Carbon dioxide submarine storage in glass containers: Life Cycle Assessment and cost analysis of four case studies in the cement sector

• Published in: Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 165 - 183
• Main Authors: Beccari Barreto, Beatriz, Caserini, Stefano, Dolci, Giovanni, Grosso, Mario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 2018; Atmospheric Sciences; Biospheric Storage; Bottling; capital; Capital costs; Carbon capture and storage; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Carbon sequestration; Carbonation; Case studies; Cement; Cement plants; Climate change; Climate Change Management and Policy; Concrete; Containers; Cost analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emissions; Environmental Management; Financing; funding; Glass; Gothenburg May 22-24; greenhouse gas emissions; High pressure; including: BioEnergy Carbon Capture and Storage; Life cycle; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Life cycles; Modelling and Incentives and Policy; Ocean floor; Operating costs; Original Article; Other Negative Emission Technologies; Submarine pipelines; Technology; Topical Collection on 1st International Conference on Negative CO2 Emissions; Uptake; Submarine storage; Carbonation; storage; CO; Carbon capture and storage; Cement
• ISSN: 1381-2386; 1573-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s11027-019-09853-w

This paper describes the potential application of a new patented technology for the storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in glass containers into the deep seabed (confined submarine carbon storage (CSCS)) to cement plants located in four different locations in the world. This technology is based on the bottling of liquid CO 2 at high pressure inside capsules made of glass that are delivered to the bottom of the ocean via a proper pipeline. A Life Cycle Assessment that considers all the stages of the process and 13 impact categories, with a focus on climate change, shows an impact in the four case studies between 0.084 and 0.132 ton of CO 2 equivalent (eq) per ton of CO 2 stored. Since carbonation of cement materials over their life cycle is a significant and growing net sink of CO 2 , the capture and storage of CO 2 emissions generated during the production of cement might lead to negative emissions. A cost analysis was also performed, including the capital costs and the operational costs, even considering the funding structure through financing and equity. The costs of the four case studies are from 16 to 29 $/tCO 2 . Although further work is needed to assess in detail some aspects of the design, the result of this stage of the research allows concluding that the application of the CSCS in cement plants is an interesting option for achieving negative emissions, even if limited due the slowness of CO 2 uptake during the lifetime of cement materials.