An analysis of carbon capture and utilisation options in the Austrian industry Master Thesis by Christoph Niederseer, BSc. Submitted at the Department of Economics and Business Management at the University of Leoben Leoben, 11th of March 2013 CONCEPTUAL FORMULATION Mr. Christoph Niederseer is assigned to elaborate a Master Thesis with the topic „An analysis of carbon capture and utilisation options in the Austrian industry” The focus of this work is the investigation of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) tech- nologies and their use in the Austrian industry. In the first part of the thesis the theoretical background, which is necessary to work on the given topic, has to be elaborated. This concerns the problematic of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, conventions and norms for CO2 reduction and the current situation of carbon dioxide emissions in Austria. Furthermore carbon capture and utilisation tech- nologies are discussed including their potentials, limitations and state of art. Finally the evaluation methods, especially the utility analysis and survey methods are presented. Within the practical part of the thesis a survey conducted in the Austrian industry has to be carried out. The statistical analysis of the survey results should serve as the basis for a utility analysis. Due to the results of this analysis, the most appropriate CCU option for each industry sector should be identified. Leoben, March 2012 O.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. mont. Hubert Biedermann Department of Economics and Business Management EIDESSTATTLICHE ERKLÄRUNG Ich erkläre an Eides statt, dass ich diese Arbeit selbstständig ver- fasst, andere als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel nicht be- nutzt und mich auch sonst keiner unerlaubten Hilfsmittel bedient habe. AFFIDAVIT I declare in lieu of oath, that I wrote this thesis and performed the associated research myself, using only literature cited in this volume. __________________ (Christoph Niederseer) Leoben, 11th of March 2013 ABSTRACT: Carbon dioxide contributes to the "Greenhouse Effect" and global warming. Nowadays a lot of efforts are being done to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to counter this effect. The strategies towards this target include the prevention of CO2, the reduction of the CO2 amount through efficient use of fossil fuels, such as the CO2 capture and storage or utilisation. “Carbon Capture and Utilisation" (CCU) technologies use carbon dioxide as a raw material for chemical and biological processes. Currently a lot of research and development work is carried out concerning these technologies. The aim of this study was to identify the most appropriate CCU-options for the Austrian industries. A utility analysis was applied to reach this task. The findings of the literature research served as the basis for creating a list of evaluation criteria for the implementation of this analysis, which was then complemented with expert interviews. A web-based industry questionnaire pro- vided the information needed to place these criteria in a hierarchy of importance. The iden- tification of the survey participating industries was based on the emission data of the Fed- eral Environment Agency. The priorisation of the evaluation criteria in combination to the potentials and limitations of each technology was a crucial requirement for the utility analy- sis. The analysis conceded following results: CO2 enhanced oil recovery could be for all industries the best carbon dioxide utilisation technology and was ranked as first. The fur- ther prioritisation turned in most cases as follows: carbonation, methanation and chemical feedstock. Two of the examined industries resulted in a different ranking. The first excep- tion was the refractory industry, here was the methanation ranked second, followed by the production of chemical feedstock and the carbonation. The second exception was the ce- ment and chalk industries. In this case, carbonation was ranked second followed by the production of chemical feedstock and methanation. The results presented in this thesis can support the industries in their CO2 decision making management and furthermore visualize in which technologies research and development efforts should be intensified. KURZFASSUNG: Vergleichende Analyse der Kohlendioxidnutzungstechnologien am Beispiel der österreichi- schen Industrie Kohlendioxid trägt zum Treibhauseffekt bei und ist hauptverantwortlich für die globale Erwärmung. In der Gesamtstrategie zur Verringerung der anthropogenen Treibhausgase stellt neben der Speicherung des industriell abgeschiedenen Kohlendioxids die Nutzung desselben eine wesentliche Option dar. Weltweit werden in diesen sogenannten „Carbon- Capture and Utilisation“(CCU) Verfahren erhebliche Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbei- ten unternommen um das Kohlendioxid als C1-Kohlenstoffquelle für Prozesse nutzbar zu machen. Ziel der Masterarbeit ist die Identifikation der geeignetsten CCU- Technologieoptionen für die einzelnen österreichischen Industriezweige mittels einer Nutzwertanalyse. Die zur Durchführung der Analyse erforderliche Festlegung von Bewer- tungskriterien erfolgte auf Basis der Literaturstudie ergänzt mit Experteninterviews. Die Identifizierung der relevanten Industriezweige für die Umfrage erfolgte auf Basis der Daten des Umweltbundesamtes. Eine Web-basierte Industrieumfrage lieferte dann die Gewich- tung dieser Kriterien. Diese Reihung der Bewertungskriterien in Kombination mit den in der aktuellen Literatur festgehaltenen Potentialen und Grenzen der einzelnen Technologien wurde als Grundlage für die Durchführung der Nutzwertanalyse verwendet. Das Ergebnis der Studie war eine Prioritätsreihung der CCU Technologien für jeden Industriezweig, wo- bei die Reihung für die meisten Industriezweige wie folgt vorlag: tertiäre Erdölförderung vor Karbonatisierung, Methanisierung und Produktion von Chemierohstoffe. Für zwei der untersuchten Industriesektoren resultierte eine andere Reihung. Die erste Ausnahme war die Feuerfestindustrie, hier ist die Methanisierung als zweite gereiht, gefolgt von der Her- stellung von chemischen Rohstoffen und der Karbonatisierung. Die zweite Ausnahme war die Zement-und Kalkindustrie. In diesem Fall ist die Karbonatisierung auf dem zweiten Platz, gefolgt von der Herstellung von chemischen Rohstoffen und der Methanisierung. Diese Ergebnisse sollten der Industrie in Ihrer Entscheidungsfindung bezüglich Kohlendi- oxids Managements unterstützen und darüber hinaus aufzeigen in welche Technologien geforscht und weiter entwickelt werden soll. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The thesis in hand was composed at the department of economics and business management at the University of Leoben. For the sup- port and the assistance I want to thank the following person. At first I have to thank o.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. mont. Hubert Biedermann for giving me permission to commence this thesis. I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Dipl.-Ing. Vassiliki The- odoridou from the University of Leoben, whose help, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all the time of re- search for and writing of this thesis. Furthermore my deep gratitude I want to express to my parents, Aloisia and Peter Niederseer, who enabled me to attend the univer- sity and supported me in all respects. Above all I appreciate their trust in me and that they avoided exerting pressure on me. Sincere thanks are addressed to my brothers, Hans Peter and Philipp, and all my other friends for accompanying and amusing me in my leisure time. My special acknowledgement is due to Mirella Klammer and my son Maximilian for the emotional support, the understanding, the moti- vation and acceptance of several weekends at work. Christoph Niederseer TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................................................................ I LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... III LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... VI 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ............................................................................................................ 2 2 THEORETICAL FUNDAMENTALS .................................................................................................... 3 2.1 THE CARBON CYCLE ....................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.1 THE SLOW CARBON CYCLE - GEOCYCLE ............................................................................... 5 2.1.2 THE FAST CARBON CYCLE - BIOCYCLE .................................................................................. 6 2.1.3 CHANGES IN THE CARBONCYCLE .......................................................................................... 8 2.1.4 STUDYING THE CYCLE ......................................................................................................... 18 2.2 GREENHOUSE GASSES IN AUSTRIA .............................................................................................