Large-scale Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Mechanical Aerospace and Civil Eng
Abstract
Background:
More than 85% of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) scenarios for achieving the emissions targets of the 'Paris Agreement' are reliant on an ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is currently expected to be the primary technology for achieving this. BECCS processes generate energy and then capture the CO2 that is release through combustion of biomass - permanent storing of this CO2 will result in net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. However, BECCS technologies are not commercially established and there remain many uncertainties about how to produce sufficient sustainable biomass to support its deployment at scale. BECCS could be critical to limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5C, as agreed in Paris in 2015. This highly topical PhD will contribute to improving our understanding of the viability and efficacy of the BECCS approach.
Project Scope:
The widespread sourcing of forest-based materials for bioenergy is now a well-established pathway for large scale bioenergy generation in the UK. However, any large-scale deployment of BECCS technologies will mean that further feedstocks will be required at a correspondingly large scale. It is essential that these feedstocks are sourced sustainably and that, ultimately, BECCS pathways deliver net negative emissions.
This project will analyse the potential for developing large scale BECCS in the UK using biomass feedstocks derived from waste and residues from agricultural or industrial sectors. Proposed research themes include: i) mapping biomass resource availability; developing biomass resource supply chain & BECCS technology scenarios; iii) analysing the bioenergy potential for large scale BECCS deployment in the UK, iv) evaluating the levels of net negative emissions that may be achieved, and v) identifying the potential challenges & opportunities of large scale deployment of BECCS.
Interest in developing and testing BECCS technologies is increasing and the Tyndall Centre and the Supergen Bioenergy Hub have established links with the UK energy sector and industrial partners. The project will benefit from interaction with a key industrial partner currently exploring the potential of expanding its biomass feedstock supply chains based on UK and international wastes and residues.
More than 85% of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) scenarios for achieving the emissions targets of the 'Paris Agreement' are reliant on an ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is currently expected to be the primary technology for achieving this. BECCS processes generate energy and then capture the CO2 that is release through combustion of biomass - permanent storing of this CO2 will result in net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. However, BECCS technologies are not commercially established and there remain many uncertainties about how to produce sufficient sustainable biomass to support its deployment at scale. BECCS could be critical to limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5C, as agreed in Paris in 2015. This highly topical PhD will contribute to improving our understanding of the viability and efficacy of the BECCS approach.
Project Scope:
The widespread sourcing of forest-based materials for bioenergy is now a well-established pathway for large scale bioenergy generation in the UK. However, any large-scale deployment of BECCS technologies will mean that further feedstocks will be required at a correspondingly large scale. It is essential that these feedstocks are sourced sustainably and that, ultimately, BECCS pathways deliver net negative emissions.
This project will analyse the potential for developing large scale BECCS in the UK using biomass feedstocks derived from waste and residues from agricultural or industrial sectors. Proposed research themes include: i) mapping biomass resource availability; developing biomass resource supply chain & BECCS technology scenarios; iii) analysing the bioenergy potential for large scale BECCS deployment in the UK, iv) evaluating the levels of net negative emissions that may be achieved, and v) identifying the potential challenges & opportunities of large scale deployment of BECCS.
Interest in developing and testing BECCS technologies is increasing and the Tyndall Centre and the Supergen Bioenergy Hub have established links with the UK energy sector and industrial partners. The project will benefit from interaction with a key industrial partner currently exploring the potential of expanding its biomass feedstock supply chains based on UK and international wastes and residues.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Amanda Lea-Langton (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Muir Freer (Student) |
Publications
Freer M
(2022)
Putting Bioenergy With Carbon Capture and Storage in a Spatial Context: What Should Go Where?
in Frontiers in Climate
Freer M
(2021)
Carbon optimal bioenergy with carbon capture and storage supply chain modelling: How far is too far?
in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments
Wongsirichot P
(2022)
Food processing by-products as sources of hydrophilic carbon and nitrogen for sophorolipid production
in Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509565/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 2323738 | Studentship | EP/N509565/1 | 01/10/2019 | 30/09/2022 | Muir Freer |
| EP/R513131/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2023 | |||
| 2323738 | Studentship | EP/R513131/1 | 01/10/2019 | 30/09/2022 | Muir Freer |
| Description | This research focuses on the impact of a series of scenarios on the carbon performances of large-scale agricultural residue and industrial waste derived Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage supply chains (BECCS) transportation emissions at a high spatial resolution in the UK. This analysis combines three novel research disciplines, high spatial resolution biomass mapping, transportation digital twin modelling and macro-energy system analysis, to simulate the carbon-optimal transportation aspects of BECCS supply chains at high spatial resolution in the UK. The three supply chains modelled in the analysis are a Municipal-Solid-Waste (MSW) derived BECCS-waste-to-energy supply chain, a Wheat Straw derived BECCS-Power supply chain and a Sawmill Residue derived BECCS-Hydrogen supply chain. The three supply chains were applied through a novel digital twin model called the 'Carbon Navigation System' (CNS) created during the PhD, which can simulate a BECCS supply chain anywhere in the UK to determine the optimal siting locations for the facilities. The model can also carbon-efficiently switch between HGVs, rail, shipping and pipeline transportation to minimise produced emissions. The routings calculated by the CNS model also provide improved ground-truthed transportation assumptions for BECCS Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), as the current assumptions are drastically underestimating the emissions associated with BECCS resource transportation. The three BECCS supply chains were applied through a range of scenarios to determine the impact on the carbon performance of the supply chains by changing parameters within the CNS methodology. This analysis found that the optimal siting locations for the MSW and Sawmill Residue supply chains are in Connah's Quay, while the optimal siting location for the Wheat Straw supply chain is in Barrow-Upon-Humber when capturing 1 MtCO2/yr, although the optimal siting location does change depending on how much CO2 is captured. Shifting the siting location for the supply chains away from the optimal location will increase the supply chain transportation emissions between 8.9 to 12.6% per 10km, and the improper siting may dampen the carbon balance of the project as, in the worst-case scenario, the improper siting of a project may increase supply chain transportation emissions by 1327.0%. On average for the UK, the optimal facility scale for the MSW supply chain is 0.59 MtCO2/yr, 0.88 MtCO2/yr for the Wheat Straw supply chain and 0.46 MtCO2/yr for the Sawmill Residue supply chain. The carbon performances of the three supply chains are marginally impacted by increases in biomass yield and biomass availability, with a 3 to 5% decrease in supply chain transportation emissions when biomass yield is increased by 50%, and biomass availability is increased to 100%. The carbon performances of the supply chains were only impacted when biomass yields and availabilities were extremely low, with supply chain transportation emissions increasing by 5 to 10% for a 50% decrease in biomass yield and 8 to 23% when biomass availability is reduced to their knock-out values. The decarbonisation of HGVs was the most impactful on the carbon performances of the supply chains, with the transition to high degree decarbonised fuels resulting in a 73-74% decrease in supply chain transportation emissions. The analysis was designed to help decision-making for policy-makers and industry to aid the deployment of BECCS across the UK to meet Net-Zero, and this analysis offers heuristics to aid their deployment to ensure a sustainable deployment of the technology. |
| Exploitation Route | The model created within this funding has the potential to be re-applied to any industrial sector or supply chain in the UK to determine their carbon performance and optimal siting locations. The model has already been re-applied to the cement, glass and bio-chemical sectors within industrial secondments and PDRA projects. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport |
| URL | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2022.826982/full |
| Description | The research produced within this funded project has impacted the operations of multiple industrial facilities that are planning to be deployed in the UK. The model produced within the project aid decision making for the optimal siting modelling of a bio-chemical facility in the North-West of England with the company Holiferm, the modelling of supply chain performance for the conversion of a fossil fuel facility into a bioenergy facility in the North-East of England with the company Uniper Energy and the optimal siting location modelling the decarbonisation of a series of glass furnaces across the UK with Glass Futures. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport |
| Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | ScienceX - Communicating Climate Change to the Youth of Manchester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Held a workshop at the ScienceX event in Manchester over 2 days, where I communicated the impacts of climate change to over 300 impoverished children from ages 4 to 12 across Manchester. There was great intrigue from the children with many asking for further material to read and a visit to the University. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |