Feasibility study for a carbon capture and storage project in northern Italy

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels has caused an increase in GHG concentration in the atmosphere, which has a direct effect on global warming. Among the possible technologies to mitigate GHG emissions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be applied to existing plants and now it is being accepted officially in order to gain emission reduction certificates. This paper presents a feasible solution for CO2 capture and storage network in Italy from sources that are included in the National Allocation Plan and that are forced to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the second phase of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. The technical aspects of carbon sequestration are derived from industrial applications, while transportation and storage depend on local and geological characteristics. Since Italy has complex geological characteristics, the selection of the most convenient sites should include hydrocarbon reservoirs that are currently used or are depleted. To select these sites, all oil wells that are located in the Italian territory and are managed by UNMIG (National Mining Office for Hydrocarbons and Geothermy) were considered, and a short list was selected among those that have safety and lasting characteristics to ensure a long time permanence. The position of the selected storage sites is drawn on a GIS map containing all the plants included in the National Allocation Plan to be able to identify the optimal networks for carbon dioxide transportation. The case study is located in an area that includes Milan, Pavia and Lodi districts. Knowing the amount of CO2 produced by plants in the selected zone, it is possible to determine the tons of CO2 to capture and the size of transportation and storage systems. Pipelines are, in this case, the most appropriate transport technologies. From emission and sequestration points to storage sites it is necessary to build 122km pipelines for 8MtCO2 capacity. Using this CCS grid it is possible to avoid CO2 emission with economic feasibility close to the cost of carbon trading values. In fact, the market cost of a European Union Allowance (EUA) at the start of the first period of application of Directive 2003/87/CE was about 30 h/tCO2

A review of recent developments in carbon capture utilizing oxy-fuel combustion in conventional and ion transport membrane systems

“…Many research investigations have been performed in the area of CO 2 capture [4,5]. A review of the technologies used and proposed during the last two decades for coal-based power generation closest to commercial application and involving carbon capture was presented by Wall [6].…”

“…The main advantages of this technology are: 1) the potential to achieve up to 100% CO 2 capture; 2) reducing the power consumption by nearly 70% compared to the currently existing methods of O 2 production and 3) increasing the power generation efficiency by 4% compared to a conventional oxyfuel process. In catalytic combustion, the membrane acts as a reactor for a partial oxidation of hydrocarbons [69], which produces syngas composed of CO and H 2 from CH 4 and O 2 [71,74]. Thus, ITM catalytic combustion allows for an efficient combustion of methane at concentrations and temperatures lower than those used in flame combustion without undesired byproducts such as unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen.…”

Characteristics and economic evaluation of a power plant applying oxy-fuel combustion to increase power output and decrease CO2 emission

“…The liquefied CO 2 can be used for oil recovery enhancement or reused as a carbon resource for producing chemicals such as methanol from hydrogen if it can be inexpensively obtained by using a renewable energy source, such as solar energy, in the future [17,18], or will be sequestrated under the ground or at a deep sea bottom [19].…”

Comprehensive evaluation of a CO2-capturing high-efficiency power generation system for utilizing waste heat from factories

“…The liquefied CO 2 will be used for oil recovery enhancement or reused as a carbon resource for producing chemicals such as methanol from hydrogen if it can be inexpensively obtained by using renewable energy, for example solar energy in the future [18,19], or will be sequestrated under the ground or on deep sea bottom [20].…”