

The development of key new technologies is advancing carbon capture. This includes cryogenic carbon capture (using low temperatures to separate the CO2 from other gases) capable of capturing 95-99 per cent of carbon dioxide and other pollutants emitted in flue gas with much lower costs and energy. This technology is especially beneficial to blue hydrogen production to produce hydrogen fuel as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Currently, many countries including Trinidad and Tobago lack policies and a regulatory framework for use of the technology to abate the emissions of carbon dioxide. In the past, governments have regulated the emissions of other chemical pollutants – sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides (responsible for acid rain), CFCs (responsible for the hole in the ozone layer) – so the regulation of excessive carbon dioxide is do-able.

Global leaders and policy makers need to be able to match the cost of climate change against responsible markets and create the regulatory framework that considers the true cost and consequences of irresponsible waste production. The International Energy Agency has already developed a guide to the development of legal and regulatory frameworks for the use of carbon capture and storage. Isn’t it time for Trinidad and Tobago to accelerate its effort to reduce global warming?

References:

Font-Palma, C.; Cann, D.; Udemu, C. Review of Cryogenic Carbon Capture Innovations and Their Potential Applications. C 2021, 7, 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/c7030058

Metz, Bert, et al. IPCC special report on carbon dioxide capture and storage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Paltsev, Sergey, et al. "Hard-to-Abate Sectors: The role of industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) in emission mitigation." Applied Energy 300 (2021): 117322.

Varanasi A. (2019) You Asked: Does Carbon Capture Technology Actually Work? https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/09/27/carbon-capture-technology/#:~:text=The%20first%20carbon%20capture%20plant,Sleipner%2C%20in%20the%20North%20Sea.

Carbon Capture and Utilization in the European Fertilizer Industry. Fertilizers Europe. https://www.fertilizerseurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Carbon-Capture-def-version-1.pdf

https://www.iea.org/fuels-and-technologies/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage

https://theenergyyear.com/articles/geologist-on-trinidads-eor-potential/