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ECN publication
Title:
Global Technology Roadmap for CCS in Industry
 
Author(s):
 
Published by: Publication date:
ECN Biomass, Coal and Environmental Research 8-2-2011
 
ECN report number: Document type:
ECN-E--11-012 ECN publication
 
Number of pages: Full text:
34 Download PDF  

Abstract:
The biomass industry involves a range of processes that convert a raw biomass feedstock into products such as pulp and paper, sugar, timber and final energy products. Biomass conversion combined with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to generate useful energy products such as electricity, bioethanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, substitute natural gas (bio-methane) and hydrogen, while removing CO2 from the natural carbon cycle for geological timescales (Rhodes and Keith, 2003). Under the most stringent climate change mitigation scenarios, an average minimum temperature increase of 1.4 °C is likely to occur during the 21st century (Van Vuuren et al., 2008). This corresponds to an increase of approximately 2.0 °C in comparison with preindustrial levels. Mitigation scenarios incorporate forcing targets below 3.5 Watt per m2, which indicate that CO2 emissions in 2100 should be lowered by 20-60% with respect to 2000. Modelling suggests that the application of bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) is indispensable to in order to achieve deep emission reductions in the longer term, in particular under the most stringent climate change mitigation scenarios (Fischer et al., 2007). The use of CO2 neutral biomass has the potential to achieve net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere when used in combination with CCS. This is important as it allows offsetting historic CO2 emissions and emissions from dispersed sources. Fossil fuel conversion with CCS typically only mitigates 80 to 90% of the original CO2 emissions of a source (IPCC, 2005). BECCS technologies involve the use CCS with the conversion of biomass to electricity or biofuels, or hybrid concepts that can produce both. BECCS could also facilitate a further reduction of the net present value cost for meeting relatively low atmospheric CO2 concentration stabilization targets, when compared with CCS from fossil fuels only (Azar et al, 2006). The reduction of added costs appears to become more significant with ambitious atmospheric CO2 concentration stabilization targets. A general tendency that can be observed from various stabilization scenarios is that the CO2 emission abatement through the use of biomass grows relatively slowly during the first half of the century, with projected mitigation potentials of up to 7,000 million tonnes CO2 per year by 2050. While the abatement is expected to increase more rapidly during the second half of the century, with projected mitigation potentials of up to 27,000 million tonnes CO2 per year by 2100 (Fischer et al., 2007). The scope of this assessment initially focuses on the conversion of biomass with CCS in the manufacturing industry and biofuels production; not taking into account electricity generation. Recent projections for 2020 and 2050 (IEA 2009b; IEA, 2010) indicate that the contribution of biofuels production with CCS to the combined share of biomass-based CCS in the manufacturing industry and biofuels production is by far the most significant. Therefore a number of concepts for the production of biofuels with CCS will be discussed more in-depth later during this assessment.


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