The Environmental Impacts of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage on the Electricity Sector: A Life Cycle Assessment Comparison between Italy and Poland

Marco Facchino (), Paulina Popielak, Marcin Panowski, Dariusz Wawrzyńczak, Izabela Majchrzak-Kucęba and Marcello De Falco
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Marco Facchino: Unit of Process Engineering, Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy
Paulina Popielak: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, Dąbrowskiego 73, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
Marcin Panowski: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, Dąbrowskiego 73, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
Dariusz Wawrzyńczak: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, Dąbrowskiego 73, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
Izabela Majchrzak-Kucęba: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, Dąbrowskiego 73, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
Marcello De Falco: Unit of Process Engineering, Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-22

Abstract: Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is a set of technologies aimed at capturing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from point-source emitters to either store permanently or use as a feedstock to produce chemicals and fuels. In this paper, the potential benefits of CCUS integration into the energy supply sector are evaluated from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective by comparing two different routes for the CO 2 captured from a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC). Both the complete storage of the captured CO 2 and its partial utilization to produce dimethyl ether are investigated. Moreover, the assessment is performed considering the region-specific features of two of the largest CO 2 emitters in Europe, namely Italy and Poland. Results shows that the complete storage of the captured CO 2 reduces Global Warming Potential (GWP) by ~89% in Italy and ~97%, in Poland. On the other hand, the partial utilization of CO 2 to produce dimethyl ether leads to a decrease of ~58% in Italy and ~68% in Poland with respect to a comparable reference entailing conventional dimethyl ether production. A series of environmental trade-offs was determined, with all the investigated categories apart from GWP showing an increase, mainly connected with the higher energy requirements of CCUS processes. These outcomes highlight the need for a holistic-oriented approach in the design of novel implemented configurations to avoid burden shifts throughout the value chain.

Keywords: CCS; CCU; dimethyl ether; life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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