CO2

ENERGY

BECCS

BIOENERGY EXPLAINED 7 BIOENERGY CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

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Place du Champ de Mars 2A 1050 Brussels T : +32 2 318 40 34 [email protected] www.bioenergyeurope.org EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

With current CO2 emissions reaching a critical point, Bioenergy Carbon Capture and storage combines decarbonisation is necessary to limit the raise in global biomass energy applications with the capture and temperature and mitigate harmful climate-related storage of CO2 thus providing net removal of CO2 effects on the planet. Considering the urgency of the from the atmosphere. The best results in terms task at hand, a drastic reduction of carbon emissions of mitigating climate change can be achieved if must be complemented with options for greenhouse BECCS -solutions are used as an additional tool gas removals. Different solutions can deliver negative to conventional mitigation - to be combined with emissions: some of them are referred to as natural, a prompt scaling-up of bioenergy. As bioenergy is others are technology based. In the first category integrated in numerous industrial sectors, bioenergy afforestation and reforestation absorb CO2 through carbon capture and storage is a versatile technology plant growth, modified agricultural practice can that can be applied to power generation (BECCS) increase carbon storage in soil, thus removing it from and to different industrial installations (in cement, the atmosphere (through incorporation of biochar in ethanol, pulp and paper among others) using biomass soils for example). Among the most promising NETs, as feedstock. Sustainability of the biomass feedstock Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is the used is paramount for BECCS to deliver negative most mature and allows for the production of clean carbon emissions and the EU legislation provides the energy coupled with the permanent capture of CO2. right tools to ensure this. Although already proven, To reach Paris Agreement’s objectives a wise mix of technical complexities inherent to the technology complementary solutions must have to be used. would require more R&I efforts, and thus further public support and a dedicated legislative framework facilitating its uptake and its economic profitability.

emissions technologies will have to be deployed to INTRODUCTION offset unavoidable emissions and reach net zero GHG emissions. This has also been recently recognised by In combination with carbon capture and storage the Declaration on Nordic Carbon Neutrality, by which technologies bioenergy has the potential to deliver Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark negative emissions. Its deployment would be perfectly committed to intensify cooperation on a number of areas in line with the achievement of the commitments including “bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) technologies, taken in Paris and enable the transition to a carbon conducting research to resolve the remaining neutral economy, keeping temperature from rising by technical challenges and developing business models more than 1.5°C. Bioenergy Europe does not suggest for the implementation of CCS(Carbon Capture and reliance on Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage Storage), CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilisation)”.4 technologies as an alternative to conventional mitigation but, rather as an additional tool, which can A mix of timely measures and development of be combined with a decisive scale up of bioenergy. technologies must be galvanized, such as a fossil fuel

1 2 3 phase out, an increased use of sustainable energy IPCC , IEA and the European Commission acknowledge sources and a comprehensive energy efficiency that moving away from fossil fuels as soon as possible approach measures. Bioenergy with carbon capture and removing some of the historical CO from the 2 and storage (BECCS) is the most mature among the atmosphere with natural solutions like afforestation key mitigation technologies to achieve negative CO2 and technological as BECCS is vital to achieve the emissions and can be scaled up at reasonable costs.5 goal of the Paris Agreement. Indeed, negative

3 BECCS is the most mature of the very few demonstrated WHAT IS BECCS – WHAT negative emission technologies.6 It combines biomass IS BECCU AND WHY ARE energy applications with the capture and storage of CO2 and has the potential to provide a net removal of CO from the atmosphere. Energy production THEY OFTEN MENTIONED 2 (electricity, heat and cooling) from sustainable TOGETHER? biomass is carbon neutral, because the carbon released in the atmosphere during energy conversion was first taken from the atmosphere during the phase of photosynthesis. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) In the case of BECCS, the CO2 is captured before and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Utilization being released in the atmosphere, then transported (BECCU) are often mentioned together. Although and permanently stored in a suitable geological they are different technologies with different final formation. This establishes a negative flow of CO2 objectives, they both reduce emissions and can be from the atmosphere to the subsurface.7 Indeed, used in combination to improve the economics of the through BECCS carbon is extracted from the carbon projects. cycle, while at the same time avoiding the use of fossil energy and the associated CO2 emissions.

BIOMASS BIOFUELS ASBSORBING ELECTRICITY & BIOFUEL CO & HEAT/COOLING PRODUCTION 2 PRODUCTION

CO2 CO2 COLLECTION & SEPARATION & COMPRESSION COMPRESSION

CO2 STORAGE

Source: IEA (2017), Bioenergy Technology p.43

4 Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Utilisation closes P the loop: it contributes to leaving fossil carbon in the ground, and closing the carbon loop above the ground.10 ATMOSPHERIC CARBON ELECTRICITY Source: IEA Bioenergy – Bio-CCS and Bio- CCU FOSSIL CARBON Climate change mitigation and extended use of CO biomass raw material 2 UTILISATION

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BECCU uses CO2 as feedstock and converts it into it delivers other societal and environmental services, value-added products such as synthetic fuels, as it helps: chemicals, or food & beverage or building materials.8 Through BECCU the captured carbon from a biomass • Achieving a more efficient use of bioenergy while energy conversion can be recycled via chemical or allowing for contributing leaving fossil carbon to biological processes to form biochar, synthetic fuels, remain in the ground; bulk and specialty chemicals as well as polymers, and • Supporting the circular economy by converting 9 construction materials through mineralisation. waste CO2 to added-value products; • Developing industrial innovation and competitiveness While BECCU is not a negative emission technology, by creating new market opportunities.

Main CO2 utilisation routes and applications

CARBON DIOXIDE, CO2

MINERALISATION CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL CONVERSION CONVERSION DIRECT Construction materials UTILISATION concrete aggregates Greenhouses Carbonates precipitated Algae cultivations ood and beverages calcium carbonate CC Biological methanation Industrial gas Refrigerants orking fluids Solvents + +H2 +H2 +N2 pH control Enhanced oil recovery EOR POLYMERS FUELS & COMMODITIES Enhanced coal bed methane CHEMICALS olycarbonates Reneable urea recovery ECBM olyols

METHANE METHANOL FORMIC ACID SYNTHESIS GAS

CH4 CH3OH HCOOH COH2

FISCHER-TROPSCH SYNTHESIS

DIESEL, MTBE* METHANOL, OLEFINS FORMALDEHYDE GASOLINE GASOLINE, ETHANOL ... DME** OLEFINS ...

* METHYL-TERT-BUTYLETHER ** DIMETHYLETHER 5 One of the key differences between BECCS and BECCU is that the latter enables the economic use of CO2, with temporary storage but with possible re- 2. CO2 COMPRESSION emissions of CO2 at the end, while CCS technology aims for a permanent underground storage of CO2, This phase is aimed at reducing the volume of CO2. thus excluding its use. The CO2 rich stream is dehydrated, compressed (or liquified) and transported to a storage site. In certain systems, these technologies can be combined by first making use of valorising the CO2 in a first step via BECCU, and then by storing the 3. CO2 TRANSPORT CO2 emitted in a last step via CCS. Since BECCU is a commercial technology, it can help the uptake of There are different CO2 transport options such as BECCS if used in combination with it, helping to tick pipelines, shipping or even road transport. In most the boxes of reducing CO2 emissions and contributing cases a mix of options is used as most storage sites to the achievement of circular economy. are/will be located below the ocean.

4. CO2 Storage

There are different CO2 storage options such as: • Saline aquifers (saltwater-bearing rocks unsuitable for human consumption) HOW DOES • Depleted oil and gas fields • Deep unmineable coal beds BECCS WORK • Mineralisation13

Bioenergy Carbon Capture and storage involves four main steps: capturing CO2, compressing it, transporting and finally storing it.

1. CAPTURING CO2

The first phase consists in capturing the CO2. This process separates the CO2 from other components such as steam, nitrogen, sulphur and particles WHAT ARE THE to achieve the purest composition for transport SECTORS OF POSSIBLE and storage. There are at least five possibilities of achieving this in energy production from biomass: APPLICATIONS? a. High concentration streams from industrial processes: Several industrial sector already benefit from bioenergy

purification of high concentration CO2 streams in their processes. Thanks to its dispatchability (e.g. from ethanol). and versatility, bioenergy successfully meets the temperature, pressure and quantity of thermal b. Post-combustion: CO2 is removed from the exhaust gas through absorption by selective solvents. energy requirements of different manufacturing processes. 7% of the global industry energy demand c. Pre-combustion: The fuel is pre-treated and (204 Mtoe) was satisfied by bioenergy in 2017.14 converted into a mix of CO and hydrogen, from 2 Switching from fossil fuels to biomass can help which the CO is separated. The hydrogen is then 2 decarbonise industrial processes. BECCS can be used as fuel, or burnt to produce energy. therefore applied to various sectors and different d. Oxy-fuel combustion: The fuel is burned with pure installations, such as: oxygen instead of air, producing a flue stream of

CO2 and water vapour without nitrogen. • Biopower e. Chemical-Looping-Combustion (CLC): The oxygen • Biomass-based Combined Heat and Power needed for combustion is provided by a solid • Pulp and paper mills oxygen carrier, thus avoiding contact between • Lime kilns fuel and air. The solid oxygen carrier circulates • Iron and Steel industry (where pulverized coal between a fuel reactor, where the oxygen carrier injection is replaced by torrefied pellets) is reduced, and the biomass oxidized to CO and • Ethanol plants 2 • Fischer Tropsch diesel plants H2O, then transported to the air reactor and oxidized to its original form before a new cycle is • Biogas refineries 12 • Biomass gasification plants. started. CO2 capture is inherent to the process. 6 The implementation of BECCS also depends on of smaller in scale when compared to fossil- technological advancements and progresses within based installations. This might be a barrier for the the deployment of conventional CCS. While capturing achievement of economics of scale, especially in

CO2 from biomass conversion technologies may be the absence of clusters; achieved with technologies that are very similar to the ones used to capture CO2 from fossil fuels, • Although no particular technical restrictions certain technical differences need to be considered to the capture of biogenic CO2 exist in energy and further evaluated, such as: generation applications or industrial processes,15 the presence of impurities resulting from in • Size and location of emission sources: biomass- the combustion process, ashes and flue gases based installations are often decentralized and represents a further complexity in the process.16

MANURE, BIODEGRADABLE FERMENTATION CO2 SEPARATION BIOMETHANE WASTE

SUGAR, FERMENTATION CO SEPARATION H2O SEPARATION ETHANOL STARCH CROPS 2

SOLID, PRE-TREATMENT LIGNIN DRY BIOMASS & HYDROLYSIS

WATER-GAS SHIFT GASIFICATION HYDROGEN & CO2 SEPARATION

OXYGEN and/or STEAM METHANATION SNG

DIESEL FISCHER-TROPSCH GASOLINE SYNTHESIS KEROSENE

METHANOL DME OXYGEN SYNTHESIS GASOLINE and/or STEAM

PRE-COMBUSTION GASIFICATION COMBUSTION CO2 CAPTURE

ELECTRICITY COMBUSTION POST-COMBUSTION ELECTRICITY CO2 CAPTURE GENERATION &/OR HEAT

AIR OXYGEN OXYFUEL COMBUSTION

AMMONIA INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES & CEMENT IRON & STEEL CO2 CAPTURE REFINERIES

LEGEND

FEEDSTOCK CO2 TRANSPORT BIO-CHEMICAL CONVERSION & STORAGE THERMO-CHEMICAL CONVERSION

CO2 CAPTURE FUEL OR ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION Source: ZEP/EBTP 2012 ABCD FINAL OUTPUT 7

IS BECCS IS THERE ENOUGH SUSTAINABLE? SUSTAINABLE BIOMASS

The biomass feedstock used must be sustainable TO DEPLOY BECCS AT THE for BECCS to deliver negative carbon emissions. In SCALE NEEDED? the EU, thanks to the tight environmental legislative framework and the sustainability criteria introduced by the revised Renewable Energy Directive (2018 REDII) as well as and the requirements of the Regulation on Bioenergy represents 63% of the renewable energy Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), mix today and is one of the main drivers of a European we can be sure that the biomass used and traded carbon neutral economy. A variety of biomass is sustainably sourced. These criteria apply to for feedstocks is potentially available to serve as vectors biomass used within the EU, irrespective of the of decarbonisation of fuel supply to release energy, geographical origin of the biomass. An international such as: alignment of regulations on this subject would help improving the global sustainability performance of • Forestry residues: bark, small branches, thinnings, biomass.17 residues from sawmills; • Organic waste: waste wood, the organic fraction According to the above-mentioned legislation, for of municipal solid waste, livestock manures, biomass to be sustainable: sewage sludge, etc.; • Energy crops: crops specifically grown for • No land use change can occur because of energy production (e.g. short rotation coppices, agricultural and forest biomass production. miscanthus and switchgrass); Agricultural biomass cannot be grown in primary and highly-biodiverse forests, grassland and • Agricultural residues: straw, prunings, nutshells, land with high carbon stocks such as wetlands fruit kernels, etc. and peatlands. For all types of biomass, net- carbon emissions from land use change must be Scientific studies identify a substantial growth accounted for under the greenhouse gas emission potential for biomass leading to 2050 - if the right saving criteria. measures are put in place. A recent literature review • Greenhouse gas emission savings must be concludes that sustainable biomass in the EU can achieved.18 The GHG emission saving calculation reach potential of 406 Mtoe (17 EJ) by 2050. This accounts for the lifecycle emissions of bioenergy would provide enough feedstock to triple the amount 19 production such as the transport and processing of bioenergy in the EU-28 energy mix. emissions and thus guarantees that the positive 800 effects of bioenergy in comparison to fossil fuels 737 are maintained in the future. 700 • Carbon stocks must be maintained. The 119 forest’s long-term production capacity must

be maintained or improved and LULUCF sector 600 emissions cannot exceed removals. • Harvesting must be performed legally, 500 biodiversity and soil quality preserved to protect areas designated for nature protection purposes 406 and to guarantee that forest regeneration takes 400 place. 444

300 Forest biomass 200 169 Agricultural biomass 143 Waste 40 17 Middle range 100 26 potential 174 124 100 Source: Faaij Study (2018) 0 5 2017 2050 2050 8 min max intensive process and, as such, impacts the balance of primary energy consumption and consequently the profitability of power production. Still, the efficiency losses can be partially recuperated with IS BECCS combined heat and power production. Indeed, using the heat generated by capture can cover part of the ECONOMICALLY efficiency losses.23 As already mentioned, combining VIABLE? BECCU and BECCS can also significantly improve the profitability and efficiency of the projects.24

It could be in the future, if the right legislative, investment and innovation support frameworks are in place. The most significant challenges, along with the high capital costs, concern technical aspects as well as the energy efficiency aspect of the projects.

The first question is whether there is a credible carbon / CO price creating a price-based system rewarding 2 ARE THERE negative emissions. Studies suggest that a range of 20, 21 55-248 euro per ton of CO2 would make BECCS BECCS PROJECTS economically profitable. A stable and robust carbon price could send the right signal to carbon capture IN OPERATION? projects investor; and would also drive a decisive fuel switch, much needed to achieve the Paris agreement’s objectives. In the last 20 years, CCS projects have There are to date several small-scale demonstration not progressed at the expected rate, so rethinking BECCS small scale demonstration projects in operation the policy design supporting these technologies is around the world.25 In 2015, eight projects were in the necessary for their successful deployment. evaluation stage of development.26 The ADM-owned Illinois Industrial CCS Project is the first large-scale

Furthermore, one of the challenges lies in the size of project combining bioenergy production with CO2 biomass-combusting plants which, because located capture and storage. Operations started during the in the proximity of biomass sources, do not reach first half of 2017 and the project will capture 1 MtCO2/ the critical size. For this reason, the CO2’s recovery year from the distillation of corn into bioethanol. The costs are proportionally higher than in bigger power CO2 is then compressed, dehydrated and injected plants.22 In general, the right business model would on site for permanent storage in the Mount Simon need to be put in place. sandstone formation (at a depth of approximately 2.1km).27 In Europe, DRAX and C-Capture are piloting Finally, when assessing the profitability of carbon the first BECCS facility in North Yorkshire, UK. The capture, the overall efficiency of energy production £400,000 pilot plan aims at removing a tonne of 28 needs to be considered. The CO2 recovery is an energy carbon from its operations a day.

GLOSSARY

Bio-CCS vs BECCS Both acronyms refer to Bioenergy Carbon Capture and storage. In scientific literature they are often used interchangeably.29 In certain cases, the first one (BECCS) is used to refer to combination of Carbon Capture technologies with power generation, while Bio-CCS to industrial applications.30 For the purposes of this paper only the acronym BECCS will be used for both industrial and power and combined heat and power applications.

BIOCHAR Biochar is produced through pyrolysis — processes that heat biomass in the absence (or under reduction) of oxygen. In addition to creating a soil enhancer, sustainable biochar practices can produce oil and gas by-products that can be used as fuel, providing clean, renewable energy. When the biochar is buried in the ground as a soil enhancer, the system can become “carbon negative.” In Tampere (Finland) the production of biochar has been successfully combined with a district heating network which uses the waste heat of the plant. Since biochar is used as a soil amendment it permanently sequesters carbon in the soil. The district heating is therefore carbon- negative.31

9 SOURCES

1. IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C, (2018) Summary for policy makers , p.16 2. IEA, Energy Technology Perspectives 2017, B2D scenario; Summary accessed on 19/12/2018 3. European Commission, 1.5TECH scenario, In-Depth Analysis of the Commission Communication COM (2018) 773 4. Declaration on Nordic Carbon Neutrality, Helsinki, 25 January 2019 5. Fuss et al. (2018), Negative emissions—Part 2: Costs, potentials and side effects. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 1, e5, 13 June 2018, p.9. 6. NETs include Ocean Fertilization, Direct Air capture and carbon storage, Enhanced weathering, use of biochar in top soils and afforestation 7. Pour et al., (2016) A sustainability framework for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technologies, p.6045 8. SAPEA (2018) Novel carbon capture and utilization technologies. P.10 9. VTT, BioCO2 project, Value chains and business potential for biobased-CO2 in circular economy, https://www.vtt.fi/sites/BioCO2/en/ background accessed on 11/01/2019 10. SAPEA (2018) Novel carbon capture and utilization technologies. p.8 11. VTT, BioCO2 project, Value chains and business potential for biobased-CO2 in circular economy https://www.vtt.fi/sites/BioCO2/en, accessed on 11/01/2019 12. Mediara et al. ,(2017) Chemical Looping Combustion of Biomass: An Approach to BECCS 13th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, GHGT-13, 14-18, November 2016, Lausanne, Switzerland https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217319392 accessed on 18/12/2018 13. Conversion of CO2 to solid inorganic carbonates using chemical reactions. 14. IEA (2018), MRSren18, p.142 15. Arasto (2014) Bio-CCS: feasibility comparison of large scale carbon-negative solutions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610214025260 accessed on 5/10/2018 16. Idem 17. Van Dam et al. (2010) From the global efforts on certification of bioenergy towards an integrated approach based on sustainable land use planning, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2010, vol. 14, issue 9 18. 70% less GHG emissions than fossil fuels for installation entering operation in 2021, 80% for installations starting operation in 2026. 19. Faaij (2018) Securing sustainable resource availability of biomass for energy applications in Europe; Review of recent literature 20. Gough et al. (2018) Challenges to the use of BECCS as a keystone technology in pursuit of 1.5° 21. Other sources as the Climate Change Committee in the UK indicate that the use of BECCS for power generation could be cost-effective at a carbon price of between £80-140/tCO₂ (in 2030 this would be in the UK Government’s Green Book carbon value trajectory). 22. CCSP, Finland, Final Report , p.16 accessed on 18/12/2018 23. Bui et al., (2017) Thermodynamic Evaluation of Carbon Negative Power Generation: Bio-energy CCS (BECCS), Energy Procedia Volume 114, July 2017, Pages 6010-6020 24. CCSP, Finland, Final Report , p.16 accessed on 18/12/2018 25. EASAC policy report, (February 2018) Negative emission technologies: What role in meeting Paris Agreement targets? p. 20 26. Kempner (2015), Biomass and carbon dioxide capture and storage: A review, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 40 · August 2015 27. IEA (2017) Technology Roadmap – Delivering Sustainable Bioenergy, p. 44 28. https://www.drax.com/press_release/drax-to-pilot-europes-first-carbon-capture-storage-project-beccs/ Accessed on 04/01/2019 29. See for example https://tyndall.ac.uk/publications/biomass-energy-carbon-capture-and-storage-beccs-or-bio-ccs or https://bellona. org/about-ccs/carbon-negative 30. See for example file://sbs/Folder%20Redirection/giulia.cancian/Desktop/1-s2.0-S1876610214025260-main.pdf 31. https://www.tampere.fi/en/city-of-tampere/info/current-issues/2018/10/23102018_1.html

10 NOTES

11 Bioenergy Europe, formerly known as the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), is the voice of the bioenergy sector at EU- level. It aims at developing a sustainable bioenergy market based on fair business conditions. Bioenergy Europe is a non-profit, Brussels-based international organisation founded in 1990, bringing together more than 40 associations and 90 companies. www.bioenergyeurope.org

Place du Champ de Mars 2 1050 Brussels T : +32 2 318 40 34 [email protected]

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