CO2stCap (Cutting Cost of CO2 Capture in Process Industry)
- 1 November 2019
- Capture
- Costs of CCUS
The CO2StCap project (Cutting Cost of CO2 Capture in Process Industry), led by SINTEF, was a research initiative (2015-2019) funded by the Norwegian CLIMIT-Demo programme via Gassnova and the Swedish Energy Agency. The CO2StCap research partners were SINTEF, the University of South-Eastern Norway, Chalmers University of Technology, RISE, and Swerim AB. The industries involved were SSAB, Elkem AS, Norcem Brevik AS, and AGA Gas AB. IEAGHG and GCCSI supported the project. The CO2StCap project investigated CO2 partial capture configurations for cement, pulp and paper, steel, and silicon for solar cells industries. The CO2 capture technology investigated in this project was a MEA-based chemical absorption system, which includes an optimized rich-solvent splitting and absorber inter-stage cooling. The capture rates considered are dependent on the inputs of the specific cases, such as plant characteristics, CO<sub>2</sub> stacks, CO<sub>2</sub> concentration in the flue-gas to be treated, and supply of heat/energy. The CO2StCap project contained a transparent cost assessment, which includes the capital and operational expenditures (CAPEX and OPEX) for retrofitting cases. The main cost metric used in this study is the CO2 capture cost (€/tonne of CO2 captured) and the main elements are described in detail. Steam generation for the CO2 capture system was identified as a key cost element. The steam sources investigated were: steam produced from the excess heat; from a new boiler; and from a low-pressure bleed from existing steam cycles. Other key cost elements identified in this study are the plant lifetime and rate of return. The CO2StCap project also investigated the use of biomass in different sectors and hydrogen in the steel industry.