BECCS Technology
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)
A version of CCS is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Carbon dioxide is extracted from biomass rather than from fossil fuels, as is the case with conventional CCS technology.
Plants absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and incorporate it into their structures through photosynthesis. Humans process biomass in a variety of industrial processes, which results in the release of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. The pulp and paper industry, ethanol facilities, and biogas plants are a few examples of such processes.
Carbon dioxide emissions from biomass can be absorbed and permanently stored thousands of meters below the Earth’s surface using BECCS technology, just like with CCS.
The Technology
The three steps of BECCS are capture, transit, and storage.
The fourth factor is permanency and safety.
We have partnered with existing pulp and paper mills, biofuel power plants, ethanol plants, and biogas plants in order to avoid habitat loss and competition with food production. There is already a biomass turnover occurring among these producers, resulting in significant atmospheric releases of biogenic carbon dioxide. a top application of BECCS technology.
1. Capture and Transport
The capture and compression of carbon dioxide is the first step in the BECCS procedure. Storage necessitates a supply of carbon dioxide that is relatively clean for geological and technical reasons. For instance, the carbon dioxide produced during combustion is frequently diluted with a lot of air. In this context, capture refers to the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. After being separated, carbon dioxide is compressed to a high pressure of approximately 101 atm. The carbon dioxide is a liquid at this pressure and the appropriate temperatures, allowing for pipeline or ship delivery to a storage facility. Energy is required to separate and compress the carbon dioxide, and this energy can be obtained from biomass, water, the sun, or wind. By using renewable resources, no additional emissions are created in this process.
2. Storage
Geologists have found potential locations for carbon storage.
Saline aquifers, which are found deep within bedrock all across the planet, are one typical sort of storage place. They resemble the formations where oil and gas have been held for millions of years and are made of porous sandstone that is saturated with salt water.
Depending on the geological conditions, holes are bored at the storage location between 1,000 and 3,000 meters deep. Pumped into the salty aquifer, the compressed carbon dioxide disperses into the salt water found in the pores of the sandstone. There is a substantial layer of rock that serves as a cap rock on top of the aquifer. The cap rock is an imperable layer, and therefore prevents carbon dioxide from rising back to the surface.
3. Permanency and Safety
According to research, the carbon dioxide that is poured into saline aquifers binds to salt water more tightly over time and eventually transforms into carbonates, such as minerals or stones, over thousands of years. As a result, the carbon dioxide is safely kept inside the Earth for a very long time.
Seismic devices that provide a three-dimensional picture of the storage formation are used to monitor the geological formation to make sure that the carbon dioxide is kept retained within the aquifer. In order to assure storage security and longevity, the obtained data is then evaluated by an outside party together with other components of the capture and storage process.