Energy Convers. Mgmt Vol. 33, No. 5 - 8 , pp.

819-823, 1992

0196-8904/92 $5.00+0.00
Copyright 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved

CO 2 REMOVAL; SOME CONCLUSIONS

W.C. TURKENBURG
Department of Science, Technology and Society, University of Utrecht
Padualaan 14, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT
In this article concluding remarks are made about the status and potential of CO 2 removal as an option to
reduce the man-made CO 2 emissions. The remarks are based on the results of the first international
conference on carbon dioxide removal, held in Amsterdam from 4 to 6 March 1992, where aspects like the
technology, the costs, the attainable emission reduction, the environmental consequences and the
competitiveness were discussed. It is concluded that CO 2 removal can contribute substantially to a reduction
of the CO 2 emissions. However, a massive introduction requires further R & D to improve its performance
and to demonstrate that it can be applied within the concepts of sustainable development.

KEYWORDS
Greenhouse problem; CO2; CO 2 removal; CO 2 recovery; CO 2 utilization; CO 2 storage; CO 2 disposal.

INTRODUCTION
In the coming decades, due to human activity, the emission of carbon dioxide may increase from a level of
about 7 GtC in the year 1990 to above 20 GtC in the year 2100, assuming a business-as-usual development
(see figure 1). This may enhance the greenhouse effect, resulting on average in an additional warming of the
Earth's surface. As a consequence the climate on Earth may change strongly, having effects which can be
severe for nature and mankind. To limit the risk of a climate change to sustainable levels, it is claimed that
we should reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, in the case of CO 2 to below 3
GtC per year, as shown in figure 1 by scenario D developed by the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate
Change [IPCC, 1990].
Compared with business-as-usual, a reduction of the total CO 2 emissions between 1990 and 2100 from 1600
GtC to less than 400 GtC seems necessary. It will not be easy to realize such a reduction. Therefore all
options to solve the greenhouse problem have to be developed such that it can be applied within the
concepts of sustainable development. This means that each solution should be environmentally and
ecologically sound, economically applicable and acceptable for the public.
A very attractive and cost-effective solution is energy conservation. It seems feasible to improve the
efficiency of our energy use with 50% on average within three decades, although it might require tough
policy measures like the introduction of a high carbon or energy tax. As an example, the conversion
efficiency in power generation can be increased to 60% using advanced technologies in the field of gas
turbines as well as fuel cells.
Another attractive option is the use of renewable energy sources. In principle we are able to generate all the
energy we need from the sun. However, it will take time before solar energy can have a leading position on
the the energy market. Most promising on a short term is biomass, which in the year 2020 may provide one
third of the energy we need today [Johansson et al., 1992].

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TURKENBURG: CO2 REMOVAL; SOME CONCLUSIONS

BUSINESS

IJJ

1:3
20

~~~L~li00itini

i
o
1980

2000

2020

2040

2060

2080

2100

YEAR
Figure 1.

The man-made emissions of carbon dioxide according to the business-as-usual scenario and
scenario D of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC, 1990]. For sustainable
development the accumulated emissions between 1990 and 2100 have to be reduced with
about 1200 Gton C.

It is questionable whether energy conservation and the application of renewable energy sources can solve the
CO 2 problem quick enough. One reason is the availability of huge fossil fuel reserves that can be explored
profitably. For many countries coal will remain the lowest delivered cost fuel. Therefore we should
investigate possibilities to apply fossil fuels in such a way that it hardly influences the greenhouse effect.
One such option is decarbonisation of fuels and of flue gases, for example by recovering CO 2 from energy
conversion processes and storing the CO 2 outside the atmosphere. CO 2 removal should be developed as an
option that can be applied if we have to.
Since the end of the eighties, CO 2 removal has drawn more and more attention from industries, reseachers
and policy makers. To provide an opportunity to share the progress of our knowledgement about CO 2
removal and to evaluate its potential, the Department of Science, Technology and Society of the University
of Utrecht organized the first international conference on carbon dioxide removal. The conference was held
in Amsterdam from 4 to 6 March 1992. In this article some findings are summarized.

OPTIONS FOR CO 2 RECOVERY

There are many technologies that can be applied to recover, utilize, store or dispose C O 2. We don't know
yet what technologies are the best. Partly this is due to the fact that we do not have enough experience with
all these technologies. In this situation it is very difficult to make specific statements about the prospects of
different recovery technologies. Generally speaking, the application of pre-combustion techniques to recover
CO 2 seems to be more attractive than post-combustion techniques. One such option is the removal of CO 2
from the gasifier in an integrated coal-gasifier combined cycle plant, using a shift reaction and a physical
absorption process to recover the CO 2. Another option is the removal of CO 2 from a process where fuel is
burned in a mixture of O 2 and CO 2. If it would be possible to use gas turbines with CO 2 as working fluid,
recent studies indicate that a high overall efficiencies and a high CO 2 recovery rate can be achieved at
relatively low costs.
Most attention is paid to CO 2 recovery from flue gases by a chemisorption process. The technology is well
known and applied in the chemical industry since many years. The technology has also been use to produce
CO 2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Results from pilot plant studies in Japan and Canada and results from
feasibility studies indicate that there is room to improve the technology and to reduce its costs and energy

TURKENBURG: CO2 REMOVAL; SOME CONCLUSIONS

821

use. This might allow the practical use of flue gas CO 2 recovery by chemisorption techniques in power
plants. Also the use of membranes to separate CO 2 from the flue gases might become a competitive option
if it is possible to overcome their present limitations with respect to selectivity and permeability.

IMPACT ON CONVERSION EFFICIENCY

There is no consensus about the drop in energy conversion efficiencies when CO 2 recovery is implemented.
Different figures are presented. In the case of an ICGCC power plant, for example, an efficiency drop of
10 %, from 43 % to 33 %, has been reported but also a drop of 6 %, from 44 % to 38 %. More attention
should be paid to the explanation of these differences.
Several options are proposed that combine CO 2 removal with high energy conversion efficiencies. A
complex but promising approach is the power plant that integrates CO 2 removal with coal gasification and
the use of molten carbonate fuel cells. Studies done in the Netherlands indicate that such a power plant
might have a conversion efficiency of 42-47 % (LHV) and CO 2 removal costs that are relatively low.

CO 2 REMOVAL COSTS
If we look to the increase of power production costs due to CO 2 removal (including transport and disposal),
minimum figures are presented ranging from 35 % to 100 %. Per ton CO 2 avoided, calculations of the
minimum costs to recover and store CO 2 range from about 20 $ to about 50 $.
One reason for this difference is the lack of consensus about the efficiency drop. Another reason is the use
of different calculation methods (interest rate, depreciation period). Finally differences in local circumstances
are important (disposal option, transport distance). Of course the economics of a specific system also depend
on the potential revenues when for example the recovered CO 2 is used in the chemical industry or in
enhanced oil recovery. The economics are also influenced by the value of avoided CO 2 tax and by credits if
in the same process SO 2 and NO x emission reduction is achieved simultaneously.

A'I'rAINABLE REDUCTION OF CO 2 EMISSIONS

Recovered CO 2 can be utilized in enhanced oil recovery, the food industry, chemical manufacturing and
metal processing industries. In the chemical industry markets can be found in the production of soda ash,
urea and methanol. CO 2 can also be applied in the production of construction materials, solvents, cleaning
compounds and packaging and in wastewater treatment. A massive shift towards carbon dioxide-based
products already occured in the production of pigments that are used in paper, plastics and paint. The
application of CO 2 in chemical products might create a market of several hundred megaton carbon per year,
maybe more. Further study is needed to investigate what the net effect of these applications on CO 2
emission reduction could be.
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using CO 2 as a missible flooding agent is a large potential market. However,
under current conditions the application of CO 2 in EOR is not profitable unless there is access to CO 2 from
a natural underground source nearby the production well.
Several research groups are investigating the possibility to use CO 2 from flue gases for the cultivation of
micro algae. The algae can be used to produce biofuels. Whether this is a viable option is not clear yet. At
least it requires an increase of the photosynthetic and carbon utilization efficiency. Also it should be possible
to harvest the algae at low cost.
The recovered CO 2 can also be stored in depleted natural gas and oil field. During the conference a
statement was made that theoretically it might be possible to store two-third of the CO 2 formed by the
combustion of the world's total oil and gas reserves in the corresponding reservoirs. Earlier estimates were
made for the storage of CO 2 in natural gas fields only, indicating a storage potential of 90 - 400 Gton C in
total [Blok et al, 1989].
During the conference the potential to store CO 2 in aquifers was estimated at about 90 Gton C. Depending
on the presence of adequate trapping structures, this figure might become much higher. Good estimates
cannot be made yet, due to a lack of subsurface data. Also we don't know whether injected CO 2 influences

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TURKENBURG: CO2 REMOVAL; SOME CONCLUSIONS

the storage capacity.

Disposal of CO 2 into ocean basins greater than 3 km in depth would delay equilibration with the atmosphere
for several hundred years. This would eliminate the atmospheric concentration transient of CO 2. Interaction
of CO 2 with calcite-rich sediments might reduce the long-term atmospheric CO 2 enrichment by 50 %. Long
residence times of released CO 2 in the ocean may also be obtained by injection of CO 2 in areas of
downwelling water or by forming solid CO2-hydrates (clathrates) which can sink to the ocean floor. It
should be noted, however, that the dynamics of the processes involved are not understood in detail. An
example is the formation and dissolution of hydrates under deep ocean conditions. Also the impact of CO 2
disposal on the environment and on ocean ecosystems is not known. Therefore we don't know how much
CO 2 can be disposed in the ocean and whether such disposal can be realized in an acceptable way.
Looking to these figures we may conclude that between 1990 and 2100 removal can reduce the emission of
CO 2 with at least 200 Gton C.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
We have to be sure that the technologies to remove CO 2 are environmentally and ecologically sound.
Specific attention should be paid to the storage and disposal of CO 2. One issue is safety. We all know the
accident in Africa, where in 1986 vulcanic CO 2 escaped from lake Nyos, killing more than 1700 people.
First investigations of CO 2 injection in the underground suggest that safety aspects are not a limiting factor
if advanced planning, intensive control, adequate maintenance and appropriate materials are applied. Further
research on the probability and the effects of a CO 2 escape is needed to create a better understanding of the
risks of storing CO 2 in the underground. If stored in aquifers, also the effects on groundwater have to be
analysed.
In the case of CO 2 disposal in the ocean major questions have to be answered before this option can be
applied. One of these question is the effect of pH variation on deep ocean life due to the released CO 2.
Another question is how hydrate particles may interfere with the feeding habits of ocean life. Also the
impact of hydrate particles on benthic organisms and ecosystems as they deposit to the ocean floor should
be analysed.

IMPLEMENTATION
Where and when will CO 2 removal be implemented? As we have seen, some of the technologies involved
are already applied in the food sector, in the chemical sector and in enhanced oil recovery, if the revenues
are higher than the costs. It is not illogical to expect that the application of CO 2 removal to prevent the
emission of CO 2 will first take place in countries with a high awareness of the greenhouse problem, that
have implemented a high carbon tax and that can recover and store CO 2 at low cost. An example is Norway.
Here an interesting project is developed at the offshore natural gas field Sleipner Vest. This field contains a
high percentage of CO 2 that has to be separated before the natural gas can be distributed to the customers.
Stimulated by the introduction of a carbon tax of 40 $ per ton CO 2, it is now planned to inject the separated
CO 2 in a geological formation below the main Steipner platform.
An attractive sector for CO 2 removal is the power production sector, where huge amounts of CO 2 are
emitted from single plants. However, even here we may not expect that decarbonisation technologies will be
introduced within ten years. First the performance of CO 2 removal should be improved. Also it must be
demonstrated that low cost technologies developed recently can be applied in a reliable way.
More attention should be paid to the possibilites of CO 2 removal in other sectors. Preliminary investigations
indicated that CO 2 removal can even be implemented in transport systems. One option is the use of CO 2
traps. Another option is the replacement of petroleum fuels with methanol delivered from biomass and
produced by the so-called hydrocarb process. This would nullify the net effect of CO 2 emissions from motor
vehicles.

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COMPETITIVENESS
One might ask whether the application of CO 2 removal can be done in a cost-effective way when there are
also other options to reduce the CO 2 emissions, especially when these options are developed further. Several
groups have studied this question, using advanced computer models and detailed information about the
possible development of all the different options. The results clearly indicate that in the near future CO 2
removal can indeed be a cost-effective option. It is found that decarbonisation of fuels and of flue gases has
a strong potential especially at severe CO 2 emission constraints like a reduction of the present emissions up
to 50 or 80 %. Also it is found that the main limiting factor to apply decarbonisation might not be its
competitiveness but the availability of enough storage capacity.

R & D REQUIRED
To make CO 2 removal a viable option for massive CO 2 emission reduction, research and development is
needed to reduce its costs, to improve its environmental performance and to understand how it can be
applied within the concepts of sustainable development.
In several countries, like Japan and Norway, important R & D-programmes on CO2-removal have been set
up. In other countries feasibility studies are done to investigate the potential and cost of CO 2 removal.
International cooperation is achieved by the Greenhouse Gas R & D Programme of the International Energy
Agency.
In the field of CO 2 recovery from flue gases using chemisorption techniques, R & D is needed to optimize
the systems involved, to reduce the degradation and the consumption of amines, to control corrosion and to
limit the consumption of energy in the regeneration of the solvent. Attention should also be given to the use
of membranes in the separation of gases. Better membranes have to be developed with high selectivity and
high permeability for the component to be seperated. This may be achieved by the development of liquid
membranes. Another important research issue is the development of a gas turbine with CO 2 as a working
fluid as well as the development of fuel cells that integrate the production of electricity with possibilities to
recover CO 2.
Much more emphasis should be put on questions concerning the utilization, storage and disposal of CO 2.
A systematic search should be made for bulk applications of CO 2 in all industrial sectors. The net effect of
these applications on the emission of CO 2 should be analysed.
The safe and ecologically acceptable storage of CO 2 in the underground has to be investigated further,
especially with respect to CO 2 storage in aquifers. Demonstration projects should be set up. The
acceptability of CO2-disposal in the ocean should be analysed in detail before this option can be applied.
Finally complete system analyses of CO 2 removal options have to be made for different economic sectors.
Also attention should given to the application and the market potential of decarbonated fuels.

REFERENCES
Blok, K., C.A. Hendriks and W.C. Turkenburg, 1989. The Role of Carbon Dioxide Removal in the
Reduction of the Greenhouse Effect, Proceedings of an Experts' Seminar on Energy Technologies for
Reducing Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, OECD/IEA, Paris, Volume 2, pp. 135-155.
Houghton, J.T., G.J. Jenkins and J.J. Ephraums (eds.), 1990. Climate Change; The IPCC Scientific
Assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
IPCC, 1990 (Intergovemmental Panel on Climate Change). See J.T. Haughton et al.
Johansson, T.B., (ed.) 1992. Report of the United Nations Solar Energy Group for Environment and
Development (to be published). See also: T.B. Johansson, H. Kelly, A.K.N. Reddy and R.H. Williams,
Renewables for Fuels and Electricity, Island Press, 1992 (to be published).