Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ACCSESS (Providing access to cost-efficient, replicable, safe and flexible CCUS)
Période du rapport: 2022-11-01 au 2024-04-30
CO2 capture is demonstrated in a pilot plant in an operational environment (TRL7), as well as through systematic desktop studies of CO2 capture integration, transport, utilisation, and storage. ACCSESS addresses industrial business models, including the end-product cost when applying CCS. The project engages with cities to explore and explain how CO2 capture can contribute to urban climate neutrality.
ACCSESS has 3 main objectives:
1) Demonstrate and integrate cost-efficient CO2 capture and use in industrial installations. Two technologies are being demonstrated. i) CO2 capture, using an environmentally benign solvent together with a rotary packed bed absorber ii) CO2 use through carbonation of alkaline industrial mineral wastes.
2) Provide access routes for CO2 captured from European industries in inland Europe and the Baltics to the flexible transport and storage infrastructures under development in the North Sea. This work combines techno-economic analysis with environmental, legal, regulatory and resilience analyses.
3) Leverage on carbon dioxide removal to drive societal integration of CO2 capture, utilisation and storage towards urban and European sustainability.
ACCSESS has 18 partners from 9 European countries, and 5 linked third parties.
CO2 utilization pilot: Neustark has designed and built a rig for testing and demonstrating re-carbonation of industrial alkaline mineral wastes. Two types of waste have been tested. A supporting process model, calibrated with experimental results, was developed.
Integration of CO2 capture has been investigated, along with studies of improvement potential in industrial plant design when implementing CO2 capture.
• Pulp and paper: Integration of CO2 capture has been investigated for the Skutskär kraft pulp mill and the Langerbrugge recycled paper mill.
• Cement: CO2 capture integration at the Górażdże and Hannover cement kilns was investigated with respect to energy use and cost. KHD has developed new cement kiln concepts, specifically designed for amine capture integration and together with Linde determined costs and cost savings for this new kiln system with CO2 capture.
• Waste-to-energy: Capture integration in view of the regulatory requirements for the Waste-to-Energy sector was investigated. Capture technology integration was studied for amine and non-amine solvents, membranes and oxyfuel combustion.
• Biorefineries: A biorefinery CO2 capture study with TEOT data was performed, evaluating options for cost-efficient clustering of emission points on site.
Participants in capture integration work: Industrial end-users (Stora Enso, Heidelberg Materials, Celsio, VBSA, TEOT, Equinor), industry partners (Saipem, Linde, KHD) and research partners (SINTEF, ETH, VDZ and Chalmers).
Chains and Clusters: Four “pioneering CO2 chains” (existing technologies), were studied from techno-economic and environmental perspectives. Current regulatory gaps for cross-border CO2 transport were assessed. The work is now taken forward through investigation of more advanced capture and transport technologies, using the same methodologies as for the pioneering chains, also incorporating industrial clusters and clustering. Main research partners: SINTEF, ETH and Chalmers with support from project industry partners.
Heriot-Watt University performed experiments on hydrate formation in pure and impure CO2-H2O mixtures and developed models for the phase envelope of CO2-H2O hydrates. SINTEF have developed and verified equations of state for CO2-rich mixtures. Moss Maritime has developed a ship design for large-scale, low-pressure ship transport of CO2.
Chalmers studied the impact from CO2 capture and storage on product cost and carbon footprint in the cement, pulp, Waste-to-Energy and refineries sectors, showing that end-product cost increase typically is marginal. A new value chain transition fund concept for financing such high-cost abatement measures was proposed.
Citizen engagement and acceptance has been investigated by Fraunhofer. Surveys to gather citizens' attitude towards CO2 capture, utilization and storage were conducted, and neutral packaged solutions documents for cities were developed. These explaining concrete technology cases for non-experts such as city administrations.
The pilot for demonstrating industrial re-carbonation of alkaline industrial waste has operated with pure CO2. Results indicate that the technology can be implemented at industrial scale at feasible cost.
Heat integration opportunities for solvent capture appear to be good for a chemical pulp mill but limited for a recycled paper mill. A new type of cement kiln, based on known equipment and processes, has been developed specifically for integration with solvent-based CO2 capture (patent pending). A key message for CO2 capture integration in Waste to Energy, after a deep-dive in emissions data from several WtE plants, is that it is necessary to know both the plant and the flue gas composition, dedicated pilot testing with the targeted flue gas during feed studies is advised. The insights are transferrable to other industrial sectors.
The development, design, techno-economic, environmental, and regulatory analysis was concluded for four pioneering chains that capture and condition CO2 from existing European industrial plants via multi-modal transport to selected ports in Northern Europe. Geographic location of the industrial emitters and the CO2 volumes to be transported substantially affect the economic and environmental performance of the chains.
Procedures for safe, large-scale ship-transport CO2 loading and offloading are being developed, taking into account project results.
The minor impact of CO2 capture on end-product costs has been calculated and a Value Chain Transition fund as a potential element in future business models has been proposed. A handbook for cities on how CO2 cpature and stroage could contribute to unlock urban carbon neutrality is being developed.