Carbon capture and biomass in industry: A techno-economic analysis and comparison of negative emission options

Meeting the Paris Agreement will most likely require the combination of CO2 capture and biomass in the industrial sector, resulting in net negative emissions. CO2 capture within the industry has been extensively investigated. However, biomass options have been poorly explored, with literature alluding to technical and economic barriers. In addition, a lack of consistency among studies makes comparing the performance of CO2 capture and/or biomass use between studies and sectors difficult. These inconsistencies include differences in methodology, system boundaries, level of integration, costs, greenhouse gas intensity of feedstock and energy carriers, and capital cost estimations. Therefore, an integrated evaluation of the techno-economic performance regarding CO2 capture and biomass use was performed for five energy-intensive industrial sub-sectors. Harmonization results indicate that CO2 mitigation potentials vary for each sub-sector, resulting in reductions of 1.4-2.7 t CO2/t steel (77%-149%), 0.7 t CO2/t cement (92%), 0.2 t CO2/t crude oil (68%), 1.9 t CO2/t pulp (1663%-2548%), and 34.9 t CO2/t H-2 (313%). Negative emissions can be reached in the steel, paper and H2 sectors. Novel bio-based production routes might enable net negative emissions in the cement and (petro) chemical sectors as well. All the above-mentioned potentials can be reached for 100 (sic)/t CO2 or less. Implementing mitigation options could reduce industrial CO2 emissions by 10 Gt CO2/y by 2050, easily meeting the targets of the 2 degrees C scenario by the International Energy Agency (1.8 Gt CO2/y reduction) for the industrial sector and even the Beyond 2 degrees C scenario (4.2 Gt CO2/y reduction).

Automated summary

The research indicates that implementing CO2 capture and biomass utilization measures can achieve CO2 emissions reduction and net negative emissions in the industrial sector. There are variations in emission reduction potential and implementation methods across different industries, but significant emission reductions are expected to be achieved in the coming decades.