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Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs Fossil Fuels

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2014) | Viewed by 41667

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Dr. Jennie C. Stephens

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School of Environment and Natural Resources, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA

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Dear Colleagues,

Investments in the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology are justified by long-term global climate mitigation potential. The coupling of CCS research with fossil-fuels, however, raises concerns that CCS investments could be contributing to perpetuating fossil-fuel dependence and slowing down the transition away from fossil-fuels, thus detracting from long-term climate mitigation efforts. While CCS coupled with coal or natural gas offers possible reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, CCS coupled with bio-energy offers the possibility of a net reduction of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. Given the high-levels of continued government investment in CCS, this special issue explores the challenges, opportunities, linkages, and distinctions of advancing CCS with fossil-fuels versus advancing CCS with bio-energy. Interdisciplinary perspectives that offer insights on the decoupling of CCS from fossil-fuels are invited, as is research on the long-term climate mitigation potential for CCS with bio-energy. Analysis that integrates the social and political dimensions of CCS advancement is particularly welcome.

Associate Professor Jennie C. Stephens
Guest Editor

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Keywords

climate mitigation
fossil-fuel technologies
bio-energy
coal

Published Papers (5 papers)

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526 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Science Insights for the BioCCS Industry

by Anne-Maree Dowd, Michelle Rodriguez and Talia Jeanneret

Energies 2015, 8(5), 4024-4042; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8054024 - 08 May 2015

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7295

Abstract

BioCCS is a technology gaining support as a possible emissions reduction policy option to address climate change. The process entails the capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide produced during energy production from biomass. Globally, the most optimistic energy efficiency scenarios cannot avoid an average temperature increase of +2 °C without bioCCS. Although very much at the commencement stage, bioCCS demonstration projects can provide opportunity to garner knowledge, achieve consensus and build support around the technology’s properties. Yet many challenges face the bioCCS industry, including no guarantee biomass will always be from sustainable sources or potentially result in carbon stock losses. The operating environment also has no or limited policies, regulations and legal frameworks, and risk and safety concerns abound. Some state the key problem for bioCCS is cultural, lacking in a ‘community of support’, awareness and credibility amongst its own key stakeholders and the wider public. Therefore, the industry can benefit from the growing social science literature, drawing upon other energy and resource based industries with regard to social choice for future energy options. To this end, the following scoping review was conducted in order to ascertain gaps in existing public perception and acceptance research focusing on bioCCS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs Fossil Fuels)

219 KiB

Open AccessArticle

News Media Analysis of Carbon Capture and Storage and Biomass: Perceptions and Possibilities

by Andrea M. Feldpausch-Parker, Morey Burnham, Maryna Melnik, Meaghan L. Callaghan and Theresa Selfa

Energies 2015, 8(4), 3058-3074; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8043058 - 20 Apr 2015

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 8058

Abstract

In the US, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has received most of its attention when coupled with the fossil fuel industry as a mitigation strategy for climate change. CCS, which is constituted as a broad suite of capture and sequestration technologies and techniques, does not preclude coupling with other energy industries such as bioenergy (bioenergy and CCS or BECCS). In this paper, we examined news media coverage of CCS and biomass individually in locations throughout the US where these technologies are being explored to determine how they are perceived and what possibilities lay in their coupling for climate change mitigation. From our analyses, we found that individually, both CCS and biomass are perceived generally as beneficial for energy development by the news media, though they are not often mentioned in combination. Combined references do, however, speak to their value for climate change mitigation and as an alternative to fossil fuels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs Fossil Fuels)

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652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Path Forward for Low Carbon Power from Biomass

by Amanda D. Cuellar and Howard Herzog

Energies 2015, 8(3), 1701-1715; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8031701 - 27 Feb 2015

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 7570

Abstract

The two major pathways for energy utilization from biomass are conversion to a liquid fuel (i.e., biofuels) or conversion to electricity (i.e., biopower). In the United States (US), biomass policy has focused on biofuels. However, this paper will investigate three options for biopower: low co-firing (co-firing scenarios refer to combusting a given percentage of biomass with coal) (5%–10% biomass), medium co-firing (15%–20% biomass), and dedicated biomass firing (100% biomass). We analyze the economic and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact of each of these options, with and without CO₂ capture and storage (CCS). Our analysis shows that in the absence of land use change emissions, all biomass co-combustion scenarios result in a decrease in GHG emissions over coal generation alone. The two biggest barriers to biopower are concerns about carbon neutrality of biomass fuels and the high cost compared to today’s electricity prices. This paper recommends two policy actions. First, the need to define sustainability criteria and initiate a certification process so that biomass providers have a fixed set of guidelines to determine whether their feedstocks qualify as renewable energy sources. Second, the need for a consistent, predictable policy that provides the economic incentives to make biopower economically attractive. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs Fossil Fuels)

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843 KiB

Open AccessArticle

EROI Analysis for Direct Coal Liquefaction without and with CCS: The Case of the Shenhua DCL Project in China

by Zhaoyang Kong, Xiucheng Dong, Bo Xu, Rui Li, Qiang Yin and Cuifang Song

Energies 2015, 8(2), 786-807; https://doi.org/10.3390/en8020786 - 23 Jan 2015

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 9680

Abstract

Currently, there are considerable discrepancies between China’s central government and some local governments in attitudes towards coal to liquids (CTL) technology. Energy return on investment (EROI) analysis of CTL could provide new insights that may help solve this dilemma. Unfortunately, there has been little research on this topic; this paper therefore analyses the EROI of China’s Shenhua Group Direct Coal Liquefaction (DCL) project, currently the only DCL commercial project in the world. The inclusion or omission of internal energy and by-products is controversial. The results show that the EROI_stnd without by-product and with internal energy is 0.68–0.81; the EROI_stnd (the standard EROI) without by-product and without internal energy is 3.70–5.53; the EROI_stnd with by-product and with internal energy is 0.76–0.90; the EROI_stnd with by-product and without internal energy is 4.13–6.14. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a means to control the CO₂ emissions. Considering the added energy inputs of CCS at the plant level, the EROIs decrease to 0.65–0.77, 2.87–3.97, 0.72–0.85, and 3.20–4.40, respectively. The extremely low, even negative, net energy, which may be due to high investments in infrastructure and low conversion efficiency, suggests CTL is not a good choice to replace conventional energy sources, and thus, Chinese government should be prudent when developing it. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs Fossil Fuels)

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6280 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Capture and Storage Development Trends from a Techno-Paradigm Perspective

by Bobo Zheng and Jiuping Xu

Energies 2014, 7(8), 5221-5250; https://doi.org/10.3390/en7085221 - 14 Aug 2014

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 8253

Abstract

The world’s energy needs have been continually growing over the past decade, yet fossil fuels are limited. Renewable energies are becoming more prevalent, but are still a long way from being commonplace worldwide. Literature mining is applied to review carbon capture and storage (CCS) development trends and to develop and examine a novel carbon capture and storage technological paradigm (CCSTP), which incorporates CCSTP competition, diffusion and shift. This paper first provides an overview of the research and progress in CCS technological development, then applies a techno-paradigm theory to analyze CCSTP development and to provide a guide for future CCS technological trends. CCS could avoid CO₂ being released into the atmosphere. Moreover, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) can make a significant contribution to a net removal of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. In this study, we compare the different CCSTP developmental paths and the conventional techno-paradigm by examining the S-curves. The analyses in this paper provide a useful guide for scholars seeking new inspiration in their research and for potential investors who are seeking to invest research funds in more mature technologies. We conclude that political barriers and public acceptance are the major distinctions between the CCSTP and the conventional techno-paradigm. It is expected that policy instruments and economic instruments are going to play a pivotal role in the accomplishment of global carbon reduction scenarios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs Fossil Fuels)

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